Sublime was an American reggae/ska/punk (a deeper exploration of the band's musical styles also include hip-hop and even some electronic music, for example their cover of Steppin' Razor) band that originated in Long Beach, California. Officially founded in 1988 (although early recordings date back to 1986[1]), Sublime consisted of Bradley Nowell (vocals and guitar), Bud Gaugh (drums and percussion) and Eric Wilson (bass guitar). Lou Dog was the mascot of the band. Sublime achieved mainstream success with their self-titled third album. However, Nowell died of a heroin overdose shortly before its release, resulting in the band's split in 1996.[2] Worldwide, Sublime has sold over 17 million albums,[3] including about 10 million in the U.S. alone. After a 13-year hiatus, Wilson and Gaugh reunited under the name Sublime in early 2009 with new singer and guitarist Rome for a one-off show at Cantino Los Tres Hobres in Nevada.[4]
History
Early career (1986–1991)
Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh were childhood friends having grown up in the same Long Beach neighborhood. Eric's father Billy Wilson taught Gaugh how to read music and play the drums. Gaugh and Wilson together with later Sublime manager Michael Happoldt formed a three-piece punk band called The Juice Bros during their high school years. About this time, Nowell joined the band. As a band Sublime had been trying to deny to the public they were not, and would never be Ska; or remotely Ska sounding.
Sublime played its first gig on the Fourth of July, 1988 in a small club in Long Beach, California, reportedly starting the "Peninsula Riot" in Harbor Peninsula which led to seven arrests. For the next several years, the group focused primarily on playing at parties and clubs throughout Southern California. They recorded a few songs and put forth a number of short demos beside the well known Jah Won't Pay the Bills, containing several songs which would later appear on their major releases.
40 Oz. to Freedom and Robbin' the Hood (1992–1995)
Eventually, Sublime developed a large following in California. After concentrating on playing live shows, the band released 40 Oz. to Freedom in 1992 under Nowell's label, Skunk Records. The record established Sublime's blend of reggae, punk, ska, and hip hop, and helped to further strengthen the group's growing California following. Initially being sold exclusively at their live shows, the album became widely known in the greater Los Angeles area after rock radio station KROQ began playing the song, "Date Rape". In June 1994, Sublime was signed to the label Gasoline Alley of MCA records by Jon Phillips who subsequently became Sublime's manager.
The band toured extensively throughout 1994-1995, their popularity increasing gradually beyond the West Coast as "Date Rape" began earning radio play. Nowell was known for his tendency to play heavily intoxicated to the degree that he sometimes seemed to not even be able to play the guitar, as seen in the majority of the videos featuring the band live. In 1995, the band co-headlined the inaugural nationwide Vans Warped Tour. Being one of the most popular acts on the tour, their drug use led to tensions with the tour management. Gaugh was arrested several times for possessing marijuana. Similarly, the band's famed practice of keeping their dogs with them everywhere, including on the stage, resulted in concert-goers being bitten. Sublime was actually kicked off the tour for some time before the tour management was forced to reconsider and bring them back due to the crowd demand. After the Warped Tour and the subsequent Three Ring Circus Tour, the band was pressured to begin producing new studio material as a proper follow-up to the suddenly-prosperous 40 Oz. to Freedom.
Nowell's death, final album and breakup (1996)
Early 1996 saw Sublime headline the very first SnoCore Tour. In February, they began recording what would comprise the band's self-titled third record and their major label debut album. They completed it before Nowell died of a heroin overdose on May 25, 1996 at the Oceanview Motel in San Francisco[5], two months prior to the release. The album became a huge success, including the single "What I Got", which made it to #1 at the Modern Rock Chart.[6] The album earned the band worldwide fame, and has since gone five-times platinum. Beside "What I Got", the album included several popular singles including "Santeria", "Doin' Time", "Wrong Way" and "April 29, 1992 (Miami)", all of which received heavy airplay.
Post-breakup (1997–2008)
A number of posthumous releases followed, among them Second-Hand Smoke in 1997 and both Stand by Your Van and Sublime Acoustic: Bradley Nowell & Friends in 1998.[2] By the release of their Greatest Hits compilation in 1999 the band had released as many albums after Nowell's death as during his lifetime.[7]A box set of demos, rarities and live recordings, entitled Everything Under the Sun, was released on November 14, 2006.[8]
Following Sublime's demise, its surviving members Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh formed the Long Beach Dub Allstars in 1997, which also included many frequent Sublime contributors such as Michael "Miguel" Happoldt (former member of The Ziggens), Todd Forman (3rd Alley) and "Field" Marshall Goodman. LBDA then disbanded in 2002.
Reunion with new singer (2009)
In February 2009, rumors surfaced that the surviving members of Sublime would be reuniting for a February 28th performance at Cantina Los Tres Hombres in Nevada.[9] The performance was confirmed on March 1, 2009, by a MySpace blog message from Gaugh's current band Del Mar; the message stated the singer and guitarist that joined Wilson and Gaugh onstage was Rome, a 20-year-old from northern California.[10] In regards to the band's future, the message said, Sublime has no "firm tour plans or anything yet".
Musical style
Sublime utilized a genre-blending mash-up style which incorporated elements of dub, reggae, ska, punk rock, improvised dancehall, hip hop, psychedelic rock and acoustic rock, which they developed through their live shows. The band is most usually classified as ska-punk, although likely their most prevalent influence, dub reggae, is not directly attributed in such a classification (maybe because the dub style was used on bootlegs unreleased records and live jams shows instead on mainstream albums).
Sublime's music was highlighted by bass-driven grooves, reggae rhythms, elaborately-cadenced rhyme schemes and transitions between paces and styles throughout a given song, sometimes alternating between thrash punk, ska and reggae within the same song (see "Seed"). Their music often contains psychedelic, harmonic minor-based or bluesy guitar solos, rhythmically-improvised bass solos or dub-lines, turntable scratching and rolling drum transitions.
According to the band's MySpace site, Rolling Stone writer David Wild stated the following about the band:
The singular sound of Sublime, alternately polished and rough and ready, finds stoner rock, rap, punk, and hip-hop funk blended with doses of ska, rock steady, dancehall, and every other pungent flavor of reggae. The result was a beautiful, warts-and-all brand of poetry - a powerful new blend of street sounds and party music. In Nowell, Sublime had an astounding singer and lyricist who created his own edgy but expressive underground vernacular. And in Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh, Sublime was fortunate to have an agile, rock-solid rhythm section that could cover the entire musical waterfront. They were musical counterparts that created their own signature rhythmic foundation, creating the ultimate canvas for Nowell to embellish.[11]
Legacy
Even over a decade after Nowell's death and the band's breakup, Sublime remains immensely popular throughout North America, especially in its state of origin, California. The renowned Los Angeles alternative rock radio station KROQ has listed Sublime at #3 in its "Top 106.7 biggest KROQ bands of all time" memorial for the past six years in a row, behind Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nirvana,[12] and #81 at the "Top 166 Artists of 1980-2008" list.[13] With over 17 million units sold worldwide, Sublime is one of the most successful ska-punk acts of all time.
Cultural references
Sublime's song "Santeria" has been included in the video game Guitar Hero World Tour.[14] The song "Seed" has been included in Tony Hawk's Underground. The song "What I Got" has also been included in the multi-format game Dave Mirra Freestyle BMXand also in the remake film Fun with Dick and Jane. "Doin' Time" was featured in Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2. "Wrong Way" was a featured song in the multi-platform game Aggressive Inline. "Date Rape" was also a featured song on the game BMX XXX . "Smoke Two Joints" was featured in the background during the movie "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back".
Discography
Studio albums
References
- ^ http://en.allexperts.com/q/Sublime-614/2009/6/members-meet-become-sublime.htm
- ^ a b Bush, John. Sublime. Allmusic. Last accessed November 23, 2007
- ^ Big Records
- ^ Have Sublime Reunited?. Last accessed July 2, 2009.
- ^ Prato, Greg. Brad Nowell. Allmusic. Accessed November 23, 2007
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "X-Games, Vol. 2". Allmusic: 1997
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Greatest Hits" (Sublime album). Allmusic: 1999.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Everything Under the Sun". Allmusic: 2006
- ^ Sublime Reunion?. Last accessed March 2, 2009.
- ^ Del Mar & Sublime. Last accessed March 2, 2009.
- ^ Wild, David; Rolling Stone; http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=4019425
- ^ KROQ [1]
- ^ The KROQ Top Artists of 1980-2008
- ^ Guitar Hero 4 Includes Song Creation and Sharing, Multiple Instruments, Van Halen, Linkin Park - Shacknews - PC Games, PlayStation, Xbox 360 and Wii video game news, previews ...
External links
