NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� The inferno rages onscreen three minutes into 鈥� : Louder Than Fear.鈥� Dashcam footage lifted from a police car shows the blaze: It’s 2008, and Barker has survived a plane crash in South Carolina. Four others did not.
And then, a cut. The documentary, which follows from 2017 to 2026, is a celebration of Barker’s life before and after the life-altering accident, a central event in a career full of them. The film began as a mirror of his memoir, 2015’s 鈥淐an I Say: Living Large, Cheating Death, and Drums, Drums, Drums,鈥� but became something else entirely after a producer suggested it end with the image of Barker, then still unable to fly due to post-traumatic stress disorder, walking toward a plane.
Ending on that note, 鈥渨here this thing still has power over me,鈥� didn鈥檛 sit well with him. Instead, he boards a plane at the end, but the documentary鈥檚 final images are a slide show of family photos, including his wife and kids.
鈥淚 almost died,鈥� he says. It 鈥渃ould be helpful to share my life.鈥�
An elastic artist
Barker’s resume is long, and a two-and-a-half-hour documentary can only cover so much of it. The film hits most of the big notes, quickly establishing Barker as a rebellious kid with a supernatural drumming ability from age 4, when he got his first kit, to now, at 50.
And that’s with many projects in-between: From the SoCal punks Feeble, which he joined while working as a trash collector, to his stint in the ska band The Aquabats and multiplatinum, pop-punk legends Blink-182 鈥� the band that skyrocketed Barker into superstardom.
Also covered? His love of skateboarding and car culture, his clothing brands, side-projects Box Car Racer and +44, turntable duo TRV$DJAM, various experiments and (Bun B, ) and beyond.
But it all began with drumming, and hilariously enough, Animal from 鈥淭he Muppets鈥� 鈥� his first drumming hero 鈥� until he discovered cross-genre greats like Dennis Chambers and Elvin Jones as well as Tommy Lee.
鈥淲here drumming got really serious for me was after my mom passed, so it was therapy,鈥� he says, reflecting on his childhood. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like my life. It鈥檚 like oxygen to me.鈥�
It’s also a kind of sport. Barker has long been a dedicated, athletic percussionist, and he likens it to a boxer’s meditative state. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like when you see a fighter and he just goes for broke the first round. There鈥檚 sometimes where I just feel like that,鈥� he says. 鈥淪omething just takes over my body.鈥�
Many events in life threatened that euphoria, but none quite as physically as the plane crash. 鈥淚 was in a burn center for six months on morphine and I had 30 surgeries,鈥� he recounts. 鈥淪eventy percent of my body was burned.鈥� At one point, he didn’t only fear if he would be able to drum again 鈥� even walking was a question mark.
Lessons from tragedy
Even before the crash, Barker’s life 鈥� as marked with musical triumphs as it has been 鈥� offered lessons in resiliency.
鈥淲hether it was my mom passing away or my plane crash, I learned 鈥� and through watching friends of mine and just living life 鈥� I鈥檝e seen traumatic experiences either destroy someone or define them,鈥� he says. 鈥淓very loss I had, or every everything I took to the chin, it made me stronger. At the time, I can鈥檛 realize it, right? I can’t like really wrap my head around it. But … that鈥檚 why I went so hard and I was so determined to play music and so determined to succeed. Plan B was only making Plan A work. You know? There was no Plan B.鈥�
The same tenacity can be applied to his and dedication to flying again 鈥� a journey emboldened by his family. 鈥淚 fly all the time now and I feel turbulence and I can鈥檛 even tell you what鈥檚 going on in my head. And I just look over and he says. 鈥淢y son loves airplanes and plays with airplanes and it鈥檚 so innocent. It鈥檚 so beautiful.鈥�
鈥淭hey鈥檝e been my greatest joy,鈥� he says of his children, who grow up on screen across the film’s near-decade of filming.
As someone who has lost a lot and thought about what it would be like to lose even more, when it comes to the topic of legacy, Barker has a simple dream. 鈥淚 think I鈥檇 want to be remembered for my music and my drumming and being a great father, husband, and son and brother,鈥� he says.
As for the doc? 鈥淢aybe my story helps somebody,鈥� he pauses. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 love how everything happened. I don鈥檛 like the losses that happened. But I like how hard I had to work. I like that I wasn鈥檛 born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I liked that I had to navigate and find my way. And the journey was awesome.鈥�
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
