Born in 1975 in Fontana, California, Barker was urged to pursue his musical talents by his mother, who died the day before he entered high school. Barker followed her advice and eventually worked his way onto the touring roster of the Aquabats, who shared a number of tour dates with up-and-coming headliners blink-182. When blink's original drummer departed in 1998, Barker permanently joined the lineup, remaining with the highly successful band until its demise in 2005. Barker continued to work with Mark Hoppus in the band +44 while pursuing other ventures, including a hip-hop project with Rancid's Tim Armstrong and a reality show for MTV. He also released a number of remixes in 2007, putting his personal percussive stamp on Rihanna's "Umbrella" and Soulja Boy Tell Em's "Crank That." Barker continued to hone his skills as a producer before releasing his star-studded solo album Give the Drummer Some, a 2011 album that featured guest spots from rap titans Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, and Ludacris. A year later he partnered with rapper Yelawolf for the rap-rock EP Psycho White. ~ Andrew Leahey