I was a huge fan of the early 2000s pop-punk music scene. Honestly I still listen to it more than most music. My husband is a massive Blink-182 fan and I’m very familiar with their music as well. When I saw that Barker had a memoir out, it seemed like a logical read for me. I’ve gone through a lot of rock memoirs and novels lately so it seemed like time to add another one into my reading mix.
Cover image via Amazon
Can I Say: Living Large, Cheating Death, and Drums, Drums, Drums by Travis Barker with Gavin Edwards
Summary from Amazon:
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.
As a casual Blink fan, I knew very little about Barker and the inner workings of the band. I liked the chronicle of Barker’s childhood and how he came to be in the bands he performed in. I had no idea about his business success with Famous and his own record label. It was really interesting to hear about his other musical endeavors as well. I never would have guessed he would perform with so many other artists and be a part of groups in so many different genres. I did have some major issues with the writing in this book, however. Barker is not a writer so I can’t fairly hold him to the same standard I would for someone who made their living in that medium. However, I found the writing really frustrating. So many things were characterized as awesome, amazing, cool, rad, etc. that it started losing it’s meaning. Barker was very dry in his descriptions of a lot of things and it made it hard to get invested. He went into a lot of detail about his sex life which I thought was a bit off topic seeing as how it felt like that got more words than his music at many points in the book. Knowing there was a ghost writer to this, I wonder what it read like before he had a hand in it.
I think Barker described himself very realistically. He was honest about things he messed up on and flaws that he had. One thing that seemed out of place was how he was so forthcoming about his downsides, that the exerpts from folks saying kind words about him almost seemed out of place. He was often described as quiet but kind and polite, but the general narrative was how he seemed to be a bit dismissive and brusque. I think that comes from the writing style. Without the addition from his friends and family, I think I would have had a worse impression of him.
I liked how Barker gave others a chance to describe things in their own words as well. It was cool to hear from the other musicians he collaborated with and hear the positive things they would say about his talent and dedication. That was another area where he was very humble and didn’t speak a lot about so the additional commentary was necessary to learn how much his talent pushed him toward his success.
There wasn’t a lot I could relate to in this book. Barker’s rock and roll life style is very different from mine and the industry I’m in is nothing like the music industry. He was rubbing shoulders with household names constantly and the level of fame he’s achieved is astounding. The lack of emotion in his writing made it hard to engage on that level which kept me at an arm’s length.
Travis Barker Image via Rotten Tomatoes
Probably because of where I am in my life, but I loved when Barker described his relationship with his kids. It was very sweet to hear about he gets so involved in the things they love and supporting them. It was great to hear how he brings them on tour as much as possible to expose them to new and different things. In many ways, he’s an exemplary father.
Barker when into a lot of details about his sex life in the early part of the book that I thought were unnecessary. They didn’t help me understand him as a person or develop what I felt was the main focus of the book, his involvement in the music industry. It often felt a bit like he was bragging about the women he’d been with more than anything.
Barker commented many times on how he was judged based on his appearance. He was pulled over by a cop, asked to leave his kid’s school, and not accepted amongst the rich (even though he was richer). I think that’s a great message to hear. He may be covered in tattoos, wear skateboarding brands and ripped clothing, but he’s a dedicated father, sober, a vegan, and a very disciplined musician. Not everyone can say the same about themselves.
Writer’s Takeaway: I think there were times this book was confused about what it wanted to say. I think Barker wanted to focus on his musical journey from origin to where it is today. There were obvious things to add to this, such as his relationships with his family and personal struggles he had with drugs. Some parts of his life were very public such as his plane crash and his marriage which needed to be addressed. However, it felt like there was so much he wanted to talk about, so many collaborations he felt needed to be mentioned, that there wasn’t much space left for emotions. We got very scant impressions of how Barker felt about a lot of the things that happened to him or that he did and it left me feeling like after 400 pages, I still don’t know much about him.
Overall, a bit of a disappointment but a good insight into a lifestyle drastically different from my own. Three out of Five Stars.
Until next time, write on.
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Tags: Blink-182, Book Review, Can I Say, Travis Barker
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