TRAVIS BARKER

2007-07-02T01:18:00.002-07:00

Travis Landon Barker (born November 14, 1975) is an American drummer, who achieved most of his fame by drumming for the band, Blink-182. He currently is the drummer for +44 and has also played for side projects Box Car Racer, Transplants and Expensive Taste.

In 1996, Barker joined his first touring band, playing drums for The Aquabats as The Baron Von Tito. He recorded one album with them, The Fury of the Aquabats!, in 1997. His career took off when he joined up with pop punk/Punk Rock band, Blink-182 in 1998. Barker became known for his mohawk and his tendency to perform without a shirt, revealing a multitude of tattoos. Barker has since established himself as a versatile drummer, producing and guest appearing in music projects of numerous genres including hip-hop, punk rock, alternative rock, ska, rap, pop and even country.

His business ventures are as vast as his musical interests. He founded a clothing company, Famous Stars and Straps in 1999, LaSalle Records in 2004, as well as a Wahoo's Fish Tacos restaurant in Norco, California. Companies such as DC Shoes and Zildjian cymbals have co-designed products in his name.

Barker's marriage to former Miss USA, Shanna Moakler, was featured in MTV's Meet the Barkers (2005–2006). After filing for divorce in 2006, his marriage trouble and personal life have been scrutinized in the media following a public MySpace battle with his wife and a brief relationship with Hilton Hotel heiress, Paris Hilton. Moakler recently announced that the two are making a fresh start and working it out for their children.

Early life

Travis Barker was born in Fontana, California. Barker received his first drum set from his mother at the age of four. He began taking drum lessons at the age of five, when he studied with a jazz teacher named Michael Mai and was exposed to many different styles of music.

The day before starting his freshman year at Fontana High School, Barker's mother died. After her death, Barker became more serious about drumming. He joined marching band his sophomore year and made the snare line. During high school he performed 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 and The Aquabats.

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Blink-182, 1998–2005

n 1998, Travis Barker was touring with The Aquabats, under the stage name "The Baron Von Tito". Blink-182 was also on the bill, and when then-drummer Scott Raynor left the band, Travis was asked to fill in. This required him to learn the entire set (over 20 songs) in less than two hours and perform them at that night's show, in addition to playing a set with The Aquabats. Travis' efforts earned him much appreciation and respect, and an offer to join Blink-182, which Barker accepted.

With Barker, Blink-182 released their best selling album to date, Enema of the State (1999), followed by Take off Your Pants and Jacket (2001), and Blink-182 (2003). After 7 years of drumming with Blink-182, in February 2005, the band announced they are taking an "indefinite hiatus".

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Side projects, 2002–present

Barker says he has always been interested in many genres of music outside of punk rock, especially hip-hop. In a 2002 interview with MTV he says, "I probably listen to more hip-hop and drum'n'bass than I do punk rock music, and same with Tim and Rob..". Not being able to explore these interests within Blink 182, Barker participated in several side projects during the time he was playing for Blink-182 including Box Car Racer, Transplants, and Expensive Taste.

Box Car Racer is a side project begun with Tom DeLonge of Blink-182 in 2002. This project resulted in one self-titled album which was released that year. Tom said he asked Travis to play drums so that he wouldn't have to find and pay a session drummer to come in. This throw away comment was the catalyst for the eventual friendship breakdown between the two.

Transplants is a hip-hop induced punk band for which Travis partnered with Tim Armstrong of Rancid and Rob Aston (former roadie for Rancid). Transplants released two studio records as well as a remixed version of their second album which was chopped and screwed by rapper and hip-hop artist, Paul Wall.^[5] The first album released by Transplants was their self-titled album in 2002. The second Transplants record, Haunted Cities, was released by LaSalle Records in June of 2005. After the Vans Warped Tour of 2005, the band members decided to call it quits. This was confirmed by vocalist Rob Aston in January of 2006 during an interview.

Barker has produced for or worked on albums with the Black Eyed Peas, P!nk and Pharrell Williams. He appears on Bun B's album, Trill (2005) with Skinhead Rob for the bonus track, "Late night creepin". In 2006 he was a producer on T.I.'s fourth album, King. Also in 2006 he played drums for several songs on Avril Lavigne's third album.

In late 2005 Travis started a new band, +44 with fellow Blink-182 member Mark Hoppus and in 2006, Travis and Rob Aston joined Paul Wall in forming a new hip-hop group called Expensive Taste.

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Influences

His influences include everything from Run-D.M.C. to King Diamond to the Clash.^[4] He has stated that a few of his favorite drummers are Stewart Copeland of The Police, Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe, Ringo Starr of The Beatles, and Keith Moon of The Who.

When Barker was a teenager, he was apparently treated rudely by veteran drummer/producer Bill Stevenson of Descendents, whom Barker admired. Barker has since repeated this story, omitting Stevenson's name. This experience helped to shape how he relates to his own fans now. He is well known for being generous with his time - signing autographs and taking pictures with fans for extraordinary lengths of time.

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Business ventures

Barker owns and contributes to several businesses in addition to his musical interests. He founded an accessory/apparel company called Famous Stars and Straps in 1999 which sells street/skate style clothing and gear. Travis has said the brand's trademark "F" for the logo was chosen for its resemblance to a car logo but mainly for the fact that it can stand on its own.

He also co-founded LaSalle Records, a record company to which his band, Transplants, are signed. He has also dabbled in the restaurant industry, opening a Wahoo's Fish Tacos restaurant in Norco, California.

Travis has also developed a shoe for DC Shoe Company called the "Alias Remix" and is endorsed by Orange County Drum and Percussion and Zildjian. He also has his own line of drumming products, sponsored by Zildjian.^[10]

In 2006, Barker began the process of filing for the trademark "The Phenomenons". The trademark application indicates the name will be used for a band and possibly a clothing line but that remains to be seen.

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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. 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 biceps, 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 racing 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 mudflap girls on his chest as well as a pair of 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, 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 the name of his first wife, "Melissa," just above the racing flags on the side of his neck. He has his son's name Landon on his left wrist.

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.

Travis also has a tattoo-quote by Henry Brooks Adams stating "Chaos Often Breeds Life, When Order Breeds Habit"; the quote is tattooed around Barker's neck, and can also be found on the spine of the Box Car Racer CD case.

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 $30,000 on his body art.

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Relationships

Travis has been married twice. He first married his relatively long time girlfriend, Melissa Kennedy, on September 22, 2001. The couple divorced August 6, 2002 after 11 months.
Barker married actress and Miss USA 1995, Shanna Moakler, on October 30, 2004. The couple had a Gothic-style ceremony inspired by the Tim Burton film, The Nightmare Before Christmas, which was held on the eve of Halloween.Barker and Moakler have two children together, Landon Asher and Alabama Luella. Atiana Cecilia de la Hoya is Moakler's daughter with former boyfriend Oscar de la Hoya. The family appeared in a reality television series, Meet the Barkers, which aired on MTV from 2005-2006.

On August 8, 2006, Barker filed for divorce from Moakler after nearly two years of marriage.The couple's divorce was made public as each used their MySpace pages to air their feelings on the matter. During their separation, Barker had a brief fling with Hilton Hotel heiress and socialite, Paris Hilton in September, 2006.

Despite their pending divorce, reports surfaced in early 2007 that Barker and Moakler were "quietly trying to give it another go" as they were reportedly seen autographing a fan's book, with a heart around their names.

In March of 2007, Moakler revealed to People magazine that she and Barker (still married) are indeed back together, but denied that she was pregnant. This admission came after the couple was publicly affectionate at a surprise birthday Barker threw for his wife in Miami.

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Equipment

Drums: Orange County Drums and Percussion in Type 4 Glowstick Green Acrylic

22 x 24" bass drum
6.5 x 14" vented snare drum
10 x 12" rack tom
14 x 16" floor tom

Cymbals: Zildjian

14" K Mastersound Hi-Hats
11" K Custom Hybrid Splash
20" K Crash/Ride
24" K Light Ride
21" A Sweet Ride
20" Oriental Crash Of Doom

Hardware and Pedals:

Heads:

Remo

Sticks:

Zildjian Travis Barker model drumsticks

Percussion:

LP [latin percussion]

Electronics:

Roland

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Film and television

Travis has appeared in numerous films and television shows, most notably his own reality show, Meet the Barkers, with his 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, he also appeared and spoke on MTV's Icon show honoring heavy metal band Metallica in May of that year. In 2006 Barker starred in a Boost Mobile commercial, 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, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, 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 2001, he appeared with Tom Delonge and Mark Hoppus in the skit "Leave it to Blink-182", a parody of "Leave it to Beaver", on the late night TV show MADtv. 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. Travis Barker appeared as a judge on the MTV reality show Say What? Karaoke.

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Videos

n addition to his own work with Blink-182, Box Car Racer, Transplants, and +44, Barker has made numerous guest appearances. In 2001, Barker appeared, playing drums, in P. Diddy's video, "Bad Boy for Life",. In 2003 he played the drums in Bubba Sparxxx's video for "Back In The Mudd". He was featured in the opening sequence of the Dem Franchise Boys music video, "Ridin Rims," in 2006. Travis 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)" and also the "Doe Boy Fresh" video. He was also featured on the Outkast music video "Morris Brown" and can be seen playing drums in The Game's AOL Session.

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Trivia

-Travis Barker is left handed
-Travis Barker has a resmblance to WWE superstar Shannon Moore because of their mohawk and numerous tatoos.

TRAVIS LANDON BARKER (Travis Baker-Blink 182)

TRAVIS BARKER

Early life

Blink-182, 1998–2005

Side projects, 2002–present

Influences

Business ventures

Tattoos

Relationships

Equipment

Film and television

Videos

Trivia