California reggae punk trio Sublime is counted among those groups in the early ’90s responsible for bringing punk into the mainstream while at the same time, spearheading a new fusion of punk that incorporated reggae, surf rock, and hip hop. Although beloved Sublime frontman Bradley Nowell died of a drug overdose in 1996, the band’s music has lived on and continued attract new fans over the past 14 years, some so devoted . To date, the band has sold more than 17 million albums worldwide, most of those after Nowell’s death.
For all those devoted purchasers of albums like Robbin the Hood and 40oz to Freedom, experiencing Sublime’s punchy THC-laced party tunes in a live setting with any of the original members was an accepted impossibility until a 2009 performance at Cypress Hill’s SmokeOut Festival, where original Sublime bassist Eric Wilson and drummer Bud Gaugh reunited to thrash the songs of their career with a virtual unknown 20-something singer/guitarist named Rome Ramirez. Since that performance, the trio has overcome legal issues with Nowell’s estate regarding the rights to the Sublime name and adopted a revised one, Sublime with Rome, before launching a rigorous 2010 international tour schedule and selling out shows left and right. [Photo credit: Jason Rodriguez & Joe Foster]
I had the pleasure of catching up with Ramirez before the band’s upcoming two-night stand at Jannus Live, and we talked tattoos, crazy groupies, a new Sublime with Rome album, and the total insanity of Rome’s current existence. Check out our conversation below.
This article appears in Oct 14-20, 2010.