D R U M M E R   M A G A Z I N E   A R T I C L E
by Matt Schild

"I'm glad I'm not a punk rock drummer, and that I know more than punk rock. Otherwise I would be really ashamed of myself," declares Travis Barker, Blink 182's latest stickman. Barker had his work cut out for him when he joined the band following the explosive success of 1997's Dude Ranch (Cargo)- especially as they went in to record their major-label debut for MCA. Unfazed, Barker had his own agenda for where his infulence would pop up in the band's songwriting on Enema of the State.

"There were some things that were never done on the albums prior to my joining the band," he explains. "when I joined I wanted to make things more interestings, whether it was a fast song, a mid-tempo song, or a rock song."

Before taking his place at the Blinker's stool, Barker was no stranger to the silliness the band built its name on. Most recently drumming with goofball ska outfit The Aquabats, Barker cut his punk rock teeth with the Enema sessions.

"I've never been in a punk rock band or recorded a big record like this. I've always played in different types of bands. It was kind of weird."

Fleshing out the band's sense of arrangement was Barker's biggest objective when agreeing to lend his skills to the trio. "Let parts be recognized as parts, so you know when a chorus is going to happen, or that this is the intro," he says. "That was my goal."

Finding ways to spruce up the band's arrangements wasn't hard for Barker, who added tempo shifts to the band's arsenal. "On 'Anthem' the choruses are half-time, and on 'Party Song' I'm doing a 4/4 bridge with a little jumpy tom beat. We did that on purpose, because on the other records they put out, all the double time songs stayed double time. We try to make things as different as possible - but without getting too technical and ruining the sing-along part of the song."