Travis Barker shares photos of new tattoo in tribute to Taylor Hawkins
The foot tattoo pays homage to his fellow sticksman
By Joe Goggins
Travis Barker has revealed a new tattoo in honour of late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.
Hawkins passed away last month in a Bogotá hotel room, at the age of 50. The Foos were in the thick of a South American tour; they’ve since cancelled all touring plans for the rest of the year, including a clutch of UK stadium dates that had been set for the summer.
Now, Blink-182’s Barker has posted to Instagram an image of a new inking in tribute to his fellow sticksman. The artwork, of a hawk, adorns the top of his left foot. In the caption accompanying a series of photos chronicling his session with Mark Mahoney at the Shamrock Social Club tattoo parlour in West Hollywood, Barker wrote: “HAWK FOREVER.”
His fiancée, Kourtney Kardashian, was by his side. Last week, Barker and Kardashian appeared to tie the knot in Las Vegas, straight from his performance with H.E.R. and Lenny Kravitz at the Grammys, but although an Elvis impersonator was on hand to conduct the nuptials in time-honoured fashion, there is as yet no indication that the pair have obtained the Nevada marriage license necessary to legally confirm their union.
Barker has spoken glowingly of the influence of Kardashian, with whom he’s been in a relationship since January of last year. He had A long-time fear of flying owing to his near-death experience in a plane wreck in South Carolina in 2008, which left him with third-degree burns to 65% of his body, but told Nylon last August that he has returned to air travel with Kardashian’s support, potentially paving the way for Blink to tour more extensively; logistics had previously been dictated by his need to travel by boat.
“It’s still something very new to me, but having something that gives me the strength and hope to be able to overcome things that were so traumatic in my life, it just says a ton,” he said. “I’m invincible when I’m with her. It’s like I never dreamed, I never even considered flying again.”
Meanwhile, tributes to Hawkins continue to pour in from across the music world. Speaking to Rolling Stone UK on Monday (April 11), Brian May, guitarist with Hawkins’ beloved Queen, said that the drummer’s passing “was a horrible, horrible shock.”
“I don’t think I can talk about him in the past tense,” May added. “He was just so incredibly alive and real. It was a terrible blow. He loved us and we loved him. He was like family, and our world is a very sad place without him.”