Ask a random person on the street for one member of Blink-182, and the name you're most likely getting is Travis Barker's. We're talking an iconic rock band with numerous hits likely to go off in any karaoke room -- it's pretty remarkable when your biggest star is the drummer (and not even the original!). You don't get to that kind of celebrity just by practicing a lot.
Then again, all Barker seems to do is practice: when he's home by himself, waiting to pick up his kids, or in between studio takes with Kid Cudi. "People are like, what are you practicing for? There’s no show coming up!" Barker laughs, calling Billboard from his Los Angeles home. He's always ready: Ready to power through "All the Small Things" for the umpteenth time, to hop behind the kit to play along with some A-list DJ's set he's never heard before, or to lay down percussion for Hans freakin' Zimmer. This is all stuff he's been up to lately, or will be upon the arrival of Blink-182's follow-up to its 2016 chart-topper California -- their first album with Alkaline Trio's Matt Skiba in place of guitarist Tom DeLonge. As Barker reveals, expect this more sooner than later.
The past decade hasn't been easy for Barker. In 2008, he narrowly survived a plane crash that left him with severe burns on most of his body and required months of grueling rehabilitation. After kicking addictions borne out of the trauma, he's ten years sober -- and ten years vegan, too. Matcha and CBD have replaced old habits. But speaking with him, you get the sense that more than anything, it's his 'round-the-clock, creative hustle that keeps him winning. "I'm blessed," he says. "Whatever's happening, as long as I can work through it, I'm good."