Travis Barker shares heartbreaking final text with DJ AM before his death after they survived plane crash
Travis Barker and DJ AM were the only survivors of a plane crash that killed four people but they had very different paths in its aftermath as they went through mental turmoil.
While legendary Blink 182 drummer Barker was able to recover thanks to his strong support system after the accident in 2008, DJ AM, real name Adam Goldstein, struggled.
The pair used to perform together under the stage name TRV$DJAM but their relationship frayed after the accident as DJ AM began to struggle with drug addiction.
On August 28, 2009, aged 36, Goldstein was found dead from an overdose in his apartment in New York City.
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Speaking on the All There Is with Anderson Cooper podcast on Thursday, August 20, Barker revealed the last text Goldstein sent to him before his death.
“One of the last things he had said — which I always run back in my head, it was through texting — he’s like, ‘Man, honestly, I just feel like doing a bunch of drugs and saying," at which point Barker said an expletive followed by the word 'it.'
He added: “And I was like, you know, no. Once again, I thought he was bulletproof.”
Barker didn't doubt DJ AM's soberiety
Barker went on to admit that he thought DJ AM was getting by okay and didn't think there was actually any cause for concern.
“I never doubted his sobriety,” he said. “He was just so strong. I had spoken to him a lot, like, right before he had passed. I was back in Blink and we were touring."
Hinting towards the breakdown in their friendship, Barker discussed another message DJ AM sent him.
He continued: "I remember him writing me and saying like, ‘Man, you don’t care about me anymore.’”
To that message, Barker said he responded by saying: “Nah, I can’t wait to play more shows with you, you kidding me?”
Not long afterwards, Barker was meant to meet with Goldstein in New York but was unable to contact him.
He was informed of his friend's death by a drum technician during a session in the studio.
Commenting on how he managed to get through the difficult period following the plane crash, while Goldstein didn't, Barker explained: “I just gotta have faith that I’m here for a reason and make the most of it.
"My kids were so important to me. Like when I got home and once I was out of the hospital, that was like, that was my rock. That gave me everything I needed.
"AM was suffering because he wasn’t waking up with kids. He just went back to work.”
The crash occurred on the night of September 19, 2008, when a Learjet 60 hit experienced a fault during take-off at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina.
TRV$DJAM had just performed a gig in Five Points and were returning to California when the plane suffered a tyre failure, leading to take-off being abandoned. The plane then overran the runway, crashed through a fence and crossed a highway before finally coming to a rest. It then burst into flames.
The two pilots died, as did passengers Charles Monroe Still Jr and Chris Baker.
Barker suffered burns to 70 per cent of his body and did not fly again for 13 years after the crash.
Topics: Travis Barker, Celebrity, Music
Daniel Murphy