The Best of 2016: Blink-182

After false starts, soap opera twists and a lot of questions, Blink-182 finally put out a new album this year, which was a surprise in itself. What's more surprising, however, is how great ‘California' is. More than a legacy act churning out some of the same, the record is cohesive, true to the form of old but still takes it someplace new. Self-aware without trying too hard, it balances reckless abandon with heartfelt care. If you ever wondered what a Blink-182 record in 2016 was going to sound like, ‘California' is all your hopes coming true. It's a feeling shared by the band, as Travis Barker explains. Hello, Travis. You've had a busy 2016, how's it all been for you? It’s been an amazing year. A really great year. The Blink-182 tour was fun, I just played the AMAs the other week, that was fun. For me, every week there's a new highlight. Speaking of Blink, you released ‘California’ earlier this year. Looking back on it, how do you feel about that record? It's a great album; I thought it was incredible when we wrote it. It's one of our best pieces of work to date, and it's going to age well as well. What inspired the record for you? It was just that’s where we were at the time, and those are the songs we wrote. We didn't go in saying these are the kind of songs we're going to write or this album is going to stand for this. It was an album inspired by our lives in California, and some of the things we've seen living in LA and relationship wise, something each of us has been through but really, we're just talking about real life stuff that we've experienced. Were you worried about the reaction? From the outside, it felt like there was a lot that could go wrong. Y’know, I wasn't super worried about it. I knew no one had heard it and no one knew what we were doing, but I knew we were onto something. I knew that we made an incredible album and it was something that I could be very proud of, it was just a matter of time before everyone heard that. We weren't able to record an album for so long. There was so much going on with the band internally - not everyone wanted to go into the studio, not everyone wanted to tour - but once Matt [Skiba] came and filled in at Musink Festival and came into the studio, it was a green light from there. Nothing could stop us. Were you expecting the reaction that it got? I hoped fans would love it and I felt like we were very genuine and true to ourselves in what the album sounded like, and in it feeling like a Blink-182 album. I was stoked to hear fans say they loved the album; that was confirmation, and you feel proud. The fans have waited so long for an album, we thought we made an incredible album and then to find out the fans supported it… The fact we didn’t let anyone down was rewarding. Not letting down the fans of Blink-182, is that important to you? To me, that’s really, really important. When we were making the album there were conversations saying, ‘Lets put nine songs on the album', and I was like, ‘Everyone's out of their mind. We need to put as many songs on as possible. We haven't delivered an album in so long.' We owe the fans so much, and I feel like we gave it to them. And what does the future hold for Blink-182? Right now it's just the beginning. The future is we're finishing the deluxe edition of the album, and we're coming to the UK and Europe next summer to tour. Deluxe edition? It's still being worked out, but it's really cool. I know two of the songs that are going on it and I love them so, so much. I almost wish they were on the album. Why give people more music? Why not? I guess it's expected when you come out with an album; you come out with a deluxe version, and we had so many songs left over but that wasn’t good enough for us so we wrote a couple more songs. Matt and Mark [Hoppus] went into the studio for three or four days while I was rehearsing for the AMAs and then I went in yesterday and did all my drums. No part of this album felt like work. It comes with ease. With Mark, Matt, myself and [producer] John Feldman, there’s just such great vibes and energy. The reaction to ‘California’ has been great, that’s got to be pretty validating? I just think it’s a matter of, we’re finally being allowed to do what we want to do and have the freedom to do what we want to do. There's no one and nothing holding us back, and it's just green light from here; it feels great. The fans continue to grow with the band and continue to support the band year after year. And why do you think people still care about Blink? I'm not a music scientist, so I don't know the exact formula for why it works, but I think it's the same reason that someone will go and see The Rolling Stones or The Eagles year after year. Generations learn to love the band. We see young kids at our show as well as people in their twenties and people in their forties that love the band. It really has been this eternal youth band that people feel like they don’t outgrow. They want to go, have a good time and feel young. They want to relive the memories of when an album came out and they were a huge fan, or those new fans who have just heard a new band and love ‘Bored To Death’. That’s the biggest reward, people saying they love the new stuff as much as the old stuff or getting a crowd reacting to the new stuff like old classics. Does the legacy of the band put you under pressure? Do you worry that there are these generations of people you need to impress? No, we have to impress ourselves. We have our own standards. We don’t want to make new music and have people go, ‘nah, we want to hear the old stuff’. The new stuff has to be as great as the old stuff. I don’t think we’d even put out albums if it wasn’t. And besides from Blink, what else have you been up to? I am finishing a remodel at my studio; I have tonnes of projects I'm working on. I'm working with Vic Mensa on his album, Yelawolf on his album. I play with a lot of different artists when I'm home, so in the last three weeks, I've played with D.R.A.M, who has a big song in the States called ‘Brocolli’, played with Vic Mensa, Steve Aoki, and I've just done some stuff with The Chainsmokers and Halsey. I love all my time in Blink, but when Blink isn't doing stuff I'm just blessed to play music, and that's what makes me happy, every day creating something. You play music with so many different artists, does playing those blink songs with Matt and Mark feel different? Yeah, Blink is my band. I love all my time in Blink but when we're not doing stuff, I'm just blessed to play music, and that's what makes me happy, every day creating something. Blink is the only rock band I play with, except when Transplants decided to play a show here or there, and the other stuff I’m just playing with different artists is just a totally different vibe. Playing with blink is like a fist fight, it’s a stamina contest, an endurance contest. I’ve always listened to everything. I grew up on everything. I grew up playing everything. I don’t like being boxed into a genre; I hate that. It's the worst, and I want nothing to do with that. Life's too short, and there's too much good music out there to be close-minded. I love the melting pot of genre. I just love rules being broken. Things you still want to achieve? Tonnes of stuff, but I take life week by week. Week by week I'm surprised and blessed with whatever comes my way. I love what I do, and it feels amazing to do what I love for a living. I don’t think too hard about it; I just roll with punches.