Transplants – Conversations (by Jay Hale)

When it was announced that Rancid frontman Tim Armstrong was going to start a side project, a lot fans were on edge with anticipation. But the day the Transplants’ self-titled debut hit shelves, there was a public outcry. An album that mixes punk rock and hip-hop, two polar opposites on the musical spectrum? “Tim, how could you do it?” was the question on messageboards across the nation and even from yours truly. It was impossible to get past rapper “Skinhead Rob” Aston’s often hokey lyrics “from the street.” This wasn’t the Rancid we all fell in love with when punk rebroke, it wasn’t even its bastard child and after that initial listen, the CD was either cast away to used record bins or put on the shelf to collect dust. A funny thing happened when I went to see the Transplants on tour. They fucking floored me. They played with such an undeniable youthful energy that reminded you of a band cut loose from the tether with nothing to lose. It was powerful. It was an awakening that made me rush home to give that neglected CD another shot. I realized there was much more to this band than I thought. The Transplants don’t write music for us, they write it for themselves. If you can’t deal with that, well, as Aston will tell you repeatedly, he just doesn’t give a fuck.

Jay: First, people started mixing punk and ska. Now, with the Transplants, there’s a mix of punk, reggae and hip-hop. How’s it feel to be the front runner for this new movement?

Rob Aston: It doesn’t feel nuthin’. All we do is make something different, you know? Anyone can make a record. It’s what you put into it. All we wanted to do from day one is something different. We weren’t worried if people were going to be into it or if we were going to be accepted by our peers or whatever. We make songs because we like the songs. We’re not trying to change a genre or any horseshit like that. But with that being said, there will be 5,000 bands that come out and try and do what we do but that’s just how it goes.

J: Would you be disappointed if some really lame bands started ripping off your shit?

R: I’m sure it will happen but whatever. That’s fine. It’s like anything else. I think you see or hear some shitty metal band but then you hear something like Pantera and go ‘Ok, that’s how you do it.’ It’s like that with any type of music, there’s always gonna be someone trying to come out with the same thing you’re doing but whatever. We’re just gonna keep doing what we do and whatever happens happens.

J: If you look back in the past, there are a few bands that tackled similar music to what Transplants are doing. The Clash, who we know was a big influence on Tim Armstrong with Rancid, are one who pop into mind. Did you draw from any examples in particular?

R: Obviously, The Clash are Tim’s favorite band. You know that. The Clash were a great band. People like to compare us to Sandinista! but I don’t necessarily see that. I don’t see the connection soundwise, you know? I don’t think we sound anything like that. I think people throw the comparison out there because that was a different record for them and a different record for anyone to be honest. Any comparison to The Clash to me is a complement so I don’t give a fuck.

J: When exactly did you start working on this project?

R: January 2000.

J: Tim approached you with some tunes ...

R: Yeah, he played me a couple of tracks and asked if I could write lyrics and that’s pretty much how it all got started. I write all my lyrics, Tim writes his.

J: What’s your music background? Do you come from a more punk rock background like Tim or hip-hop ...

R: I listened to everything growing up. I listened to hip-hop mostly and oldies. I didn’t really get into punk rock until high school but honestly, I listen to everything from old blues to stoner rock to fucking hardcore. Everything. There’s too much going on out there to listen to one type of music. There’s a lot of these fucking kids nowadays, they get too locked into only fitting in and looking like this person. ‘My friends only look like this and we only listen to this stuff.’ Those are the people that are fucking up; they’re missing out on worlds of good stuff out there. Maybe our record will open up some people’s eyes. I think it has. Not to pat us on the back but at our shows and stuff, I’m sure there’s punk rock kids with mohawks, leather jackets and whatever else but then we get those parents who come and random people who you never thought in a million years would be into us. It’s cool. We don’t just have a punk rock fan base, we have hip-hop kids and we have ... the fucking UPS driver could be in there. It all works, man. That’s the beauty of Transplants, we can get away with appealing to other people. We don’t have to worry about if it’s punk or not. That’s not us. We do this because we have a good time and we don’t worry about fucking fitting in.

J: What if someone who’s a fan of Rancid or a fan of Travis’ bands drops this record on and says ‘What the fuck is this? This ain’t cool.” Are you worried about the court of public opinion?

R: Oh, I’m sure that has happened more than once. I could give a fuck. If we sell 10 billion records, I’m happy as a motherfucker. I’ll be rich and all that but we’re not selling 10 million records, we’re not selling a million records. We do what we do. Like I’ve said, the record’s not for everybody. I’m sure that that there’s some fans of Rancid, Blink, Boxcar Racer and whatever else who buy it and were not into it. But on the other hand, people are into those bands love it and people who aren’t into those bands love it ... you can’t please everyone. We’re not worried about pleasing nobody. I don’t give a fuck. I want the band to be successful and us to do what we can and make the fans happy and all that but first things first, we do it because we like it. We don’t do it to make somebody else happy at our label or some kid. It’s great when people appreciate it but I think a lot of artists get fucked up and they get too concerned with holding on to this fanbase and appealing to them only. I don’t give a fuck what we do. We have so much fun with this band, if we sell one record, it’s just a bonus to me. It wasn’t going to be a fucking album; it wasn’t going to be a fucking band. None of that was going to be happening in the first place. It was just us, me and Tim, experimenting in the studio. Everything since then has just been bonus to me.

J: Listening to the lyrics on the album, especially the ones you sing, they’re pretty harsh. Stuff about guns, stuff about murder, stuff about drugs ... is this stuff from your past you put into your music?

R: Everything I write about is stuff that I have either gone through or am going through. I’m no better than the person who’s gonna be reading this. I got the opportunity to be in a band, I’m not gonna take that opportunity to voice my opinions and say what I’m gonna say and waste it on making songs about some stupid horseshit. I wouldn’t want to hear that. The stuff I listen to is something that I can identify with. I just talk about stuff that goes on in everyday life. It may not be your life, it may not be the girl outside on the cell phone’s life but it’s stuff that happened in my life. A lot of people can’t identify with everything but songs like ‘Sad But True’ about people who aren’t with us anymore, stuff like that. ‘We Trusted You,’ getting stabbed in the back and all that. Everyone goes through that so they can identify to it.

J: I thought the song ‘Drugs Rule Everything Around Me’ was a weird choice with Tim’s storied past with drug addiction.

R: Tim’s sober, I party. You know, drugs rule everything around me. Drugs rule everything around everyone, like it or not. Some way or another, everything’s dirty and everything’s connected. I’ve gotten flack for that from people. A lot of moms, especially, don’t like when their five-year-old’s walking around singing ‘Tall Cans’ or ‘D.R.E.A.M.’ If I had a five year old, my five year old wouldn’t be listening to my record either. Some people might be offended but ...

J: I listened to a lot of hip-hop, especially Public Enemy, when I was growing up but I couldn’t truly relate. I wasn’t an African-American male being hassled by the police in the inner city. Do you think Transplants could act as a bridge which would connect the traditionally white punk rock fans to music more culturally oriented?

R: That’d be cool because going back to what I said about kids getting shut off and they only want to pigeonhole themselves. Life’s too short, there’s too much out there that people could be learning from. But people want to sleep and turn a blind eye so it’s their loss.

J: There’s a rumor going around that the Transplants are signing to a major label. What is the truth behind this?

R: The band is making a record, I think we’re going to put it out on Travis’ label La Salle Records [an imprint of Atlantic]. As for me, I just signed a solo deal with Warner Bros.

J: Will that be straight hip-hop or a combination like your doing now?

R: Probably both. Anything goes with me, I don’t give a shit. If someone came at me with a folk song with a good beat, I don’t give a fuck, I’ll write to that. I got to, and the person working with me in the studio, has got to be happy with it first. That’s important.

R: Have you received any feedback on your record from the hip-hop community?

J: There have been, and I ain’t gonna put no one’s name out there, but there have been people that I’ve looked up to for years that have complimented it. That’s nice. At the end of the day it’s good to have that but at the same time it’s cool to have some kid at a show or sees you walking down the street say ‘I love your record.’ It’s cool; a complement from anyone is nice when you put your heart and soul into a project. It’s cool that people appreciate it.

J: Did you ever worry about getting any flack for having that song in the shampoo commercial?

R: Aww, I don’t give a fuck.

J: You and Tim don’t actually need shampoo.

R: I’m sure there’s a million websites up by now and all that shit with people saying what they want but I don’t give a fuck. We got all kinds of money for that. I’m not gonna sit here and say that we did that shampoo commercial because we support the shampoo and haircare industry. I don’t give a fuck, I shave my head twice a week. I don’t need no goddamned shampoo. We did that commercial because they gave us a bunch of money, straight up. I don’t give a fuck. I got bills to pay. No one’s gonna knock me for paying my rent, fuck that. People love to get mad. It’s not punk? Fuck, it’s not punk ‘cause I’m not a punk rocker. I could give a fuck. I make music and if people wanna pay me for my music, they’re gonna pay me for my music. I gotta pay a phone bill, I gotta pay an electricity bill like everyone else. People think that once you have a record out and if they hear your song on the radio or see your video that your already set for life. Man, I’m doing worse than anybody right now, I’m not gonna lie to you. There’s so much that goes on that people, fans or whoever don’t understand. There’s so much money that doesn’t get made by the artist — I’ll put it like that. There’s so many people involved, everybody’s got their hand in it. So fuck, if the opportunity comes up where I can not have to worry about where the rent’s coming from, I’m taking that fucker. People can say what they want but they ain’t paying my rent, those motherfuckers. Fuck them.

J: Are you concerned with illegal filesharing at all since it does take away from what an artist can earn?

R: That’s just the state that we are in today with computers and all that shit. I’m probably the only person alive who doesn’t have a computer. I’m actually happy that I don’t. I’m sure it’s convenient for this, that and the other thing but man, there’s just so much evil that goes on with computers. There’s people hiding behind a website talking shit, everyone’s stealing music and downloading it. Fuck, this is honestly the one thing I can do to make legal money. It sucks that some kid that has got all kinds of cash is sitting home, downloading my record or anyone else’s record. It’s like, fuck, you know, I get free music all the time from people — from bands or from labels — but when the record comes out, if I’m a fan, I still go buy it because it’s only right. I think a lot of people can’t understand that without being in the shoes of a band or an artist. When people download music, it’s like going into a restaurant and stealing a table full of food. It’s the same shit. Don’t take money out of my pocket, fuckers.

J: How do the Transplants transfer to the live setting? Do you have a full band?

R: Right now we have Matt Freeman playing bass, Craig from The Forgotten plays guitar, there’s me, Tim, Travis and this dude Dave Carlock runs samples and plays keys and stuff. It’s like a fiasco up there. I don’t even know how to explain it but it’s a good time. It’s like a fucking carnival when everyone’s lost their mind at the end.

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