Travis Barker Talks 'Heavy' New Blink-182 Songs

'I wanna work on it while we're on tour,' Barker says of the long-awaited new record.

Travis Barker has never been one to sit still. And when it came to his role in the reunited Blink-182, that wasn't necessarily a good thing.

"We all got together and met up and, almost immediately, we got inspired. So it went from just playing around together to being like, 'Let's lay down demos! And tour!' " Barker told MTV News. "And, to be honest, it was crazy. I was still recovering from all my surgeries [from his September plane crash], and was way out of it when we first got back in there. I was in no shape to be in the studio, and we were kinda held back a bit. We decided to just get used to playing with each other again."

So the trio scaled back their expectations — sure, there'd still be a record, but let's just get this massive, laser-packed arena tour out of the way first. And once they got that sorted, it all started clicking again.

"We just started practicing for the tour, going through the old sh--, playing the greatest hits — only we'd start experimenting on them a bit, working on different versions," Barker said. "So, it ended up that some of the old songs have new flavor to them, and then we also got around to making four demos, including one song that's pretty much complete."

That new song is called "Up All Night," and Barker said Blink fans can expect to hear it out on the road this summer. He calls it both "a logical step" from where the band left off [their darker, more mature self-titled 2003 album] and a hint as to where they might be headed in the future.

"When we do go in [to make the new album], it's gonna be like that. You can't help but have everything on the table ... all the stuff we've done — like +44 and Angels & Airwaves — since we last played and recorded, it will influence the new stuff," he explained. "In the case of 'Up All Night,' it feels like it could've been on the last record, or right where the last one left off. It's kind of heavy, if you mixed Box Car Racer and Blink. It all makes sense. The pieces are all together."

So just when can Blink fans expect to hear that new album? Well, there are no firm dates just yet, though Barker did say the band plan on entering the studio after they wrap their tour. Oh, and they'll also be working on it while they're on the tour too, because, once again, Barker refuses to sit still.

"I'll have the studio out on tour with me, and I think Mark will too. I wanna work on it while we're on tour," Barker said. "But that's just me. I'm taking it day-by-day. Loving life. Working."
- MTV.com

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