Can I Say: Living Large, Cheating Death, and Drums, Drums, Drums

Travis Barker’s soul-baring celebrity 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 survival and 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 music 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.

How does a rock star survive when the music stops and the headlines fade?

• Rock Star Memoir: The dizzying highs and crushing lows of life as the drummer for the legendary punk band Blink-182.
• Addiction and Recovery: A raw, honest account of a serious drug addiction hidden behind constant touring and the difficult road back to sobriety.
• Against the Odds: The minute-by-minute story of the horrifying plane crash that nearly ended his life and the traumatic, inspiring recovery that followed.
• Fatherhood and Redemption: How becoming a father became the anchor in a life of chaos and the ultimate motivation for his personal reinvention.

Travis Barker is a musician, producer, and entrepreneur who rose to fame as the drummer for the influential punk-rock band Blink-182. Barker has also performed as a frequent collaborator with artists including LL Cool J, Eminem, Lil Wayne, Slash, Mary J. Blige, Tom Morello, and Cypress Hill, establishing himself as one of the most prolific rock drummers in the world. Barker founded clothing company Famous Stars and Straps in 1999 and LaSalle Records in 2004. He lives in California and is currently working on his second solo album.

Gavin Edwards is a contributing editor for Rolling Stone and has written for Details, Spin, and the New York Times Magazine. He is the author of eight books, including the New York Times bestseller VJ, which he cowrote with the original MTV VJs. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and their two sons.