November 20, 2012 12:57

Blink-182's Travis Barker says Muppet drummer Animal was his first hero

Blink-182 drummer had Muppets drum kit as a child

Photo Gallery: Blink-182
Photo: Pa Photos

Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker has revealed that his first drumming hero was Animal from The Muppets.

The wild style of Animal clearly affected the young Barker, who revealed in a new interview this week that his first ever drum kit featured the Muppets character on it. “Honestly, that was my first exposure to a true drummer,” Barker told CBS Local. “That was who made me pick up the drum sticks, you know? My first drum kit was an Animal drum kit. He was amazing. And then after that was Buddy Rich.”

Barker, who took part in a 'drum-off' with Animal on US TV earlier this year, went on to list his favourite drummers of all time, listing the late John Bonham of Led Zeppelin amongst his selections. “Of course Alex Van Halen from Van Halen was a big influence. Tommy Lee from when I was a kid from Motley Crue. Danny Carey from Tool is a good drummer. John Bonham from Led Zeppelin. That’s pretty much it. Those were my guys.”

Barker listed his favourite drummers as:

Animal (The Muppets)
John Bonham (Led Zeppelin)
Alex Van Halen (Van Halen)
Tommy Lee (Motley Crue)
Danny Carey (Tool)

Blink-182 have confirmed they are set to release their 'Dogs Eating Dogs' EP on December 18.

The pop punk trio will be putting out the EP in three different packages, including the Santa's Lap package, which includes a t-shirt, limited edition poster, wrapping paper and a Christmas card, the 'Nice' package includes a hoodie, wrapping paper and card, while the 'Naughty' package, which includes a shirt and card.

Scroll down the page to see NME.COM's run down of the ten best Blink-182 songs.

Video: Blink-182 - Ten Best Songs

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