The Surprising Artists Blink-182’s Travis Barker Was Raised On

Despite being in one of the most well-known pop-punk bands of all time, Travis Barker was raised on some legendary old-school country artists.Speaking with Bert Kreischer during an episode of the 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast, the Blink-182 drummer recalled a time when he was at a vintage shop in Canada and saw one of the employees wearing a Willie Nelson T-shirt.”[He] was coming to the show and he was a fan, and I’m like, This kid has the illest Willie Nelson shirt on,” Barker remembered, describing the shirt as being black and distressed with Nelson giving the middle finger. Fortunately, he was able to buy the shirt from the kid.The rocker added that his dad was a massive fan of Nelson, and as a result, he raised Barker on Nelson and other classic country artists including Johnny Cash and Buck Owens.”Buck Owens, the best,” Barker declared.The Blink drummer actually performed at the All-Star Tribute to Buck Owens at the Academy of Country Music Awards back in 2006 [via blink182forever.com].Buck Owens, ‘Act Naturally’While his dad may have helped kickstart his love of music, Barker started playing the drums on his own at a very young age.”I started playing on pots and pans,” he said, “and then my dad and mom thought they should get me a drum kit. And they were right.”READ MORE: 12 Rock + Country Artist Collaborations That Go HardFrom there, they offered to get him drum lessons and enforced a strict practice routine. Spending countless hours on the drums helped him develop his passion and confidence with the instrument, and thus he started playing in punk bands as a teenager.Perhaps Barker’s country upbringing is the reason he has such a diverse body of works and artists he’s collaborated with, from rappers to rockers and everything in between.”I listen to everything,” the drummer said a bit later in the conversation. “I grew up on rap music, like jazz and country from my pops, hardcore and punk rock. Anything that was involved in skateboarding as a kid kind of raised me.”Check out the full podcast episode below.The Surprising Artists Blink-182’s Travis Barker Grew Up On30 Photos Showing Travis Barker’s Tattoo Progression Through The YearsGallery Credit: Rob Carroll