Photo Credit: Ekaterina Gorbacheva
Tensions between Steven Drozd and Wayne Coyne appear to have played a major role in the collapse of their long-running collaboration in The Flaming Lips. Once regarded as the band’s core creative partnership, the two musicians have now gone their separate ways. Recent comments from Drozd shed light on how communication between them broke down entirely.
According to Exclaim, Drozd revealed that their relationship effectively ended during difficult period in his personal life, particularly while he was seeking treatment for substance use. After a tour in 2024, Drozd entered rehab for alcoholism, describing a cycle of treatment, relapse and returning to rehab again. It was during this time that he says Coyne abruptly cut off contact.
Drozd explained that after reentering treatment, “Wayne just stopped communicating with me,” leaving him in the dark about both their personal relationship and his future in the band. He added that no one from the band reached out for an extended period, even as the group continued performing shows without him. This silence created uncertainty, with Drozd initially believing that communication might eventually resume.
Over time, that hope faded. By mid-2025, Drozd said he had come to terms with the situation, concluding that his time with the band was over. The lack of communication became, in his view, the clearest signal that the partnership had ended.
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