When you look at most rankings of the top drummers in the world, it's understandably filled with legends who are either no longer with us or long past their prime. These names include greats like John Bonham, Keith Moon, Buddy Rich, or Ringo Starr.
However, there is one drummer consistently ranked among the greatest drummers of all time who is not only still putting out No. 1 albums but has arguably never been more famous or culturally relevant than he is right now: Travis Barker of blink-182.
Travis Barker
Born on November 14, 1975, in Southern California, Barker has been one of the most influential figures in modern music throughout his career, bringing his polished technical chops to an otherwise chaotic and juvenile band in blink-182 before adding his percussion to high-profile rap artists and eventually becoming a notable producer.
While Barker rose to fame as part of the pop-punk trio blink-182, joining the band in 1998, he previously had technical training in a marching band setting – even auditioning for the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps – as well as jazz. He even has a "TB" logo on his bass drum head to pay homage to the iconic "BR" that Buddy Rich had on his reso head throughout his career. That technical training helped Barker elevate blink-182 from a simple SoCal skater-punk band to the polished hit machine it became.
As soon as Barker joined the band, blink-182 took off, with albums Enema of the State and Take Off Your Pants and Jacket selling over 15 million and 14 million copies, respectively. Barker instantly became one of the most recognizable drummers on the planet. That fame only rose in the following years when he began to partner with hip-hop artists like Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Ludacris, and Soulja Boy.
More Popular Than Ever
While Barker initially rose to fame more than two decades ago, he is arguably more popular and relevant right now than he's ever been before.
Over the past several years, Barker has built a career as asuccessful career as a producer, even hitting No. 1 on Billboard's Rock Producers chart in 2020 thanks in large part to his production credits on MGK's "Bloody Valentine," jxdn's "Angels & Demons," and Iann Dior's "Sick & Tired." He was the sort of architect behind the pop-punk revival of the early 2020s.
But he's been making waves with his own music, too. Back in 2023, blink-182 released its latest album One More Time... which Barker both produced and helped write alongside bandmates Tom Delonge and Mark Hoppus. The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, outperforming Enema of the State. A few months before the album's release, Barker and blink-182 served as a headliner at the Coachella Music Festival in California and the Lollapalooza Music Festival the following year.
Barker's fame has risen outside of music, as well, as the drummer officially married reality superstar Kourney Kardashian in 2022. Since then, he has made regular appearances on the Hulu series The Kardashians. He's also moved into the health and wellness space, and even has his own line of products.
One of the Best Drummers of All Time
While Barker is still enormously famous and actively making chart-topping music, he is also ranked amongst the greatest drummers of all time.
In its list of the 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time, which has not been updated since 2016, Rolling Stone ranked Barker as the No. 99 drummer of all time.
"Blink-182's Travis Barker is one of the most famous drummers of the new millennium thanks to his hardcore sensibility, skater aesthetic, hip-hop energy, pop appeal and reality TV-ready baby face — not to mention his ease working with EDM superstars or rappers, and DJ-ing in his spare time. It's a well-rounded attitude towards rhythm that elevates everything he does," Rolling Stone wrote of Barker at the time.
Other, more recent lists, however, rank Barker even higher. ClassicalMusic.com ranks Barker at No. 32 in its list of the greatest rock drummers of all time.
"Barker brought a marching band’s precision and hip-hop’s flair to the world of pop-punk. Known for his incredible speed, stamina, and creative use of the entire kit, he turned the genre’s drumming from a basic four-on-the-floor into a high-octane display of technical dexterity and showmanship," the outlet wrote of Barker earlier this month.
In 2024, Gear4Music ranked Barker even higher, listing him as the No. 16 drummer of all time.
"Travis Barker is renowned not only for his work with Blink-182 but also for his extensive collaborations across multiple genres. He blends punk rock with hip-hop rhythms, and this has led to work with artists like Machine Gun Kelly, Lil Wayne, and Post Malone, with him often adding live drum layers to hip-hop beats," the outlet wrote. "Barker’s drumming technique is fast, aggressive, and precise, with a signature use of rapid snare rolls and heavy kick drums. He also frequently incorporates rudiments and drum fills that reflect jazz and marching band techniques, adding depth to his otherwise raw sound."
With blink-182 still touring and actively making music, you have a chance to see one of the greatest drummers ever at his prime.
from Men's Journal https://ift.tt/Km2SGkA
No comments:
Post a Comment