Courtesy of the Flaming Lips subreddit (this is google translated):

“This is the first visit to Japan since Michael Evans and Jake Ingals left. Steven didn’t participate in the tour either, but how has the live performance with the current members changed from the past?

Wayne: It’s been 16 years since Derek Brown joined the band, and he’s been with Matt Kirksey for a long time. We’ve had a lot of rehearsals, so we don’t feel that uncomfortable. Of course, the absence of Stephen, who has been there for a long time, may feel uncomfortable for everyone. However, as his rehabilitation took longer, it became normal to do it without him. Framing Lips is also almost 45 years old. If you keep going that much, a lot of things will happen. But without thinking too much about the future, I’m thinking about doing the live show in front of me first. I plan to travel around Europe in the summer, but if Steven can return, I will decide then.

To be honest, I was afraid that Steven would die. He was doing too many drugs and drinking, and I thought it would be really impossible to let the band continue like this. But now he seems to be out of the worst state, so I think the decision at that time was right. I don’t know what will happen. Ever since I met Steven in 1991, he has been drugged and drunk. Even so, it didn’t affect the performance that much, but at the end of the tour from September to October last year, he couldn’t even play anymore. We also got used to the fact that he couldn’t play properly. Strangely, music, bands, and drugs have always been a part of our lives.”

The weird thing is, it’s years since American Head and there hasn’t been any sign of new material, and that’s when Drozd was still in the band. Now he’s officially out, and apparently they’re in the studio. Which makes it seem like they were at some sort of creative impasse, and now for whatever reason Wayne’s eager to prove himself with this new version of the band.

It’s weird to think though that for 30 years it was Wayne, Steven and Michael, and in the time since their last album it’s now just Wayne.

The fans kind of seem to hate Wayne, who in fairness does come across as a dickhead a lot of the time (though actually not so much in the interview above). But it does sound like Steven brought this on himself by not keeping his shit together.

Even though he did a lot of the actual composing and arranging, I do get the impression Wayne was the one steering the ship in terms of their overall sound - for better and worse. So it’s possible he might be able to direct the new batch of musicians to do some good stuff.

I still think Priest Driven Ambulance is one of their best records and Drozd wasn’t on that.