Tom DeLonge: “Just because I laugh at ridiculous jokes doesn’t mean that I don’t conceptualise what consciousness isand the way the universe might be”

“When you study that phenomenon,” says Tom DeLongein a way that only Tom DeLonge can“it has the scariest elements and also some very paranormal elements – and there's a very playful element with ittoo. There's a lot of times that encounters with whatever this isit'll fuck with you. It’ll fuck with your tentor your cabinthrowing rocks at you. If you're leaning against the wall in your bedroom watching TVit'll bang right behind your headand it'll keep doing it over and over again to get a reaction out of you. You'll hear voices and all this weird shit. There's a playful nature mixed with extreme fear…”

Tom is speaking to Kerrang! at his home studio in San DiegoCalifornia. He is explaining the scene from his feature film directorial debutin which a group of teenage adventure-seekerschasing answers to the paranormal activity taking place in their hometownare tracking Bigfootonly for one of their number to have the legendary Sasquatchumtake a piss on his face.

“I just thought it was a good way to end the scene…” he adds with a laugh.

If Tom’s words sound equal parts elevated and absurd thenwellwelcome to Monsters Of California. First released in the U.S. in 2023the movie is finally making its way to UK audiences this week. Even two years removed from its initial runTom’s passion and excitement for the project ooze from his every machine-gun-quick word. Part coming-of-age adventure comedypart exploration of the real-life questions about “the search for truth within understanding identified aerial phenomenonparanormal eventstime and frequency and consciousness”and all soaked in lashings of toilet humourit’s Tom DeLonge distilled into movie format – the scope of Angels & Airwaves meets the tone of blink-182 on the silver screen. It’s great funtoo.

”That's just who I amyou know?” he says. “I'm both those people. I have serious sides to meand I have that eternal youth side to me. Just because I laugh at ridiculous jokes doesn't mean that I don't sit there and conceptualise frameworks for who we arewhat consciousness isand the way the universe might be…”

The desire to try his hand at film directing has been long on Tom’s mind.

“I knew I wanted to do it [even before I had the idea for this particular movie],” he says. “I wanted the artistic challengeand felt I had the potential for creating a piece of art that was more ambitiousthat can really touch people in a different way than just hearing a song in your car.” Movieshe says“have the ability to get someone to stop what they're doing. When you put out musicsomeone's putting it on when they’re driving their caror it's in the background in the office. So it was really about the idea of trying to win someone's attention span.”

He laughs a slightly despondent laugh when nodding that “music’s almost disposable”.

“A band could work on an album for a yearand [people will be] like‘YeahI heard it onceI don't knowwhatever,’” he rues. “So I was very much thinkingwellmaybe one larger art project that's more ambitious can make a more lasting impression on someone's emotions…”

The premise of Monsters Of California followedits script crafted over a couple of years before production began in 2020and driven in its infancy by the evident restrictions a first-time filmmaker works under – no matter how famous they are in another creative sphere.

“I knew that going into my directorial debut I was going to be limited on a micro-budgetand I was going to be stuck to the writing that I was doing on the script,” Tom admits. “So to mediate those issuesI wanted to root a story in the culture I grew up inin the area I grew up inwith topics that I would readily consider myself well-versed inso that I could fall back on things that I know personally and mitigate any disasters. I knew the way the words should be saidwhat these kids should be likeand what the issues were with the subject matter.”

Filmmakingsays Tomhas its similarities and distinctions to making a record.

“When you’re in a studioyou can sit back and think‘Okaywe’re going to be in here for the next yeartake your timelet’s just start making some soundsnothing matters,” he explains. “Day one on a moviewhat you do that day is doneand if something doesn’t come offyou’re fucked (laughs). You have to be present and focused on every single thing that you capture to make sure what you have allows you to move on to the next day.

“I'm different to musicians who will sit downstart playing an instrumentwrite some musicand then go record it,” he continues. “I tend to to really lay in bed at night and conceptualise the type of song I want to write long before I grab a guitarand that's very similar to making a film where you're conceptualising a story – who's going to be saying these wordswhat they're going to be doing when they're saying these wordswhat location they're going to be inwhat the colour and lighting is going to be likewhat the music is going to be like underneath it. It’s a lot of Tetris pieces in your headand I do that with music as well.”

Inspired by the “classic Spielberg and Amblin films” – The GooniesE.T.influences that seep from every inch of Monsters – Tom grounded the story and characters in his own life and upbringing.

“[Those movies] showed that families aren't perfectthat kids have a hard time growing up in[so] they're dreaming and trying to search for something that is bigger and better and more profound than the life that they're livingthat's so painful and difficult,” he says of his attachment to his cinematic references. “But the kids that were in [those movies] did not relate to mebecause I grew up with skateboarders and punk rock kids. I've actually really done these things [that the central characters do] – I've gotten in a big RV with my friendsand drove up to the tip of California to look for Bigfoot. I've gone to the desert looking for UFOs. I've gone to haunted houses late at night. This is the stuff we were doing when I wasn't out skateboardingyou know. The movie tells the story of the type of kids that I grew up with.”

Central focus Dallas is “veryvery close to me”Tom says. The movie’s lead character is driven to explore unexplained phenomena by the mysterious disappearance of his pilot fatherand the discovery of secret government research. The choice to use a paternal relationship as Dallas’ motivation is a deeply personal one.

“I had the same broken familywhere dad is gone,” Tom explains. “It's an engine to get Dallas out searchingand in my case it was similarand that difficult relationship brought so much hardship in our family that it’s what started me daydreaming about what this is all about. But I also think there's a lot of truth to this in the sense that we've had hundreds of pilots who have gone missing while encountering UFOs since the 1950s. In our story that's exactly what happened. A lot of people might think that's sensationalbut it's not. What people need to realise is there's a whole different definition to the matrix that we're living in that nobody is really prepared for. And the types of things that I'm doing these days are there to help people prepare for itbecause it's coming…”

Monsters Of California is a movie that sees Tom explore themes ranging from family to friendshipspirituality to humanity; it’s a film about growing up as much as it is about little green men. So whatin Tom’s eyesis his movie truly about?

“It’s an interesting question,” he says. “There's a scene in the beginning of the film where Dallas is sitting at a table with his momand they're arguing about religion. I think that's probably the truestmost authentic place from my own life. My mom is very religious. My dad was not. And I grew up being kind of indoctrinated into religion as a childand then flying very far away from that as I grew up and realised that none of that stuff appliesespecially once you learn the things that I've learned.

“But the spirituality component is veryvery realwhich is all we really care about in religion anyways,” he adds. “The truest thing in this storyfor meis learning that what we're all searching for in religionand what we're all searching for in understanding what the universe is and how it's unfolding to usis all constant and something we can all agree on: it's the only thing that matters.”

Despite thisall Tom really hopes anyone takes away from Monsters Of California is “that people know who I amknow what I've been involved in over the past few yearsand they come out of this with curiosity. That’s it. Because the things I have coming next are much more profound and serious…” ThoseTom hintsinclude “very elevatedambitious film projects that are coming on these subjects that are not popcorn munching things. You knowthey're much more pointed and severe in their intentions.”

“Film stuff takes a long timeyou know,” he says. “I work on these things for years. I’m juggling a lot of projects – some are at castingsome are writing outlinessome are in scriptsome are in production.” Between them allthere’s the small matter blink-182’s year-closing Missionary Impossible tourculminating at Las Vegas’s When We Were Young festival. “I’ll probably start doing some demos for blink here shortly as well,” he excitingly adds. “I've got to start working on recording stuff nowbecause I'll be gone for a bit of time when I would normally start next year…”

And with thatTom DeLonge waves us a cheery goodbye as he heads off in search of answersin search of enlightenmentin search of the next great pop-punk bangerand in search of the next great Bigfoot’s dick joke.

Monsters Of California is available on digital platforms in the UK now.

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