Tom DeLonge of Angels and Ariwaves performs live at the KROQ Weenie Roast Y Fiesta, Sat, May 5, 2012, at The Verizon Ampitheater in Irvine, Calif. KROQ Weenie Roast is a multi-artist music concert, presented annually.(AP Photo/Katy Winn)

Blink-182’s Tom DeLonge compares playing guitar fast to masturbating

Author Samuel Järvinen - 13.9.2021

Tom DeLonge, guitarist of the punk band Blink-182, opened his mouth in an interview with Guitar World about playing guitar. In the interview, DeLonge explains his own fast guitar playing and what it takes.

In the interview, DeLonge jokingly compares playing fast to masturbation, which he considers an essential skill if you want to learn to play guitar fast:

“Playing [the guitar] fast is not easy,” DeLonge explains. “Especially doing it good and doing it for hours. You want to know the secret? It’s all about masturbating. That’s the only one way to do it, and if you don’t masturbate, you can’t play punk rock”

DeLonge offers information as well:

“I grew up as a fan of the Descendents, and their records are still so relevant today — so fast and so riffy. I’d play along to that stuff and try to get better. Thank God for the click track because we used to not have them in blink, and Travis [Barker] would go into [Mach] 200. I just could not keep up.”