Image: Rip It Up BY JASMINE BAILEY As Blink 182 continues its reunion tour, the band’s next stop is Australia. But they are going to have play on without their drummer, Travis Barker. On his Facebook page he publicly announced why he won’t make it. Writing: “…I still haven't gotten over the horrific events that took place the last time I flew when my plane crashed and 4 people were killed, two being my best friends. I gave the band my blessing to take another drummer if they still wanted to do the tour without me….” If you don’t remember — that fatal plane crash happened in South Carolina in 2008. Barker and DJ AM were the only survivors— both suffered from severe burns. Barker has since been terrified of flying. He has reportedly gone to therapy and taken medication to help him with his fear — but almost four years later, he is still struggling. The Australian festival “Sound Wave” will be the first show of the tour Barker will not be playing in since the tour started last summer. That’s because he traveled by boat to the other shows but this time the group couldn’t get scheduling worked out. Barker has however received quite a bit of support from fans on Twitter. One writing: “It's okay, Travis, we understand. We all still love you :)” But there has also been some criticism. A writer for Music Feeds said Barker was “bailing” and that he was surprised by all the support. And a fan agreed on Twitter: “You can't just replace @travisbarker , he basically makes blink-182 worth seeing. Poor australians, you'll be missing out.” Nevertheless, Blink 182 released a statement, saying the show must go on. “We love our fans in Australia so canceling was not an option so we still plan to come and play some kick ass shows.” Brooks Wackerman of the band Bad Religion will fill in for Travis Barker during the Sound Wave festival.