California reggae punk trio Sublime is counted among those groups responsible in the early '90s 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 continued to attract new fans over the past 14 years. To date, the band has sold more than 17 million albums worldwide, most of those after Nowell's death.
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.
I had the pleasure of catching up with Ramirez, now 22, before the band's upcoming two-night stand at Jannus Live. We talked tattoos, crazy groupies, a new Sublime with Rome album and the total insanity of his current existence.
How are you today?
Honestly, I'm recovering from a hangover because I decided to go get a bunch of tattoos with my friends last night and we did that until about 7 in the morning.
What did you get done?
My production company, Fre$h Good$ — I got that across my wrists, on the bottom down by my hands… and, oh my God, it was the most fuckin' painful thing in the world.
You guys debuted a new song this summer, and I heard you were going into the studio this month. Can you give me any updates on the new album?
We just hopped out of the studio. We did four songs and we recorded "Panic" and a couple of other tracks, like "Take It or Leave It," which we've played in Europe, but haven't played it in America yet.
How do you guys work together musically?
I'll come up with an idea, then shoot it over to the guys and then they'll put it through the Sublime meat grinder and it comes out great and it's all really crazy, but it makes sense and flows perfect.
Kind of like studio magic …
It's insane, ya know — Bud and Eric said something like they haven't been this excited about new music since '95 when they were doing the self-titled album, so that totally trips me out and gives me a boner.
Let's talk a little bit about life on the road — is this your first time headlining a huge, international, sold-out tour?
Hell, yeah, man, before this, I was just jammin' and traveling in a van.
Do you enjoy touring?
It's so fun. It's so fun. You meet so many rad people and you have so many rad stories and just experiences and you get to see all these cool places — it's the best, I love it.
Do you have any crazy groupie stories yet?
One girl took a shot, um, [pauses] out of my shoe. I had just come off stage, it's the most horrid thing I've ever seen.
Do you know what kind of shot it was?
Patrón.
At least it was something decent, I guess.
Yeah, it's bad, just crazy stuff like that people will do.
You've talked about how important the SmokeOut performance was to the Sublime with Rome project. Can you talk about that set and how all this has impacted your life?
SmokeOut was a huge defining factor to the whole entire project. And then, I mean, just from there 'til now, oh my God, it's just insane. We did have a couple obstacles and stuff, but now everything is working out, everyone is getting along — both the estate and the band — and it's almost been like a complete 180 and we have all this momentum now. I definitely have had to get used to, ya know, the whole being-compared-to-a-rock-star thing, so to speak. It's insane, but it's like the best gift, and as long as I can do my best and the fans are digging it, I don't ever wanna stop.
Does it still all feel a bit surreal to you?
Dude, it's still just surreal having lunch with Bud and Eric, ya know? Like as ridiculous as that sounds, they're like these huge icons in my eyes. To this day, I'm a really big fan of their work. And when I get to go on stage and look out at the audience and they're singing the lyrics and I look back and Bud's smiling, and Eric's fuckin' smoking his cigarette, doing his thing, it's like 'Fuck, dude, this is crazy.' I used to watch these guys rockin' on DVDs and shit.
Where do you guys hope to see it go from here?
We just always want to get up there and jam because, in essence, it's truly just three dudes up there fuckin' just going at it. Most of the sets, we'll just go into random shit and vibe and it works and we just wanna do that forever.
Are you looking forward to playing Jannus Live?
Totally. I absolutely love Florida. I have the best time of my life playing there. There is very, very, very good energy in Florida and I can't wait for the show.
This article appears in Oct 21-27, 2010.