“Falling from the sky like Icarus, probably does some crazy sh*t to your head…” – Machine Gun Kelly.
Travis Barker: Louder Than Fear documents the life of arguably the greatest drummer of our generation, Blink 182’s Travis Barker. The documentary features other top tier percussionists: QuestLove (The Roots), Stewart Copeland (The Police), Lars Ulrich (Metallica), Sheila E. (Prince), Tommy Lee (Motley Crue), and the late Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters), sharing their take on Barker’s unique drumming style and passion.
“Travis has a very unique style; instantly identifiable.” – Lars Ulrich (Metallica)
“Savage Accuracy.” – Mark Hoppus (Blink-182)
If you’re looking for a Blink-182 documentary, you won’t find it here. While Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge, and former Blink guitarist Matt Skiba appear in the film, the story of Travis Barker is more than that of a successful SoCal drummer. Yes, Barker certainly found tremendous fame performing with Blink-182 and collaborating with artists across all genres. But his story is about a boy who lost his mother at a young age, a man who survived a devastating plane crash, and an addict who became sober. The story of Travis is one of a man who has overcome all of his demons. And his reason is simple: his family.
“Every time he hits a drum, there’s a part of his anger that comes out. There’s a lot of pain in Travis” -Travis Barker & Blink-182’s Manager Lawrence Vavra
The doc focuses on the fallout from Travis’ devastating plane crash in which he was one of only two survivors. The two pilots, his security guard and friend Che, and his right hand man and best friend Lil’ Chris all perished. The only other survivor was DJ AM, who passed away 11 months later from a drug overdose. In the film, Barker shares his journey of trying to muster up the courage to one day get back onto a plane. We all have forms of trauma in our lives, and Barker is no different. Travis goes from traveling across the Atlantic on a boat to leaning on his family to muster up the courage to one day fly again.
One of the truly inspiring parts of the film is how much family means to Barker, and how they are the reason for his resilience to not only engage and overcome his fear, but also overcome his addiction and become a better man. This is truly where the heart of the film lies.
“Every single hit is him communicating his story to the world.” – Yungblud
Louder than Fear must be commended for its phenomenal cinematography as well as the usage of ambient drums as almost a soundtrack of sorts at times. This was a unique technique used in some of the more emotional scenes in the doc, notably when Barker almost completely breaks down.
Travis Barker: Louder Than Fear is not only a tremendous ode to lifelong Travis Barker fans but also a truly inspiring story of one man’s journey to continuously overcome and move forward, one beat at a time.
This writer would be remiss, if he could not add this personal note. Barker was a huge influence and inspiration on my life as a drummer in high school. Playing music in bands and in marching bands actually kept me out of trouble and truly provided me with a lifelong identity as a drummer and creative. For that I am forever grateful.
