It's always a bit out of the ordinary when you see raw emotion sweep over the normally hard exterior and party persona of a rock star. In Travis Barker's case, however, the emotions are completely warranted as for the first time ever, the Blink-182 drummer sat down with Good Morning America's Chris Connelly, fighting back tears as he detailed the fiery plane crash that uprooted his entire world and how his children are responsible for saving his life.
On Tuesday (Oct. 20), the 39-year-old drummer divulged exactly what he was thinking as his chartered Learjet crashed upon takeoff on Sept. 19, 2008, in South Carolina, People reports. "I'm so soaked in jet fuel," Barker explained. "And then we realize - you know, we're out of the plane - and then the plane explodes."
Barker and his late pal DJ AM were two of six people involved in the Learjet crash, four of whom died from the accident. DJ AM (Adam Michael Goldstein) may have escaped death in 2008 but less than a year later, he suffered an accidental drug overdose.
Enduring severe burns on up to 65 percent of his body, Barker had to undergo intense treatment and a total of 27 surgeries. "I stayed in burn centers for like the next four months," Barker said. "That feels like hell."
In his recently released memoir, Can I Say: Living Large, Cheating Death and Drums, Drums, Drums, the Blink-182 member revealed he thought of taking his own life. He went to extreme lengths, calling up friends saying that he's willing to deposit a million dollars into the bank account of whoever would help him. During this dark period, Barker credits his an ex-wife Shanna Moakler's children, 12-year-old Landon and 9-year-old Alabama with saving his life.
"It was just hard for them to see me in the state that I was in," he said as he fights back tears. "You know, they color in class. Everyone's drawing pictures of their family or what they did on the weekend. Landon's drawing a picture of a plane crashing." The musician has put his previous drug addiction to rest and now focuses on music in the years trailing the accident although he's yet to step foot back on a plane. He tells his kids, however, "When you're ready to fly, I'm ready to fly."
Most recently, Barker and Mark Hoppus of Blink-182 have severed ties with long-time band member Tom DeLonge, moving forward with Alkaline Trio's Matt Skiba. The newly crafted trio has been working on fresh material, including a track called "Pop Punk Cliché."
