Blink-182's Travis Barker Gives Twin Berlin an 'Insane' Break

Blink-182’s Travis Barker Gives Twin Berlin an ‘Insane’ Break

2012-02-07

Story by Cat Badra

Travis Barker picks Boston’s Twin Berlin in Guitar Center’s ‘Your Next Record’ contest

Picture this: You’re a newbie rock band just starting to get your music out there, and famed Blink-182 drum guy Travis Barker wants to help you rise to the top of the charts.

That’s just the case for Boston-based rock trio Twin Berlin. Barker handpicked the unsigned group out of a slew of entries for Guitar Center’s “Your Next Record” contest. As part of the grand prize, Twin Berlin scored the opportunity to record a three-song EP produced by Barker, “There Goes My Virtue.” The set dropped last Wednesday (Feb. 1).

Barker says that although he’s known for his drumming skills, he was looking for much more than a killer rhythm section in his winner. “There were some bands in the Guitar Center contest that were amazing drummers, but it was more a song thing for [Twin Berlin] — a great song,” Barker told MTV News. “They seem hungry, and they all have great personalities and attitudes about the whole thing. I just wanted to help emphasize what they were already doing and clean things up, maybe suggest arrangement ideas, just little things that will make a difference.”

As it turns out, Twin Berlin are huge Blink-182 fans. They were on cloud nine when they got the call that Barker wanted to work with them. “[Bassist] Sean is a huge Blink fan and everything, and we all really like Travis a lot,” drummer James Janocha said. “So we just figured, ‘Hey, why not enter?’”

“To get the chance to be able to work in a studio like this, it’s incredible,” guitarist/vocalist Matt Lopez added, regarding working at Red Bull Studios in Los Angeles. “We used to record in this guy’s shed, so this is pretty insane.”

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Cat Badra

Meet the expert - Cat Badra is a music writer for Audio Ink Radio and a range of other music, sports and lifestyle publications. She's a graduate of Michigan State University with a master's degree in theater and speech. Contact her at cat@audioinkradio.com.