Travis Barker

NUTHA JASON said:
come on stu...you would know who i was talking about here:


j

Frank Edwin Wright III...hmmmmm I'll look it up, but no. I'll guess first then go look.

Dead Kennedy's
Sex Pistols
The Clash


Any of them?
 
Oh man I feel dumb now.

How was I supposed to know that Tre' Cool was a stage name??? ;-)
 
yea they did a tour together so they are gonna be nice to one another... tre is alright...
 
Well they are Zildjian buddies too. In anycase, I think they are both better than the No Doubt guy ;-)
 
Alk3fan said:
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?

well speed is great and i think travis barker is great but ur right it would be better if he slowed down some times to give his songs a bigger Variety
 
drumfury said:
well speed is great and i think travis barker is great but ur right it would be better if he slowed down some times to give his songs a bigger Variety
i don't think he's that fast all the time. i think it's just blink 182's style. i think his boxcar stuff is slower.
 
I just listened to all of Boxcar, and I don't see too much difference. To demonstrate my love hate relationship with Travis' playing I'll post three files.

The first two demonstrate his obvious flare for nice big continuous roll sounds. The first one he plays 16th note feel doubles, and the second one he slows them down to play sextuplet feel doubles. They both sound really good, but here is the hate part:

I "guess" he is demonstrating his range as a rudimental drummer, however, these two snips are IDENTICAL playing (by the band too, same key, same phrasing concepts, similar tempo, everything). The only thing different is the use of sextuplets for the underlying rolls. It would be more interesting to just merge those two songs into one, and varying the type of roll he uses.

Listen for yourselves:

View attachment nice rolls.mp3
View attachment nice rolls2.mp3


Then there is what Tommy Igoe calls a "Groove Killer". This is the signature sound of Barker, and it just doesn't groove. It's all choppy and awkward. It is, in short, a Groove Killer!

View attachment groove killer.mp3

I'm must admit, I'm a bit disappointed. I like the fact he airs out the music a little better, but still, those damned groove killlers!

Heh, and I always though that song I Feel So was a Blink song (not that there is much of a difference).
 
stu, i guess its all on taste as far as what you see is a groove... did you check out track number 6... now that is some playing.. you didnt even mention that at all... seriously track six is an awesome grove... and i liked the one you posted its chopy but that is what he wanted... its just a matter of what he likes vs what you like its not a matter of his lack of skill.. b/c hes demonstrated in other songs and works he can do these pocket groves and such you like... good post tho

btw... you call your relationship with travis's music love hate....you obviously expressed your hate... what do you love... just my 2 cents.. thanks
 
Well, I love the big fat open rolls posted in the above, yet at the same time, I hate that it is the exact same thing, but in two different songs.

I love the little intricate things he does, but then again, I hate how it kills the groove. Sometimes I just think he lays down a drum track without regard to the song. Like he thinks of a cool beat and just records it, like the stuff doesn't fit.
 
Stu, listen to Blink's self titled cd, there are awesome accented snare roll solo's scattered around the breakdown's of the songs (go, asthenia) as well as some cool grooves (down, the fallen interlude). I know Blink can rely on the same format for their breakdowns quite a lot, but they sound great, so I don't really care.

As for your 'groove killer' attachment, I honestly think it adds to the song in this case; a nice dichotomy is created between his choppy beats, and Tom's ringing guitar - and the accents weave nicely around the vocals. I think you need to qualify in what way Travis 'kills' the groove before making this harsh criticism of him.

Dude, someting doesn't have to be a straight up rock beat, or jazz beat, or whatever to 'groove'; it's called creativity when drummers try something a little different and make it work (and I think Travis makes it work a LOT of the time). I know you 'don't get' Tool, but I think you should give them another chance if you want to know what a rock drummer that grooves creatively sounds like (since you obviously can't see it in Travis either).
 
Here is one of his grooves, not as busy as other ones he often does, which I think fits pretty well with the song.
 

Attachments

  • nice groove.mp3
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T-1000 said:
I know Blink can rely on the same format for their breakdowns quite a lot, but they sound great, so I don't really care.

I'll buy that. Hell nearly every Steely Dan cd sounds the same, as well as the Fagen solo stuff, and I still have it all (this is over a 30 year period too!) Ok, that is a gneralization, but you get my drift.

As for your 'groove killer' attachment, I honestly think it adds to the song in this case; a nice dichotomy is created between his choppy beats, and Tom's ringing guitar

ok, I'll buy that too, but it still sounds like a drummer playing a cool beat and not listening to the tune. I can sing/visualize a couple more grooving grooves as we speak. I think this is the thing I dislike most about his playing. Sometimes less IS more, and sometimes the silence is more important than the notes. Problem is, there is no silence in his playing.

I know you 'don't get' Tool, but I think you should give them another chance if you want to know what a rock drummer that grooves creatively sounds like (since you obviously can't see it in Travis either).

I said I don't get them, but I never said I don't like them. Actually I have pretty much their entire discography. I just don't understand the Cult of Tool following is all.

And again, for the record, Travis is a good drummer and I quite like Blink 182. On third/fourth listen, I'm starting to think Boxcar is even better. My problem comes with the Travis is GOD and he RULEZ comments. A little perspective is all.
 
Stu_Strib said:
I just listened to all of Boxcar, and I don't see too much difference. To demonstrate my love hate relationship with Travis' playing I'll post three files.

The first two demonstrate his obvious flare for nice big continuous roll sounds. The first one he plays 16th note feel doubles, and the second one he slows them down to play sextuplet feel doubles. They both sound really good, but here is the hate part:

I "guess" he is demonstrating his range as a rudimental drummer, however, these two snips are IDENTICAL playing (by the band too, same key, same phrasing concepts, similar tempo, everything). The only thing different is the use of sextuplets for the underlying rolls. It would be more interesting to just merge those two songs into one, and varying the type of roll he uses.
Listen for yourselves:
View attachment 4388
View attachment 4389
Then there is what Tommy Igoe calls a "Groove Killer". This is the signature sound of Barker, and it just doesn't groove. It's all choppy and awkward. It is, in short, a Groove Killer!
View attachment 4390
I'm must admit, I'm a bit disappointed. I like the fact he airs out the music a little better, but still, those damned groove killlers!
Heh, and I always though that song I Feel So was a Blink song (not that there is much of a difference).

remember when i said a couple weeks ago that travis was a great drummer, but in a couple of his songs it felt like he wasnt in pocket a little?? thats what i was talking about! i just didnt know what to call it. and for real, that boxcar son i feel so, we definitely jacked that snare line in a cadence at school for our line it was sweet!!!
tj
 
Long time lurker, thought I'd chime in on this.

I see everyone disecting his playing yet would you do the same to Ringo, or Charlie Watts? These two have been labeled the greatest rock & roll drummers by many but you don't see many posts saying "these guys suck, I could play that in my sleep". And Benard might ban you if you did :). I'm sure kids in the 60's were using the "Rulez" phrase of the time to describe them.

Simple or not when you hear just the drum parts to Beatles songs (boom-cha-baboom-snare-tom) you instantly know who it is. And I bet kids today could hear just the drum parts to Blink songs and know that it is Travis.

Bottom line is he fits their music well, and he's made a heck of a lot more money playing drums than any one on this board, which says he's doing something right.
 
laurenskye said:
Bottom line is he fits their music well, and he's made a heck of a lot more money playing drums than any one on this board, which says he's doing something right.

Man, (I apologize if you're a woman), Stu's gonna be all over you saying: 'this is exactly my point, just because a drummer is popular does not make him 'god''.

Anyway, Stu, if you wanna hear Travis playing less to play more, check out The Transplants'. Another creative groover: Will Scharf of 'Keelhaul' (seriously overlooked blues-y metal band).
 
I never said "god". I said he fits the music which in turn made him a lot of money. Same can be said for Ringo, Charlie, Bonham, etc. but very few rip their "simplistic" styles, even though they were given the "god" title from kids at the time. That is my point.
 
i'm with stu for this. i think he made some great points and his musical examples helped understand the opinion too. travis is a great drummer, so maybe he should stop proving himself.
 
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