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The Next Big Thing in Punk Rock: An interview with Rob Aston of the Transplants

By Dan Greenman

On Oct. 22, Tim Armstrong's (of Rancid) independent punk label Hellcat Records released the Transplants' debut album - a high-energy mixture of punk, hardcore, rap, hip hop and dancehall. The band, which started as nothing more than a hobby for Armstrong and music newcomer Rob Aston three years ago, added Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker to the mix, and caught fans' attention with a string of West Coast shows over the summer.

Don't expect the band to sound anything like a cross between Rancid and Blink 182. Armstrong, who created hip hop and dancehall beats for most of the tracks, sings half of the lyrics, while Aston lends aggressive raps. The album also features guest musicians, rappers and singers, including Lars Frederiksen of Rancid, Brody Armstrong of the Distillers, Danny Diablo and Son Doobie of Funkdoobiest.

Shortly before the album dropped, I spoke with Aston via telephone about his history, playing with Armstrong and Barker (two of the biggest names in the punk music scene), and recording for the very first time.

How did you meet Tim Armstrong?
I worked for (California-based punk band) AFI for a couple of years. I was doing the roadie thing and merchandise and stuff. So I met him and all of the Rancid guys through touring with AFI. I stopped working for AFI in 1999, and I moved out to L.A. where I live near Tim, so we hang out all the time and we just started recording music together.

This is the first band you've ever been in?
Yeah, this is my first one. It has been crazy. The first time we went out on tour was so fucking crazy. It's always fun going out, touring and working for bands, but I never thought that I would actually be in the band. I would never trade it for the world.

This is not a bad first band to be in.
I can't complain at all. Many people would die to get a chance to be in a band like this, with Tim and Travis.

How old are you and where are you from?
I'm 25. I was born and raised in Fresno (Calif.).

Is it kind of crazy to go from never being in a band to being the front man of a band with two of the biggest names in the scene?
Yeah, because, like, when me and Tim first started messing around on his Pro Tools rig, it was not going to be a band. He just asked me to do some lyrics. We were fucking around, having a good time in his studio. Then Tim was like, "This sounds pretty good." Tim just said fuck it, let's do a record!

How was it working with those two guys?
I love it. It's fucking rad to work with them. They are both so good at what they do, it's crazy. This was the first time making music for me, and they are so good that I didn't want to drop ball. There wasn't ever any pressure from them, though. I just put pressure on myself to make sure I did a good enough job for them.

Are you satisfied with the way the record came out?
We were all super happy with the way it turned out. We did a lot of fucking songs; it took a long time. We decided on 12 songs in the end, which we thought would stand with no filler or anything. It took us forever to record, because it was hard to find time where all of us were together. But I'm glad it took us this long. The fist songs we did sucked; we just got better as we went on.

Did the band's sound change over the process of recording?
Well, like the first song on the album, "Romper Stomper," is an old song. Some of it changed, and we got a little better. I was just learning how to sing throughout, and Tim was learning his Pro Tools rig. I'd say that we progressively got better.

You have had some listening parties with fans to preview the record. How have those been going?
They have been cool. See, we only got to do nine shows last summer and we can't do any more until early next year because Tim is recording with Rancid and Travis is about to go on tour with Boxcar Racer. So we decided that we wouldn't send out any early copies of the CD to the magazines. We would let the kids listen to the record, rather than reading about it in some magazine. Everybody has been really into it.

Have you been enjoying your newfound stardom?
Well, I wouldn't say that I'm a star yet. (Laughs) I just never thought I'd be in a band, let alone with guys like that. Nothing has really changed. I'm still doing the same shit. I just really like it when people come up to me and say, "I heard that song and I liked it." Especially when it's people whose bands I've grown up listening to.

The Transplants have so many different sounds. What are the influences?
Wow, I listen to everything like hip hop, punk, metal, hardcore, country, rock. The same goes for Tim and Travis. I wouldn't say that there are certain bands that influenced the record, just lots of different genres of music.

Most people have a general idea of what to expect from Tim Armstrong, this is really like throwing a curveball, right?
Yeah. When we got started, everyone was saying that the Transplants would sound like Rancid meets Blink, and all of this other stuff. But it doesn't sound like any of these things. Tim said he likes doing these songs because he gets to fuck around and not do stuff he would do on a Rancid record. He's like a mad scientist, always writing songs and fucking around on Pro Tools. Travis is the same way; he loves it. They don't treat the Transplants like a side project, which is great. It just takes us longer to do things because of their other commitments.

Where did the idea come from to experiment with so many different styles of music and rap over the music?
That mostly came from samples and loops that Tim came up with. When we made a song, it was basically however we were feeling that day is how the song would come out. We recorded for a long time. Going into a song, we didn't say, "This song is gonna sound a certain way." Tim would come up with skeleton and get my input, and we would go from there. I think that the 12 songs on the record are all different, but all the same. They are all the Transplants, you know?

So what have you been doing besides this?
Actually, I'm recording and writing a hip hop record. Stuff to keep me busy, out of trouble. I made a song and gave it to Tim, and he really liked it, so he said I should make a whole record. It's going to be out on Hellcat early next year. It's going to be pretty different from any record on Hellcat.

Are you guys going to play any more shows soon?
We can't do anything until after January 1, so we will probably tour in February. We're going to hit all of the states and Europe.

Dan Greenman is a senior journalism major. Email him at dgreenm1@ithaca.edu.