Travis Barker

Alk3fan

Pioneer Member
Among what i see through teenage drummers and listeners, Travis Barker is highly over rated. Most teen drummers talk about how 'awesome' Travis is and how he is 'the best'. Mainly they think that being lightening fast determines a good drummer. That's all i hear my peers talk about. No doubt Travis is an excellent drummer, but i would rather see him be admired for his excellence than how fast he can move or being Blink 182's famous drummer. Personally, I much prefer Mr. Barker as the drummer for the Transplants rather than Blink 182. And how come Steve Gadd or Vinnie Colaiuta hasnt had a TV show?

Does anyone agree with my opinion or am i just talking nonsense?
 
So you're saying he's both fast and excellent, but you'd prefer him to be admired for his excellence rather than his speed? Believe me, there are plenty of people admire him for the "right" reasons.

=-)

http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/Travis_Barker.html

travisbarker.jpg
 
I guess i cant quite get the point across i was trying to make. Or maybe its just me talking nonsense. hah.
 
i can see what your sayin. personally, i think travis is a very talented drummer, i just think he should work on his feel.



PS.and the reson steve gadd or vinnie don't have their own tv show, is directly because their were never really popular like him in the non drummer world. but they have something he doesn't............instructional DVDS!! yay.. haha so that means we can try and be the next them!!
peace
 
haha. I was just kidding around when i said why didnt they have their own shows.
 
Travis is a good, well trained drummer, that's all. End of story.

He is just more popular among non drummers (and young drummers who were non drummers :D ) than, for example Billy Cobham (who is, no doubt, genious)...

Actually I liked what Bernhard sayed in some of his posts... (not precisely what he sayed, something like that)''if people start playing drums because of him that is good!'' They eventually sooner or later will go into complicated stuff
 
jammaster said:
Travis is a good, well trained drummer, that's all. End of story.

He is just more popular among non drummers (and young drummers who were non drummers :D ) than, for example Billy Cobham (who is, no doubt, genious)...

Actually I liked what Bernhard sayed in some of his posts... (not precisely what he sayed, something like that)''if people start playing drums because of him that is good!'' They eventually sooner or later will go into complicated stuff

Yeah nicely said!
 
I love this forum! This is the only forum on the internet (yes, I've checked them all, hehe) that can have an intelligent discussion about Mr. Barker without a huge fight breaking out.

My opinion is that his playing style is difficult to play, yet highly annoying. Other bands and drummers play difficult parts with music that can be slightly-to-extremely annoying, but I like them (Rush, Chic Corea Elektric Band, Cobham, Steely Dan, Dream Theater). The drumming in these bands is so amazingly talented and difficult, that it makes it easy to look past whatever annoyance the rest of the music brings (Rush's vocals, Corea/Cobham/Steely Dan dated 70s sound, Dream Theater's pretentious difficult-just-because music). The same can't be said for Blink-182. He obviously doesn't suck, but his taste is far different than mine and much different than the legends like Gadd and Coliauta.

I've also noted on more than just a couple of songs, Blink 182 has real problems with their tempo. It may be intentional by the producer, but I'm never a fan of studio music that has obvious tempo variations.

His videos on drummerworld are the worst examples of good drumming of all the ones Bernhard has posted. Everytime someone says how 'awesome' Travis Barker is, I ask for some sort of amazing footage (such as that new Benny Greb guy), but nobody can come up with anything. Every video I've seen is just him playing semi-fast 16th notes, marching drum style, with lots of flashing lights. He is much better than that on some of the Blink-182 recordings, but again, he plays stuff just to play stuff, and it gets annoying.

Thanks for the mature discussion on this topic, and lets hope all the "Travis Barker RULZ!" crowd stays away from this thread.

stu
 
I agree with most of what people say about Travis being popular. I guess he deserves a place in drummerworld due to popularity and that's about it. He isn't playing anything that hasn't been played before. There are some drummers in that genre who don't get enough recognition. Brooks Wackerman for Bad Religion being one of them. Travis is a lucky a guy, he was in the right band at the right time. Blink182 are a bunch of good looking guys who play music that appeals to a demographic that likes to buy lot's of merchandise and music. He has his show on a channel that like to sell lot's of crap to a certain demographic that is known for buying lots of crap due to watching that certain channel. There is no mystery there. I think as far as his solo's are concerned they lack texture and feel. There is no build or culmination into anything. He shows off how fast he can play and badly segways into an off tempo break-beat. Not impressed.
 
The deal with Travis Barker is that he isn't a highly-acclaimed and talented drummer like Vinnie or Gadd or Cobham, but he is still extremely talented. Travis Barker is a high-class celebrity, no argument needed there. Because he is a huge celebrity people who don't know drums will see him and say, "Wow this guys amazing." Their facts are based on what they think makes a great drummer, and usually it's speed, their "look," and power.

Then there are people like most of us who are drummers and have seen what it takes to be put up on the pedestil as an amazing or unbelievable drummer. When Travis Barker is compared to many other drummers out there he may fall short, but he has the upper hand over them because how many drummers are as massively main-stream as Travis Barker. For example if Vinnie C., Virgil Donati, or Cobham were as famous as Barker in every way, then maybe people would realize what it takes to be a great drummer. You get what I'm trying to say? Travis Barker has just set a standard for the non-drumming community and those who don't know much about drums

So in the end Travis Barker is a great drummer, but not an amazing drummer (i.e Cobham, Rich, etc.)
 
^^^ what he said. I thought he was really good when i first heard him, then i listened to more technical stuff (Dream theater for one) and realised that barker isnt god, just good.
 
Barker isn't a bad drummer but I don't think he's very good either. He gets done what he's supposed to do in his line of music, but he doesn't really try to innovate or improve like Wackerman or even Freese.
A lot of people argue about his corps background, as do people with Joey Jordison, the little rudiment video on here didn't really impress me either. It was very show-style with the stick clicks and kind of crass but that could be because I'm used to listening to real corps drummers perform amazing shows with great ease. What he did is very high-school level.
 
GRRRR it pisses me off the fame travis gets, i honestly do not think he is anything special, or really that fast....i see his solos on this site, almost all snare, and he needs some big ass stuff going around him in order to get a rise out of the crowd. i do think the only reason he is regfaded as the best drummer is becasue of his band;s fame, mostly becasue people are ignorant to classic and prog rock..i mean bozzio, peart, or portnoy are so much freakin better but, he gets all the fame....it sometimes makes mewant to kill someone
 
he puts on a good show, that is about it. he is fast yes, but can he groove? NO. his tempo is usually always fast. and i hate blink 182. he is every non-drummers favourite drummer, because he is fast, has a mohawk, and lots of tatoos.
 
haha ^^^ very funny post. Back when I first started drums i would think Travis was such an awesome drummer, then I started to listen to slipknot and thought joey jordison was an awesome drummer. But as time went on and I did my research, and really started to become more innovative with my drums, I noticed that travis and joey arent everything, yes they are extremely fast, and of course joey is, but I think I have a little more respect for joey, because he has a background in jazz, yet i havent seen him play jazz, but i would like to. Anyways back to Barker, good drummer, can put on a show, but that is what he is... he is basically a show, but i think in the next 5 or 6 years you will see a new barker since he is getting in to this whole producing gig, and learning music, maybe you will see him slowly evolve in to a better drummer, you never know, so do dont hate cuz hes get a fine ass wife also
 
I like him ok as a drummer, but as a person he seems like an egotistical jerk. Maybe i'm way off here, but thats the vibe i get from all his T.V. apperances and interviews. He's all "I'm so hardcore."

His style of drumming is very simplistic, which doesn't bother me, but "punk" drummers usually are self-taught and aren't articulate at all. I think he stresses "image" both visually and auditorily rather than expanding his sound. That makes him suck.
 
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