Transplants (band)

Transplants

For the surgical procedure, see Organ transplant. Not to be confused with the Boston punk band The Transplants.

Transplants are an American punk rock/rapcore band. They formed in 1999 when Tim Armstrong of the band Rancid played his friend and roadie Rob Aston some beats he had made using Pro Tools and asked Rob if he would consider contributing lyrics. Initially, Tim played all the instruments himself but as the project grew, he invited musician friends such as Matt Freeman (Rancid), Lars Frederiksen (Rancid), and Vic Ruggiero (The Slackers) to add to the sound. Before long, Tim and Rob decided to officially form a band, but to make things complete, they wanted a drummer, so Travis Barker from blink-182 was asked to join in 2002.

Tim first became inspired to work with loops and samples after being introduced to London's speed/garage scene by Kerrang! magazine writer Mörat in the mid-90s.

The group's music is a combination of hip hop, reggae, drum n bass, dub, and punk, but not necessarily all at once. Although many are used sparingly throughout the album, punk and rap remain as the prominent styles. Lyrically, Rob Aston describes their songs as ranging from topics such as murder ("Quick Death") to the passing of a loved one ("Sad But True") to failed friendships ("We Trusted You").

History

Transplants

After two years of recording, they released their debut album Transplants on Hellcat Records in October 2002. In the end, the album was recorded and mixed entirely in Tim's basement. Special guest vocalists included Eric Ozenne (The Nerve Agents), Davey Havok (AFI), Son Doobie, Danny Diablo, Lars Frederiksen (Rancid) and Brody Dalle (The Distillers, ex-wife of Tim). Brody sings on the track "Weigh On My Mind", which Tim then described as "their song."

The singles "Diamonds and Guns" and "D.J. D.J." quickly became MTV favorites and earned the band critical and commercial success. "Diamonds and Guns" and its unmistakable piano hook played by co-producer Dave Carlock continues to win new fans through TV commercials for Garnier Fructis shampoo and Neutrogena. The song was also featured on the soundtrack for the movie Bulletproof Monk (2003). The band followed up the record's success by touring with the Foo Fighters.

By 2003, the band had temporarily disbanded, while Travis worked on the upcoming blink-182 album, and Tim worked on Rancid's Indestructible.

Haunted Cities

After the 2005 blink-182 hiatus, Travis Barker said that he was returning to working with Transplants. The Transplants' second album, titled Haunted Cities, was released in June 2005, just four months after blink's break up.

The album's first and only single, "Gangsters and Thugs" was a hit and the band began touring on the 2005 Warped Tour. After the Warped Tour, the Transplants started to plan a large North American tour with Pennywise and wanted to release a second single. The band had even shot a video for the upcoming single "What I Can't Describe." However, these plans were cut short due to Armstrong reportedly suffering from exhaustion. Break-up rumors began to swirl. No second single off the album was ever released.

Amidst all the turmoil, the band released the screwed and chopped version of Haunted Cites on November 1 2005, a very first for a rock album.

Soon after the cancelation of the North American tour, two band members announced several more side projects that they would be embarking on during the Transplants break. Travis revealed that he would be starting a tour with DJ AM and also a new band with Rob and DJ Paul Wall which would become Expensive Taste. Rob Aston revealed that he was working on a solo album.

In an interview with Rob Aston and Paul Wall on January 16, 2006 about their project, Expensive Taste, Rob stated "The Warped Tour had just ended and Transplants had just broken up" [1].

Current status

Recently there has been some confusion over whether the band has broken up, or not. Despite the statement made by Aston about how the band had "broken up", frontman Tim Armstrong condradicted this statement on a recent MySpace bulletin [2]. He stated: "In the upcoming years, I hope to make another Transplants album. I love recording with those guys".

As of December 2006, the band still remains inactive. Armstrong is currently touring and working on a new album with Rancid and Barker is currently touring with his new project +44, who just released their first album When Your Heart Stops Beating on November 14, 2006. He also recently formed a new band called Expensive Taste, which also featured Aston.

Recently their song "I Want It All" was featured on commercials for the new movie "School for Scoundrels".

Members

Main line up

• Tim Armstrong (Rancid, Operation Ivy) - guitar/vocals
• Rob Aston (A.K.A. Skinhead Rob) - vocals
• Travis Barker (blink-182, +44, Box Car Racer, The Aquabats, Expensive Taste) - drums

Touring members

• Craig Fairbaugh - guitar
• Matt Freeman - bass guitar

Discography

Albums

Album Cover	Date of Release	Title	Label	UK Album Chart Peak Position	UK sales	US Album Chart Peak Position	US sales
	October 22, 2002	Transplants	Hellcat Records
File:Transplants Haunted Cities.jpg	June 21, 2005	Haunted Cities	La Salle/Atlantic
	November 1, 2005	Haunted Cities: Screwed and Chopped	La Salle/Atlantic

Singles

From Transplants:

• 2003 "Diamonds and Guns" #27 UK
• 2003 "D.J. D.J."

From Haunted Cities:

• 2005 "Gangsters and Thugs" #35 UK

External links

• Official website
• Transplants biography
• Transplants fanlisting
• Transplants lyrics