Travis Barker
Travis Landon Barker (born
November 14,
1975) is the drummer for
(+44), although he is best known for playing drums for
blink-182. He also played for
Box Car Racer,
The Transplants,
The Aquabats (as Baron Von Tito),
The Vandals, and the
Suicide Machines. He is known for his
mohawk,
tattoo-clad image and
virtuosity on the drums.
Early life
Travis Barker was born in
Fontana,
California. Barker received his first drum set at the age of four. He was exposed to many different styles of music and studied with a
jazz teacher in his youth. Barker also claimed in a
Playboy interview that he lost his virginity in seventh grade to a cheerleader older than him in her trailer. When his friends asked him about he didn't think much about it and said, "it felt like hot jelly".
["Travis Barker Sex Stories Interview" Playboy.com.] His mother's death, the day before he began high school, inspired him to become more serious about his drumming. During high school, he joined the jazz ensemble and made the
snare line in the
marching band. It was through this accomplishment that he gained experience performing at regional competitions and festivals. During his senior year of high school, Barker passed up drum corps tryouts to tour with a rock band. After graduating from high school in
1993, he gained more experience as a rock drummer in a few early bands including
Feeble,
The Suicide Machines, and
The Aquabats.
Barker's major musical influences include
Latin, jazz, and hip hop. He has stated that a few of his favorite drummers are
Stewart Copeland,
Tommy Lee of
Motley Crue , and
Keith Moon of
The Who.
'99 - '01
Still making records and touring with blink-182, Travis founded what has become a very sought-after clothing line called
Famous Stars And Straps. Travis has said the brand's trademark "F" for the logo was chosen for its resemblance to a car logo, for the fact that it can stand on its own. He also found time to explore his other musical interests in
hip hop and
rap. In 2001, he appeared playing drums in P. Diddy video, "Bad Boy for Life"
[Bliss, Karen. "Blink Drummer Plans New Band" RollingStone.com. August 24, 2001. Retrieved on July 29, 2006.].
'02 - '05
Between records with blink-182, Travis has released albums with other bands such as Transplants, which is a hip-hop induced
punk band for which Travis partnered with Tim Armstrong of Rancid, and Box Car Racer, a side project with
Tom DeLonge of blink-182. Box Car Racer released their self-titled album in 2002. Transplants released two records, the first being self-titled
Transplants in 2002. The second Transplants record,
Haunted Cities, was released by
LaSalle, a label created by Barker in 2004. Transplants have since broken up and Travis and former Transplants band members, Rob Aston and Paul Wall, have formed a new hip-hop band called
Expensive Taste.
After Blink
After having been the drummer for blink-182 for nearly a decade, in February
2005 the band announced they were taking an "indefinite hiatus". He has since joined a new project,
(+44), which is a
synth-based
rock band. For this, Barker was recruited by blink-182 bassist,
Mark Hoppus, and former vocalist of for the all-female punk band
Get the Girl,
Carol Heller . Since this announcement,
Heller has left the band , and will no longer be part of the project. Instead,
Hoppus has drafted in
Craig Fairbaugh (formerly of
Transplants) and
Shane Gallagher (formerly of
The Nervous Return), both guitarists, to fill the void . In addition, Barker has copyrighted
The Phenomenons for a band name.
Barker continues to stay involved with other genres of music. He has worked on albums with the
Black Eyed Peas,
Pharrell Williams,
Bun B, and he was featured in the opening sequence of the
Dem Franchise Boys music video, "Ridin Rims," in 2006. In 2006 he was a producer on
T.I.'s fourth album,
King. Travis has also appeared in Xzibit's music video "Hey Now (Mean Muggin')", T.I.'s video "What You Know", and Three 6 Mafia's "Side 2 Side (remix)" video.
Fans
Barker is known for his friendliness with fans and admirers. Several years ago, the now-defunct
CDNow.com posted an interview wherein Barker recounts that, when a teenager, he was treated rudely by veteran drummer/producer
Bill Stevenson, whom Barker admired. Barker has since repeated this story, omitting Stevenson's name.
Tattoos
Travis' first tattoo was the word "BONES" (a nickname when he was a kid) on his leg which he got when he was 17 years old.
["Travis Barker" PunkDisasters.com. Retrieved on July 29, 2006.] Another notable addition is the phrase "SELF MADE" spelled out across his knuckles which he got in
2000.
Some of Travis' numerous tattoos include religious art as he says he was brought up
Catholic.
He has a portrait of
Jesus above his left bicep, hands in prayer on the left side of his head (visible with his signature
mohawk) and a sacred heart.
He has a few tattoos that symbolize his love for cars and Cadillacs in particular - two race flags on the side of his neck with the number 66 which symbolizes the year of his favorite Cadillac and a Cadillac emblem surrounded by mud-flap "trucker ladies" on his chest as well as spark plugs.
Much of his body art is devoted to his love of music such as the phrase "
Can I Say" which is the name of
Dag Nasty's first album, a microphone, and a
boom box on his stomach for his love of
breakdancing when he was growing up.
He also has the word "HOPE" on his back because of the
Descendents' song and something positive after his mother's death. He has another tribute to the Descendents on his leg - the cover art to the album,
I Don't Want To Grow Up, and drumsticks and musical notes on his right arm.
Travis also makes several tributes to his family with the phrase "familia" on his arm, Japanese flowers on the back of his neck with a heart that says "Mom", and another heart with "SHANNA" on the banner.
He also has an old relic, the name of his former wife, "Melissa," just above the racing flags on the side of his neck.
He considers his right arm his "good luck arm" and so has many luck emblems tattooed on that arm such as a deck of cards, dice, a dollar sign, his lucky number seven, a skull with the number 13 in the eye sockets (13 is a lucky number in the tattoo culture), and a rabbit's foot, in addition to a martini glass, his initials, a devil from Black Label skateboards, and a spider web surrounding his elbow.
In explanation of his large number of tattoos Travis has said, "I tattooed my body so I couldn't fall back on anything. I purposely did that so I couldn't get a normal job and live a normal life. I did it so I had to play music." Travis claims to have spent over $30k on his body art.
["Artist Bio" Artistopia.com. Retrieved on July 29, 2006.]Family
Barker wed
American television and film
actress and
1995 Miss USA Shanna Moakler on
October 30,
2004, in a
Gothic-style ceremony inspired by the
Tim Burton film The Nightmare Before Christmas held on the
eve of
Halloween.
["KINDRED SPIRITS: On Halloween Eve, rocker Travis Barker wed Shanna Moakler in gothic style." People Weekly v62 i20 p78. November 15, 2004.]. The two have two children, Landon Asher and Alabama Luella, together, and a third, Atiana Cecilia de la Hoya, by Moakler and former boyfriend
boxer Oscar De La Hoya. The family appeared in a
reality television series,
Meet the Barkers, which aired on the
cable television network MTV in
2005 and
2006. On
August 8,
2006, Barker filed for
divorce from Moakler.
["Meet the Barkers' Travis, Shanna Split" People.com. August 8, 2006. Retrieved on August 9, 2006.]["Blink-182 drummer files for divorce" NineMSN.com. August 10, 2006. Retrieved on August 10, 2006.]Barker was married once previously, to Melissa Kennedy, between
September 22,
2001 and
August 6,
2002.
(+44)
Little Death October 24 2006
The Aquabats
The Fury of the Aquabats! (
1997)
blink-182
See blink-182 discography for full listEnema of the State (
1999)
The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show: The Enema Strikes Back (
2000)
Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (
2001)
Untitled (
2003)
Greatest Hits (
2005)
Box Car Racer
Box Car Racer (
2002)
Expensive Taste
TBA (Set for 2006 release)
Transplants
Haunted Cities (
2005)
Transplants (
2002)
Travis has appeared in numerous films and television shows, most notably his own
reality show,
Meet the Barkers, with wife
Shanna Moakler which debuted in
2005. In
2003, he appeared in an episode of
MTV's
Punk'd, a
Candid Camera-esque television show, in which he took part in a set up bareknuckle boxing match. In
2006 Barker starred in a
Boost Mobile commercial
["Travis' TV AD" BoostMobilePivotalMoments.com. Retrieved on July 29, 2006.], which was detailed in an episode of
Meet the Barkers. He's also played a few guest starring roles such as a rapper on the popular crime drama,
, and a voiceover for an episode of
The Simpsons. He's been a presenter for several award shows such as the
Much Music Awards in
2002 and the
MTV Video Music Awards in
2000. In a slight departure from his usual genres, he made an appearance on the 41st annual
CMA Awards in
2006, performing a medley of songs by country icon
Buck Owens with a group of artists including
Dwight Yoakam,
ZZ Top guitarist
Billy Gibbons, and former
Byrds bass player
Chris Hillman ["Chesney, Dixie Chicks in spotlight at award show" Reuters.com. May 24, 2006. Retrieved on May 25, 2006.].
Film and television
Videography
| Year | Song | Band | Notes |
|---|
| 2005 | "Gangsters and Thugs" | Transplants |
| 2004 | "Always" | blink-182 |
| "Down" | blink-182 | |
| "I Miss You" | blink-182 |
| 2003 | "Feeling This" | blink-182 |
| "D.J. D.J." | Transplants | |
| "Diamonds and Guns" | Transplants | |
| 2002 | "I Feel So" | Box Car Racer | |
| "There Is" | Box Car Racer | |
| 2001 | "First Date" | blink-182 |
| "Stay Together For The Kids" | blink-182 |
| 2000 | "What's My Age Again" | blink-182 |
| "Man Overboard" | blink-182 |
| 1999 | "All The Small Things" | blink-182 |
| "Enema of the State" | blink-182 | |
Barker owns an accessory/apparel company called
Famous Stars And Straps which he started in
1999, and
LaSalle Records, a record company to which
Transplants are signed. Travis developed a shoe for
DC Shoe Company called the "Alias Remix" and is endorsed by
Orange County Drum and Percussion. He has also opened a
Wahoo's Fish Tacos restaurant in
Norco, California.
["Biography for Travis Barker". IMDB.com. Retrieved on July 29, 2006.]He also has his own line of drumming product, sponsored by
Zildjian, which includes
["Artists: Travis Barker" Zildjian.com. Retrieved on July 29, 2006.]:
*Travis Barker Signature Drumsticks
*Travis Barker Double Drumsticks (these feature a small mallet tip on the butt end of the stick)
*Travis Barker Stick Bag
*Travis Barker
Cymbal Bag
*Travis Barker Tour Drum
MicKit
picture* Founder of
Famous Stars And Straps.
* Owner of
LaSalle Records.
* Travis collects
Cadillacs.
* Travis is
left handed but plays drums
right handed.
* Is a
vegetarian.
* Broke his foot whilst getting off a stationary bus whilst on tour in
Australia - He actually broke his pedal foot, so he had to switch the way he usually plays as well as cancel shows. He also filmed the video for "Down" by blink-182 in Australia with the broken foot.
* Travis has made cameos in many hip hop music videos
*
Travis' drum kit and equipment list*
Travis Barker, blink-182, (+44), and Angels And Airwaves fan site featuring news, facts, quotes and more
*
Travis Barker by aliens-exist.net*
Video of a Travis drumsolo*
Travis Barker Joins the Gumball 30002005.
*
Interview at ThePunkSite.com (
10 December,
2003)
*
Artist Feature at DRUM! Magazine (June
2005)
*
Travis Barker at DrummerWorld.com
