SANTA MONICA — “Everything, absolutely everything, means more to me now,” said Travis Barker, the 33-year-old drummer in blink-182, following one of the first performances by San Diego’s most successful rock band since it broke up four years ago.
The pop-punk trio’s spirited appearance yesterday at a taping for Fuel TV’s “The Daily Habit” show came less than nine months after Barker was one of two to survive a South Carolina plane crash that killed four people.
It took Barker’s near-death experience to reunite the estranged members of blink after they acrimoniously disbanded in early 2005. The group, which has sold more than 13 million albums, launches its reunion tour July 24 in Las Vegas and plays Sept. 16 at Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre in Chula Vista.
Its local performance will be exactly one year after Barker suffered second-and third-degree burns from his feet to his waist and on both hands when the Learjet he was on crashed on take-off. Two passengers, the pilot and the co-pilot were killed.
The Fontana native has since undergone more than a dozen surgeries and spent more time in hospitals than he cares to remember. But there was no visible or audible sign of his injuries yesterday, when more than 100 fans jammed the small studio to watch blink-182 soar back into action. The show will air June 19.
As singer-guitarist Tom DeLonge, 33, and singer-bassist Mark Hoppus, 37, rocked out in front of him on the TV soundstage, Barker drummed with typical flair and finesse. Although the band was required to do several consecutive run-throughs of blink favorites “The Rock Show” and “Feeling This,” his percussive attack grew more energetic and intense with each new rendition of the songs.
“The only time when I feel free is when I’m behind my (drum) kit,” Barker said. “That’s when I don’t have my mind racing about, or dwelling on something, whether it’s the past or the future. It’s my time, when I’m just in it and I don’t think about that (crash) now. I just zone out. Playing the drums is my favorite place to be.”
In a separate interview yesterday, DeLonge and Barker both sounded older and wiser as they discussed the band’s reunion – and the tragedy that led to their getting back together.
“I like to think this is something positive (coming) out of something very tragic,” DeLonge said. “ … The fact that the three of us can get together, for whatever the reason, means a lot to a lot of people, especially ourselves.”
Barker is uncomfortable discussing the crash that nearly took his life. But he left no doubt that being back together with blink is exactly where he wants to be.
“Oh, it’s so fun,” said the drummer, who is married to former Playboy model Shanna Moakler and has two children. “This is a breath of fresh air.”
Barker, who was prev...
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Tags: BLINK STRIKES BACK!!!!!!, Interview
