band's reformation. DeLonge found out via the TV news at an airport while waiting to board a flight; within minutes, he was crying in his seat. "I thought he was going to die", says DeLonge, who quickly reached out to his former bandmate, mailing him a letter and photograph. "Instantly after the plane crash, I was like, 'Hey, I want to play music with him again'". DeLonge was the first to approach the subject of reuniting, and Blink-182 announced their reunion, a new album, and a reunion tour in February 2009 at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards. Blink-182 embarked on a reunion tour of North America from July to October 2009, supported by Weezer and Fall Out Boy. The tour was successful, selling out amphitheaters nationwide: "I was completely blown away and dumbfounded by how big that reunion tour was. [...] We were very fortunate, very blessed", DeLonge later said. "And truthfully, that's why we continued, because we were so blown away. We were like, "Wow, we got to suck this up and start acting like adults because this is beautiful'". 2009–present: Recent work The recording process for Neighborhoods, the band's sixth studio album, was stalled by their studio autonomy, tours, managers, and personal projects. The band members produced the record themselves following the death of Jerry Finn, their former producer that also served as an invaluable member of the band. DeLonge recorded at his studio in San Diego while Hoppus and Barker recorded in Los Angeles. Completion was delayed several times, which Hoppus attributed to the band learning to work by themselves without Finn, and both DeLonge and Hoppus expressed frustration during the sessions at the band's cabal of publicists, managers and attorneys (which DeLonge described as "the absolute diarrhea of bureaucracy"). DeLonge later expressed dissatisfaction at the method of recording for Neighborhoods, conceding that it led to a "loss of unity" within the band. The album was released in September 2011 and peaked at number two on the Billboard 200, but undersold expectations. Blink-182 left Interscope Records in October 2012, becoming an independent act. The band subsequently released Dogs Eating Dogs, an EP, in December 2012. The group planned to enter the studio to write and record their seventh studio album in January 2015, due for release later that year, but after delays attributed to DeLonge, the band issued a statement announcing his departure. In a press release,