Breakup with longtime member: What's known about Stephen Drozd's departure from The Flaming Lips

After 33 years together, The Flaming Lips, known for their extravagant performances and music, has apparently terminated their contract with multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Stephen Drozd. There has been no official statement from the band yet, but this became clear due to his absence from concerts in the outgoing year and a subsequent message on the social network, which was soon deleted. Drozd himself said only briefly: "They got rid of me, but we don't talk about it." Confirmation of the breakup was drummer Matt Duckworth Kirksey, who spoke in defense of Wayne Coyne, the band's frontman, and stressed that the whole situation was due to his influence. Over the long history of the band (more than 40 years), it was visited by twenty musicians, but Wayne Coyne remains the only permanent member of the band.