Transplants

In the closing years of the 1990s, punk rock veterans Tim Armstrong, Travis Barker, and Rob Aston brought Transplants into existence. The supergroup originated as a casual experiment, since Armstrong had already established his reputation through Rancid while Barker was riding the wave of blink-182’s popularity. Aston, a friend who had relocated to Los Angeles, found that music gradually became the core of their connection. For the following two years Armstrong and Aston played together purely for enjoyment, yet committing material to tape turned the endeavor into something tangible. Transplants possessed a distinct quality, and Barker shared in that excitement. Their hard-edged self-titled debut arrived via Hellcat in October 2002. The follow-up, Haunted Cities, came out on La Salle in June 2005 and included appearances by Sen Dog, B Real, and Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. Plans for a fall tour behind the record were later scrapped, and the members declared the band’s breakup by the end of 2005. After pursuing separate endeavors—including Expensive Taste, the outfit Barker and Aston assembled with rapper Paul Wall—the three musicians regrouped in 2010 to start work on a new album. Following an extended period, the stripped-down and punk-driven In a Warzone surfaced on Epitaph in early summer 2013.