It's no surprise that Transplants boasts a bevy of influences and musical soundscapes. Formed by friends Rob Aston and punk legend Tim Armstrong (both Operation Ivy and Rancid rank high on my personal Top 100 albums list released over the last 20 years) in 1999, the band quickly transformed from part-time side project to musical force. Add in the relentless energy and magical timing of rock drummer extraordinaire Travis Barker (see: Blink-182, Boxcar Racer), and you get an oddly satisfying mix of punk, hip hop, surf rock, and tales of urban mayhem and decay.

I spoke with Rob Aston - who blurs the line between hip hop, punk, and hardcore vocals like no one else - who was on the road playing the Van's Warped Tour with the band.

Haunted Cities, released in June 2005, is the follow-up to Transplants' self-titled 2002 debut.

Editor's Note: "You know what I'm saying" is extracted from the record a goodly number of times in the hope of easing the visual flow.

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Eric Berlin: How's it going out there on the Warped Tour?

Rob Aston: We're a week into it right now. Today we're in New Mexico - it's hotter than a motherfucker! But it's all good, you know what I'm saying? The crowds are great, the bands are great, everyone's great, you know?

And our record came out a couple of days ago, so people are starting to learn the new material we're playing, so it's a good time for sure.

I've got to ask what you guys do backstage or when you're out on the road. I'm sure you've got some crazy stories lined up by now.

Well, we've got two buses: a stoner bus and a sober bus. On Tim [Armstrong's] bus, which is the sober bus, the back lounge turns into a studio, and that's rad because he's always creating and always writing and coming up with songs. While we're out here we get to utilize that time we have together, because we don't always have time to get into the studio.

He's usually working, and I'm usually in the back lounge on my bus hot boxing it with Travis [Barker]. We just hang out, you know what I'm saying?

I heard in an interview that you recorded the song, "Hit the Fence," on the back of the bus during a tour with the Foo Fighters.

Yeah, it was crazy - it was a couple of years ago on the Foo Fighters tour. It was the same deal - Tim had a studio in the back lounge of his bus. We set up [Travis'] drums in the hallway of the bus. I had his kick drum, his snare drum, and his high hat, and I was down on my knees holding all of that shit together while he's beating the fucking shit out of the drums!