Travis Barker is an American musician, lyricist, and producer. He became known to many after joining the group Blink-182. He regularly holds solo concerts. He is distinguished by his expressive style and incredible drumming speed. His work is appreciated not only by numerous fans, but also by authoritative music critics. Travis is on the list of the coolest drummers in the world.
For a long creative activity - Travis collaborated a lot with hip-hop artists. Until 2005, he was listed as the founder and member of the rap-rock band Transplants. In addition, he is inextricably associated with the bands Antemasque and Goldfinger.
Travis Barker's Childhood and Youth Years
The artist's date of birth is November 14, 1975. He was born in a small California town. Travis was brought up in a large family. In addition to him, the parents were engaged in raising two girls.
The parents of the cult drummer had nothing to do with creativity. The head of the family realized himself as a mechanic, and his mother worked as a nanny. By the way, it was his mother who motivated Travis to make music. She even gave her son his first drum set.
Michael May himself became the mentor of the beginning musician. He willingly took up his training, because he saw great potential in the guy. A little later, Travis also learned to play the trumpet.
He grew up as the most creative child. During his school years, he took piano lessons and also sang in the local choir. With all his love for music, he did not think about becoming a professional artist. He dreamed of more mundane professions.
Over time, the realization came that he gets frantic pleasure from playing the drums. Then Barker increasingly began to take part in prestigious competitions, festivals and other musical events.
The creative path of Travis Barker
At the end of the 90s, Travis managed to become quite a famous musician. The first group that allowed me to get a good experience of working in a team and on stage was the Aquabats team. There, the musician worked under the creative pseudonym Baron von Tito.
During the same period of time, he received an offer from the members of Blink-182 to become part of their team. Travis' skill surprised the entire composition of the then little-known team. The first rehearsals showed that the artist professionally plays the instrument. The frontman made the decision to keep Barker on the team.
With the advent of a new artist, the team was at the top of the musical Olympus. Longplays were sold at the speed of the wind, concerts gathered dozens of spectators, and videos - a lot of positive comments.
In addition to the team that brought Travis prestige and world fame, he played in the Box Car Race. When Blink-182 was forced to take a creative break, the drummer started his own project. His brainchild was named +44. In this group, he played until the Blinks reunited.
Solo work of the musician
Since 2011, he has also tried himself as a solo artist. This year the premiere of the musician's first studio LP took place. The record was called Give The Drummer Some. By the way, musicians playing in different styles took part in the recording of the collection. Such an experiment was highly appreciated by fans and music experts.
He multiplied his popularity with a series of Drum Solo concerts. At the performances, the artist demonstrated a brilliant playing on the rams. The inimitable playing technique, combined with a frenzied charisma, in fact showed that Travis has no equal.
The musician continued to play solo and as part of Blink-182. During this period of time, he also created some cool alternative projects. Travis did not forget about interesting collaborations.
In 2019, he presented a cool mix, in which the band $uicideboy$ took part. In the wake of popularity, he recorded a Falling Down remix (featuring Lil Peep and XXXTentacion).
A year later, the musician continued to perform as a solo artist, as well as collaborate with the main project. In the spring of 2020, Travis and Post Malone held a benefit concert. The money raised was used to fight the coronavirus.
Travis Barker: details of his personal life
The personal life of the artist turned out to be as rich as the creative one. The first wife of the musician was the inimitable Melissa Kennedy. This marriage lasted a little over a year.
Then he married Shanna Moukler. The former "Miss USA" struck the artist with her beauty and femininity. Their wedding took place in the Gothic style. Photos of the newlyweds graced the covers of prestigious magazines.
At first, the marriage of two lovers was like paradise. Shanna and Travis became the parents of two children. But, the relationship soon deteriorated. The birth of a son and daughter did not save the couple from scandals and mutual claims against each other. In 2006, they filed for divorce.
But it soon became known that the couple had not divorced. They rejected the application. The couple spent time together, traveled and vacationed at resorts. Then there was information about the pregnancy of the model. Later, they appeared together at one significant musical event, holding hands. This finally confirmed the speculation that the couple were together. But, in 2008, Travis officially confirmed that he was a bachelor.
He then had a brief relationship with Paris Hilton. A year later, journalists learned that the artist again intends to renew relations with Shanna. For several years they tried to reunite, but in the end, they decided to leave. This time it's final.
Since 2015, he has been in a relationship with a girl named Rita Ora. After 4 years, he was spotted with a new girlfriend - Kourtney Kardashian. However, in an interview, the drummer commented that they are just friends with Courtney.
Already in 2020, Travis was forced to take back his words. On social media, he posted a group photo with Kourtney, and it was far from friendly. In 2021, the drummer got a tattoo with the name of his beloved on his chest.
Plane crash involving a musician
In 2008 he was in a plane crash. The artist was supposed to fly out with the rest of the band on a charter plane. The guys that day were supposed to perform at a private party.
Since childhood, he was afraid to fly, so the trip cost him a lot of effort. During the flight, an accident occurred. The plane lost altitude and crashed into the ground. This accident claimed the lives of almost everyone on board the aircraft. Only Travis and Adam Holstein survived.
They received burns, but survived. The musician's condition was close to critical. The artist underwent more than 10 surgical operations. He received blood transfusions several times.
Travis experienced this not the easiest period of his life hard. In an interview, he said that he thought about committing suicide. Before that, he did not eat meat, but now the doctors simply insisted on the intake of protein in the body. He underwent rehabilitation, which concerned not only the restoration of physiological parameters. He worked with a psychologist. The artist blamed himself for Still's death. In 2021, Barker got on a plane again with the help of his girlfriend Courtney.
Travis Barker: interesting facts
- He collects vehicles and bicycles.
- A drummer almost always carries an exercise bike and a Yamaha DTX electronic drum set with him on tour.
- He is featured on the list of the 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time.
- After rehabilitation, Travis returned to the old rituals. He again eliminated animal products from his diet.
- His body is "painted" with many tattoos.
- He has experience on set. The musician tried his hand as an actor.
Travis Barker: Today
In 2020, Barker and Machine Gun Kelly recorded the LP Tickets to My Downfall, which was released at the end of September. Together with Jaden Hossler (jxdn) he released the track So what!. In 2021, he released the Wrong Generation feature with Fever 333.
Travis also said that the team Blink-182 working on a new album. The material of the future album, yet untitled, is 60% ready. The collection will be a continuation of the 2019 LP Nine. In addition to the main members of the team, Grimes, Lil Uzi Vert and Pharrell Williams took part in the recording.
