Can I Say: Living Large, Cheating Death and Drums, Drums, Drums by Travis Barker

Published: October 20th 2015

Travis Barker’s soul-baring memoir chronicles the highlights and lowlights of the renowned drummer’s art and his life, including the harrowing plane crash that nearly killed him and his traumatic road to recovery—a fascinating never-before-told-in-full story of personal reinvention grounded in musical salvation and fatherhood.

After breaking out as the acclaimed drummer of the multiplatinum punk band Blink-182, everything changed for Travis Barker. But the dark side of rock stardom took its toll: his marriage, chronicled for an MTV reality show, fell apart. Constant touring concealed a serious drug addiction. A reckoning did not truly come until he was forced to face mortality: His life nearly ended in a horrifying plane crash, and then his close friend, collaborator, and fellow crash survivor DJ AM died of an overdose.

In this blunt, driving memoir, Barker ruminates on rock stardom, fatherhood, death, loss, and redemption, sharing stories shaped by decades’ worth of hard-earned insights. His pulsating memoir is as energetic as his acclaimed beats. It brings to a close the first chapters of a well-lived life, inspiring readers to follow the rhythms of their own hearts and find meaning in their lives.

This is one of the best musician memoirs I’ve ever had the privilege of reading. I, like many others, have been a Travis Barker fan since his days in Blink 182. I followed his career from his brief stint on reality television, to his many musical endeavors as a drummer. Barker has an aura about himself that is just intriguing. He is unique, a seemingly quiet soul that has finally opened up to the world in the pages of his book. It has always been evident that he led a hard life, this book goes into explicit details of how rough his life has been.

The concept of working hard was embedded into his brain since he was a child, and this has consistently defined him–he always worked hard, even when addictions and chaos took their toll on his private life.

It was interesting to read about Barker’s love for drumming as a child. Idolizing The Muppets is not something you could easily connect Barker with today. This sense of innocence is rare to find in the Barker family and their story. Even as an adult, Barker holds on to the memory of being a child fascinated by the sounds of an instrument. Moments of childhood bliss are very precious and often rare to find.

Very graphic, disturbing and raw–nothing is sugar coated or glossed over.

” Dreams don’t work unless you do.”