The Flaming Lips have posted a statement regarding the apparent departure of longtime multi-instrumentalist Steven Drozd.
Drozd, who joined the band in 1991 and was the longest-tenured Lips member aside from frontman Wayne Coyne, seemed to confirm he left the group in a since-deleted social media post. The post, captured by Stereogum, read, “They’re done with me.”
The Lips’ statement, written by drummer Matt Duckworth Kirksey, reads, “If you haven’t heard this newest iteration of the band, give us a shot. The music, and the show is better than ever.”
“And remember… NONE of this ever happens without Wayne,” Kirksey writes. “This idea that Steven was THE musical genius, and Wayne is just some weirdo artist… [it’s] just not true. Wayne pushes the creativity, the sound, and the show forward, like no artist I’ve ever been around.”
“Being in The Lips is hard,” Kirksey continues. “I remember before I was in the band, I would see them rehearsing for hours and hours and think… man… [that’s] brutal. But once you get to be part of that vision… [it’s] f****** exhilarating. [It’s] f****** FUN. [It’s] Wayne’s drive to be great that makes it all possible.”
The Flaming Lips will wrap up 2025 with a New Year’s Eve show in Washington, D.C.
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