Flaming Lips Drummer Responds to Steven Drozd Exit: ‘The Show Is Better Than Ever’
The Flaming Lips are addressing the departure of longtime multi-instrumentalist Steven Drozd, with drummer Matthew Duckworth Kirksey insisting that the band remains creatively energized and committed to its future.
Speculation about Drozd’s status began circulating last week after the musician appeared to confirm his exit in a now-deleted Threads post. Responding to a comment about whether he was officially finished with the band, Drozd wrote, “They’re done with me but we’re not talking about it. So yes, I’m moving on.” The comment marked the first public acknowledgment of his absence after months of questions from fans, as Drozd had not performed with the band since late 2024.
Drozd, who joined the Flaming Lips in 1991, was a central figure in the group’s evolution from cult-favorite psych rockers to Grammy-winning experimentalists. While he initially served as the band’s drummer, his role expanded significantly over the years to include guitar, keyboards, bass, backing vocals, and songwriting contributions that helped shape albums like The Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.
In response to growing online debate, Duckworth Kirksey posted a lengthy message on Instagram over the weekend, offering a perspective on life inside a relentlessly touring band and pushing back against narratives that the group’s creative core had been lost.
“Being in a band for a long time that never really stops touring is hard,” he wrote. “Some people can hack it for five years, some people can hack it for 25 years.” He acknowledged that numerous collaborators and bandmates have come and gone during his tenure, adding that many remain close friends and family.
Despite the emotional weight of Drozd’s departure, Duckworth Kirksey emphasized that the Flaming Lips are continuing forward with renewed momentum. “If you haven’t heard this newest iteration of the band, give us a shot,” he wrote. “The music, and the show is better than ever.”
He also addressed a recurring sentiment among fans that Drozd was the band’s primary creative force, while frontman Wayne Coyne functioned largely as a visual or conceptual figurehead. Duckworth Kirksey firmly rejected that framing: “NONE of this ever happens without Wayne,” he wrote. “This idea that Steven was the musical genius and Wayne is just some weirdo artist, it’s just not true.” He credited Coyne with consistently driving the band’s ambition, sound, and live production, describing his leadership as the foundation that has allowed the Flaming Lips to endure for more than four decades.
Drozd’s final appearance with the group appears to have taken place on Oct. 12, 2024, when the Flaming Lips concluded a co-headline tour with Weezer at the Acrisure Arena in Thousand Palms, California. When the band resumed touring in January 2025, guitarist A.J. Slaughter joined the lineup, handling many of the instrumental duties previously shared by Drozd.
Duckworth Kirksey closed his message by teasing new material, suggesting the band is entering another productive chapter. “There is new music on the way,” he wrote. “I think it’s the best thing we’ve done in ages. I can’t wait for you to hear it.”
