Travis Barker

Wild In The Streets On Tour With Lil' Wayne

JAM Magazine Speaks With The Experimental Percussionist

Photos courtesy of TravisBarker.com

Travis Barker knows all about luck. It's been a constant companion his whole life, whether he knew it or not. Unfortunately, it took a tragic accident for him to fully realize just how blessed he is to have the invisible talisman on his side. Then again, over the past 35 years, there have been numerous signs along the way to indicate there was something special about the musician.

Over the years, the father of two has experimented with just about every style of drumming he could think of. Those forays into sound have led to numerous musical adventures almost all percussionists would find a bit too unorthodox, let alone challenging, to ever contemplate doing. Not this California native. Over the past few years, he has established himself as a drummer's drummer. He's produced and made guest appearances on numerous music projects over the years. Along the way, the former Baron Von Tito has even found time to add mix master to his vast repertoire of skills. The past several years has also seen the talented artist gain significant prominence within the tight-knit hip-hop community. Rap artists often call on his versatile talent to help incorporate rock-tinged remixes to their songs.

This past month, the musician released his first solo album, an emotional endeavor he called Give the Drummer Some. Before finishing album work on his newly constituted day job, Blink-182, the versatile artist is on tour promoting his new disc with Lil' Wayne, Nicki Minaj and Rick Ross through the end of April. He's opening the show with friend Mixmaster Mike, one of the foremost hip-hop turntablist's in the world. With that said, it's time to "Meet the Barker."