Sublime (band)
Encyclopedia
Sublime was an American ska punk
band from Long Beach
, California
, formed in 1988. The band's line-up, unchanged until their breakup, consisted of Bradley Nowell
(vocals and guitar
), Eric Wilson
(bass guitar
) and Bud Gaugh
(drums
and percussion). Michael "Miguel" Happoldt also contributed on a few Sublime songs, such as "New Thrash." Lou Dog, Nowell's dalmatian
, was the mascot
of the band. Nowell died of a heroin overdose in 1996 and Sublime immediately split up.
Sublime released three studio album
s, one live album
, five compilation album
s (one of which also contains never-before released material), three EP
s and one box set. Although their first two albums—40 Oz. to Freedom
(1992) and Robbin' the Hood
(1994)—were quite popular in the United States, Sublime did not experience major commercial success until 1996 with their self-titled third album
, released shortly after Nowell's death, which peaked at number 13 on the Billboard 200
, and spawned the single "What I Got
", which remains the band's only number one hit single (on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart) in their musical career. The self-titled album is now considered a classic ska/punk/root reggae album with hip hop influences by fans and critics. As of 2009, the band has sold over 17 million albums worldwide, including about 10 million in the U.S. alone. The band has been credited—alongside fellow California punk bands, Bad Religion
, Green Day
, The Offspring
, Pennywise
and Rancid
—for reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the United States during the mid-1990s.
In 2009, the surviving members decided to reform the band with Rome Ramirez
to bring back the band with a similar vocality that they had with Bradley. However, not long after performing at Cypress Hill
's Smokeout Festival, a Los Angeles
judge banned the new lineup from using the Sublime name. This was because Nowell had owned rights to the Sublime name, and as a result, they were not allowed to use it without approval and permission from his estate. In January 2010, the lawsuit was settled and the new lineup now performs together as Sublime with Rome
, who released their debut album Yours Truly
on July 12, 2011.
formed a three-piece punk band called The Juice Bros during their high school years. About this time, Bradley Nowell, who had recently dropped out of University of California, Santa Cruz
, joined the band. Nowell helped introduce Gaugh and Wilson to reggae
and ska
, who at the time listened exclusively to punk rock
.
Sublime played its first gig on the Fourth of July
, 1988 in a small club, reportedly starting the "Peninsula Riot" in Harbor Peninsula which led to seven arrests. Music venues were skeptical of the band's eclectic musical fusion and many refused to book the band. In response, the band created their own music label, Skunk Records
, and told venues that they were "Skunk Records recording artists", which helped the band seem more accomplished and subsequently book more shows. For the next several years, the group focused primarily on playing at parties and clubs throughout Southern California
. The trio recorded a few songs and put forth a number of short demos.
In February 1990, Nowell adopted an abused dalmatian
puppy from a shelter and named him "Louie" after his grandfather. Louie Nowell, King Louie, or "Lou Dog" as he was called, became something of a mascot
for the band. Gaugh recalled that "Lou Dog just loved Brad because it was the first time he had ever actually been shown love." Lou Dog was often allowed to wander around the stage during the band's concert performances.
In late 1990, music student Michael "Miguel" Happoldt
approached the band, offering to let the band record in the studio at the school where Happoldt was studying. The band enthusiastically agreed and trespassed into the school at night, where they recorded from midnight to seven in the morning. The recording session resulted in the popular cassette tape called Jah Won't Pay the Bills, which was released in 1991 and featured songs that would later appear on the band's future albums. The tape helped the band gain a grassroots following throughout Southern California.
in 1992 under Nowell's label, Skunk Records
. The record established Sublime's blend of ska
, reggae
, punk
, surf rock, 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 1992/1993, Sublime was briefly signed to Danny Holloway's True Sound imprint. However, the band stayed on Skunk Records and then in June 1994, they were signed to the label Gasoline Alley of MCA Records
by Jon Phillips who subsequently became Sublime's manager. Sublime released their second album Robbin' the Hood
in 1994, an experimental effort with its diffuse mixture of rock, rap, spoken-word nonsense and folk-leaning acoustic home recordings. Robbin' the Hood was a commercial failure and did not produce any singles. The band toured extensively throughout 1994-1995, their popularity increasing gradually beyond the West Coast as "Date Rape" began earning radio play. In 1995, the band co-headlined the inaugural nationwide Vans Warped Tour. The band's drug use led to tensions with the tour management as Gaugh was arrested several times for possessing marijuana
. The band was eventually asked to leave the tour for a week due to unruly behavior after an incident in which Nowell's dalmatian
Lou Dog bit members of the audience. Gaugh reflected on the experience: "Basically, our daily regimen was wake up, drink, drink more, play, and then drink a lot more. We'd call people names. Nobody got our sense of humor. Then we brought the dog out and he bit a few skaters, and that was the last straw." After the Warped Tour and the subsequent Three Ring Circus Tour, the band was pressured to begin producing new studio material as a follow-up to Robbin' the Hood.
. 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 a motel in San Francisco, California, two months prior to the release. The album became a huge success, including the single "What I Got
", which made it to No.1 at the Modern Rock Chart. The album earned the band worldwide fame, and has since gone five-times platinum. In addition to "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.
Jason Westfall, one of Sublime's managers, was quoted as saying that the surviving members of Sublime had no interest in continuing to perform and record under the "Sublime" name. "Just like Nirvana
, Sublime died when Brad died", Westfall said.
in 1997 and both Stand by Your Van
and Sublime Acoustic: Bradley Nowell & Friends
in 1998. 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. A box set of demos, rarities and live recordings, entitled Everything Under the Sun
, was released on November 14, 2006. The band later released several vinyl picture discs including 40 Oz. To Freedom, Second Hand Smoke, and Stand By Your Van.
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 disbanded in 2002, due to several members of the band breaking a no-drug vow they had taken.
Nowell's widow, Troy was in recent negotiations with label execs as well as entertainment impresario Paul Ruffino to produce a documentary based on Sublime's rise led by Bradley Nowell. Troy Holmes (Nowell) was delayed from making the project a reality until the estate of Nowell could be settled.
Bud Gaugh joined the short-lived Eyes Adrift, a supergroup consisting of Bud on drums, Krist Novoselic (of Nirvana) on bass, Brett Sebade on banjo, Payton Batliner on xylophone, and Curt Kirkwood (of The Meat Puppets) on guitar and vocals. On September 24, 2002, Eyes Adrift released their only album, a self-titled LP consisting of 12 songs. They released one single from the CD, entitled, "Alaska".
, a then-20-year-old from Northern California. On August 31, 2009, it was announced that the reunited Sublime featuring new front-man Rome would be playing Cypress Hill
's Smokeout Festival on October 24 in San Bernardino, California
.
Brad Nowell's family and the executors of his estate threatened Gaugh and Wilson, along with Rome, with a lawsuit if the reconstituted band used the Sublime moniker.
On November 3, 2009, a Los Angeles
judge shut down an effort by the new lineup to perform under the name. As part of the preliminary injunction, the new lineup were unable to perform or record under the name Sublime without approval and permission from the Nowell estate.
On January 22, 2010, a settlement was announced and the new incarnation of Sublime was named Sublime with Rome
.
The band embarked on the Sublime with Rome Tour
in 2010, and released an album of new material, Yours Truly
in July 2011.
. Their genre-blending mash-up style incorporated elements of dub
, reggae
, first-wave
and second-wave
ska
, punk rock
, rockabilly
, improvised dancehall
, hip hop, psychedelic rock
and acoustic rock, which they developed through their live shows.
Through samples, lyrics, and covers, Sublime makes reference to an eclectic mix of bands from the 1960s through the early 1990s.
Bob Marley
and associated Jamaican reggae
acts The Wailers, and Peter Tosh
feature prominently in Sublime's songs, as do other Jamaican reggae and dancehall
acts such as Born Jamericans
, Toots & the Maytals
, The Melodians
, Wayne Smith
, Tenor Saw
, Frankie Paul
, The Wailing Souls
, Barrington Levy
, Half Pint, Frank Zappa
and Yellowman
. The band additionally covered "Smoke Two Joints" originally by Oregon-based reggae group The Toyes
.
Sublime was also heavily influenced by the 1980s and 1990s hip-hop and rap
scene of Los Angeles
and New York City
, alluding to or borrowing from such acts as N.W.A and Eazy-E
(who died 14 months before Nowell), the Beastie Boys
, Just-Ice
, Public Enemy and Flavor Flav
, KRS-One
, Doug E. Fresh
, Too $hort
, Mobb Deep
, as well as the Philadelphia-based rapper Steady B
and Texas
hip-hop The Geto Boys
.
The southern California metal
, surf rock and punk
scene influencing Sublime includes Big Drill Car
(who were thanked in the first two albums), The Ziggens
, Minutemen
, The Descendents
, Bad Religion
, The Bel-Airs
, Secret Hate, as well as fellow fusion band Fishbone
. Sublime was also influenced by Washington, DC hardcore acts such as Fugazi
(who were also thanked in the first album) and Bad Brains
. The band also referenced popular California and Swedish bands like Grateful Dead
, The Doors
, ABBA
and Red Hot Chili Peppers
.
A few references are made to funk
, R&B
, and soul
bands such as James Brown
, the Ohio Players
, Jimi Hendrix
, Aswad, as well as a smattering of Irish, Scottish and English bands like Boomtown Rats, The Specials
, and Primal Scream
.
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 blues
y guitar solos, rhythmically-improvised bass solos or dub-lines, turntable scratching
and rolling drum transitions and heavy bass lines. They are known for being one of the first and most influential reggae fusion
musicians.
success of their self-titled album, going five times Multi-platinum
and earning worldwide airplay, Sublime's impact persists to this day. As one of the most popular ska-punk bands, it is credited with reviving popular interest in ska
, as well as bringing punk rock
into the mainstream
. Their signature sound and their songs are often associated with the beach/coastal areas of Southern California
, such as San Diego, Orange County
, Venice Beach and Long Beach
as well as areas of Northern California
like Santa Cruz
.
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. Its songs have been featured via soundtrack in a variety of media. Los Angeles alternative rock
radio station KROQ
has listed Sublime at #3 in their annual "Top 106.7 biggest KROQ bands of all time" list for the past six years in a row, behind Red Hot Chili Peppers
and Nirvana
, and #81 at the "Top 166 Artists of 1980-2008" list. With over 17 million units sold worldwide, Sublime is one of the most successful ska-punk acts of all time influencing many modern reggae and ska acts.
Ska punk
Ska punk is a fusion music genre that combines ska and punk rock. It achieved its highest level of commercial success in the United States in the late 1990s. Ska-core is a subgenre of ska punk, blending ska with hardcore punk.The characteristics of ska punk vary, due to the fusion of contrasting...
band from Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, formed in 1988. The band's line-up, unchanged until their breakup, consisted of Bradley Nowell
Bradley Nowell
Bradley James Nowell was an American musician who served as lead singer and guitarist of the Californian band Sublime. He died at the age of 28 from a heroin overdose shortly before the release of Sublime's self-titled major label debut.Raised in Long Beach, California, Nowell developed an...
(vocals and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
), Eric Wilson
Eric Wilson (bassist)
Eric John Wilson , was the bass player for Sublime and also bassist for Long Beach Dub Allstars . He was the bassist for the band Long Beach Shortbus, which was composed of several members of Long Beach Dub Allstars and Sublime. He was the youngest member of Sublime...
(bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
) and Bud Gaugh
Bud Gaugh
Floyd "Bud" I. Gaugh IV is a rock music drummer who played in the bands Sublime , Long Beach Dub Allstars , Eyes Adrift Volcano , Del Mar and Sublime with Rome...
(drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
and percussion). Michael "Miguel" Happoldt also contributed on a few Sublime songs, such as "New Thrash." Lou Dog, Nowell's dalmatian
Dalmatian (dog)
The Dalmatian is a breed of dog whose roots are often said to trace back to Dalmatia, a region of Croatia where the first illustrations of the dog have been found. The Dalmatian is noted for its unique black- or brown-spotted coat and was mainly used as a carriage dog in its early days...
, was the mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
of the band. Nowell died of a heroin overdose in 1996 and Sublime immediately split up.
Sublime released three studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
s, one live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
, five compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
s (one of which also contains never-before released material), three EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
s and one box set. Although their first two albums—40 Oz. to Freedom
40 Oz. to Freedom
40oz. to Freedom is the 1992 debut album by the Southern California ska-punk band Sublime released by Skunk Records and again by MCA. 40oz. to Freedom received mixed critical reviews upon its first release, but has earned an improved public perception since...
(1992) and Robbin' the Hood
Robbin' the Hood
Robbin' the Hood is the second album by the Southern California ska punk band Sublime, which was released in 1994.- Context and production values :...
(1994)—were quite popular in the United States, Sublime did not experience major commercial success until 1996 with their self-titled third album
Sublime (album)
Sublime is the third and final album released by ska-punk band Sublime. Originally intended to be titled Killin' It, the band and record label agreed to substitute an eponymous title due to lead singer Bradley Nowell's death prior to the album's release...
, released shortly after Nowell's death, which peaked at number 13 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, and spawned the single "What I Got
What I Got
"What I Got" is a song from Sublime's eponymous third album titled Sublime and was the band's biggest radio hit, posthumously after singer Bradley Nowell's 1996 heroin overdose. It was the second single to be released by the band, following "Date Rape" . The song was one of the most popular singles...
", which remains the band's only number one hit single (on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart) in their musical career. The self-titled album is now considered a classic ska/punk/root reggae album with hip hop influences by fans and critics. As of 2009, the band has sold over 17 million albums worldwide, including about 10 million in the U.S. alone. The band has been credited—alongside fellow California punk bands, Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion is a punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1979. Their current line-up consists of Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz , Jay Bentley , Greg Hetson , Brian Baker and Brooks Wackerman . Gurewitz is also the founder of the label Epitaph Records, which has released almost all of the...
, Green Day
Green Day
Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
, The Offspring
The Offspring
The Offspring is an American punk rock band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1984. Known as Manic Subsidal until 1986, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Dexter Holland, lead guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman, bassist Greg K. and drummer Pete Parada...
, Pennywise
Pennywise (band)
Pennywise is a Californian punk rock band from Hermosa Beach, California, formed in 1988. The name is derived from the monster, It, from the Stephen King novel of the same title....
and Rancid
Rancid (band)
Rancid is an American punk rock band formed in Berkeley, California in 1991. Founded by Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, both of whom previously played in the ska punk band Operation Ivy, Rancid is credited—along with Green Day and The Offspring—for reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the...
—for reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the United States during the mid-1990s.
In 2009, the surviving members decided to reform the band with Rome Ramirez
Rome Ramirez
Roman René Ramírez , better known as Rome Ramirez or simply Rome, is an American singer and guitarist currently playing with Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson from Sublime in a new venture...
to bring back the band with a similar vocality that they had with Bradley. However, not long after performing at Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. Cypress Hill was the first Latino hip-hop group to have platinum and multi-platinum albums, selling over 18 million albums worldwide...
's Smokeout Festival, a Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
judge banned the new lineup from using the Sublime name. This was because Nowell had owned rights to the Sublime name, and as a result, they were not allowed to use it without approval and permission from his estate. In January 2010, the lawsuit was settled and the new lineup now performs together as Sublime with Rome
Sublime with Rome
Sublime with Rome is a musical collaboration between Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh, formerly of the band Sublime, and singer and guitarist Rome Ramirez. The group chiefly performed songs by Sublime, which was fronted by Bradley Nowell until his death in 1996...
, who released their debut album Yours Truly
Yours Truly (Sublime with Rome album)
Yours Truly is the debut album by rock group Sublime with Rome, which was released on July 12, 2011. It is the first album since the original Sublime disbanded in 1996, due to lead singer and guitarist Bradley Nowell's death. According to the liner notes, the album is dedicated to him...
on July 12, 2011.
Early career (1988–1991)
Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh were childhood friends, having grown up in the same Garden Grove neighborhood. Eric's father Billy Wilson taught Gaugh how to read music and play the drums. Gaugh and Wilson together with future Sublime manager Michael HappoldtMichael Happoldt
Michael 'Miguel' Happoldt is an American musician who worked most notably with the US rock/reggae groups Sublime and Long Beach Dub Allstars, as well as co-founding the Skunk Records record label...
formed a three-piece punk band called The Juice Bros during their high school years. About this time, Bradley Nowell, who had recently dropped out of University of California, Santa Cruz
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...
, joined the band. Nowell helped introduce Gaugh and Wilson to reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
and ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
, who at the time listened exclusively to punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
.
Sublime played its first gig on the Fourth of July
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
, 1988 in a small club, reportedly starting the "Peninsula Riot" in Harbor Peninsula which led to seven arrests. Music venues were skeptical of the band's eclectic musical fusion and many refused to book the band. In response, the band created their own music label, Skunk Records
Skunk Records
Skunk Records is a Long Beach, California based record label that was founded by Michael "Miguel" Happoldt and Bradley Nowell in 1990. The label also operates a subsidiary, Cornerstone RAS....
, and told venues that they were "Skunk Records recording artists", which helped the band seem more accomplished and subsequently book more shows. For the next several years, the group focused primarily on playing at parties and clubs throughout Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
. The trio recorded a few songs and put forth a number of short demos.
In February 1990, Nowell adopted an abused dalmatian
Dalmatian (dog)
The Dalmatian is a breed of dog whose roots are often said to trace back to Dalmatia, a region of Croatia where the first illustrations of the dog have been found. The Dalmatian is noted for its unique black- or brown-spotted coat and was mainly used as a carriage dog in its early days...
puppy from a shelter and named him "Louie" after his grandfather. Louie Nowell, King Louie, or "Lou Dog" as he was called, became something of a mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
for the band. Gaugh recalled that "Lou Dog just loved Brad because it was the first time he had ever actually been shown love." Lou Dog was often allowed to wander around the stage during the band's concert performances.
In late 1990, music student Michael "Miguel" Happoldt
Michael Happoldt
Michael 'Miguel' Happoldt is an American musician who worked most notably with the US rock/reggae groups Sublime and Long Beach Dub Allstars, as well as co-founding the Skunk Records record label...
approached the band, offering to let the band record in the studio at the school where Happoldt was studying. The band enthusiastically agreed and trespassed into the school at night, where they recorded from midnight to seven in the morning. The recording session resulted in the popular cassette tape called Jah Won't Pay the Bills, which was released in 1991 and featured songs that would later appear on the band's future albums. The tape helped the band gain a grassroots following throughout Southern California.
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 Freedom40 Oz. to Freedom
40oz. to Freedom is the 1992 debut album by the Southern California ska-punk band Sublime released by Skunk Records and again by MCA. 40oz. to Freedom received mixed critical reviews upon its first release, but has earned an improved public perception since...
in 1992 under Nowell's label, Skunk Records
Skunk Records
Skunk Records is a Long Beach, California based record label that was founded by Michael "Miguel" Happoldt and Bradley Nowell in 1990. The label also operates a subsidiary, Cornerstone RAS....
. The record established Sublime's blend of ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, surf rock, 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
Greater Los Angeles Area
The Greater Los Angeles Area, or the Southland, is a term used for the Combined Statistical Area sprawled over five counties in the southern part of California, namely Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County and Ventura County...
after rock radio station KROQ
KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM — branded 106.7 KROQ — is a commercial modern rock radio station licensed to Pasadena, California serving the Greater Los Angeles. The call sign is pronounced "kay rock." It is the flagship station of Loveline hosted by Dr...
began playing the song, "Date Rape
Date Rape (song)
"Date Rape" is a song by the band Sublime originally recorded for their 1992 debut album, 40 Oz. to Freedom. It was first released as a single in 1991, but did not become a hit until four years later, when the Los Angeles radio station KROQ began adding it into their playlists and it quickly became...
".
In 1992/1993, Sublime was briefly signed to Danny Holloway's True Sound imprint. However, the band stayed on Skunk Records and then in June 1994, they were signed to the label Gasoline Alley of MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
by Jon Phillips who subsequently became Sublime's manager. Sublime released their second album Robbin' the Hood
Robbin' the Hood
Robbin' the Hood is the second album by the Southern California ska punk band Sublime, which was released in 1994.- Context and production values :...
in 1994, an experimental effort with its diffuse mixture of rock, rap, spoken-word nonsense and folk-leaning acoustic home recordings. Robbin' the Hood was a commercial failure and did not produce any singles. The band toured extensively throughout 1994-1995, their popularity increasing gradually beyond the West Coast as "Date Rape" began earning radio play. In 1995, the band co-headlined the inaugural nationwide Vans Warped Tour. The band's drug use led to tensions with the tour management as Gaugh was arrested several times for possessing marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
. The band was eventually asked to leave the tour for a week due to unruly behavior after an incident in which Nowell's dalmatian
Dalmatian (dog)
The Dalmatian is a breed of dog whose roots are often said to trace back to Dalmatia, a region of Croatia where the first illustrations of the dog have been found. The Dalmatian is noted for its unique black- or brown-spotted coat and was mainly used as a carriage dog in its early days...
Lou Dog bit members of the audience. Gaugh reflected on the experience: "Basically, our daily regimen was wake up, drink, drink more, play, and then drink a lot more. We'd call people names. Nobody got our sense of humor. Then we brought the dog out and he bit a few skaters, and that was the last straw." After the Warped Tour and the subsequent Three Ring Circus Tour, the band was pressured to begin producing new studio material as a follow-up to Robbin' the Hood.
Nowell's death, final album and breakup (1996)
Early 1996 saw Sublime headline the very first SnoCore TourSnoCore Tour
The SnoCore Tour, occasionally typeset as Sno-Core, is an annual festival tour of the United States. It features performances by some of the most popular groups largely of the alternative rock and metal spectrum...
. In February, they began recording what would comprise the band's self-titled third record
Sublime (album)
Sublime is the third and final album released by ska-punk band Sublime. Originally intended to be titled Killin' It, the band and record label agreed to substitute an eponymous title due to lead singer Bradley Nowell's death prior to the album's release...
and their major label debut album. They completed it before Nowell died of a heroin overdose
Drug overdose
The term drug overdose describes the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities greater than are recommended or generally practiced...
on May 25, 1996 at a motel in San Francisco, California, two months prior to the release. The album became a huge success, including the single "What I Got
What I Got
"What I Got" is a song from Sublime's eponymous third album titled Sublime and was the band's biggest radio hit, posthumously after singer Bradley Nowell's 1996 heroin overdose. It was the second single to be released by the band, following "Date Rape" . The song was one of the most popular singles...
", which made it to No.1 at the Modern Rock Chart. The album earned the band worldwide fame, and has since gone five-times platinum. In addition to "What I Got", the album included several popular singles including "Santeria
Santeria (song)
"Santeria" is a song by Sublime on the album Sublime. The song includes the bassline and guitar riff from Sublime's earlier song "Lincoln Highway Dub" off the album Robbin' the Hood...
", "Doin' Time
Doin' Time
"Doin' Time" is a single by the American band Sublime. It is featured on their self-titled third album. The lyrics tell of a cheating girlfriend, whose infidelities and poor treatment of her lover makes him feel like he is in prison. "Doin' Time" features heavy usage of lounge music...
", "Wrong Way
Wrong Way
"Wrong Way" is a 1997 single from Sublime's 1996 self-titled third album that fits squarely within the punk rock-inspired third wave ska movement of the 1990s...
" and "April 29, 1992 (Miami)
April 29, 1992 (Miami)
"April 29, 1992 " is a song written by American ska punk band Sublime in 1996 from their eponymous album Sublime. The song title refers to the date of the Los Angeles riots of 1992, of which news spread throughout the United States following the acquittal of four police officers accused in the...
", all of which received heavy airplay.
Jason Westfall, one of Sublime's managers, was quoted as saying that the surviving members of Sublime had no interest in continuing to perform and record under the "Sublime" name. "Just like Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
, Sublime died when Brad died", Westfall said.
Post-breakup (1997–present)
A number of posthumous releases followed, among them Second-Hand SmokeSecond-hand Smoke (album)
Second-hand Smoke is a compilation album by the band Sublime. It was released in 1997 following the death of lead singer Bradley Nowell the year before. Although this is technically a compilation album, it features some unreleased material as well as recycled and remixed versions of previous...
in 1997 and both Stand by Your Van
Stand by Your Van
Stand by Your Van is a live album by the band Sublime. Tracks 1-11 were recorded live at Kommotion, San Francisco, on the 9th of September, 1994. Track 12 was recorded live at The Tressel Tavern, Everett, WA in November 1994. Tracks 13 and 14 were recorded at the Warped Tour, Asbury Park, NJ in...
and Sublime Acoustic: Bradley Nowell & Friends
Sublime Acoustic: Bradley Nowell & Friends
Sublime Acoustic: Bradley Nowell & Friends is an album of acoustic performances by the band Sublime, mostly done solo by singer/guitarist Bradley Nowell...
in 1998. By the release of their Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits (Sublime album)
Greatest Hits is the first of Sublime's compilation albums released after frontman Bradley Nowell's death. It was released in 1999.The enhanced CD contained two music videos: "What I Got" and "Wrong Way".-Track listing:# "What I Got" ...
compilation in 1999 the band had released as many albums after Nowell's death as during his lifetime. A box set of demos, rarities and live recordings, entitled Everything Under the Sun
Everything Under the Sun
Everything Under the Sun is a box set of rarities from the band Sublime. It is composed in large part of tracks that can be found on previously released bootleg albums. See: List of Sublime bootlegs.-Track listing:Disc 1# Roots of Creation...
, was released on November 14, 2006. The band later released several vinyl picture discs including 40 Oz. To Freedom, Second Hand Smoke, and Stand By Your Van.
Following Sublime's demise, its surviving members Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh formed the Long Beach Dub Allstars
Long Beach Dub Allstars
The Long Beach Dub Allstars were a dub reggae/ska/rock band formed in 1997 and disbanded in 2002.-History:Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh met in childhood and later started their first garage punk band, consisting of drums, bass and vocals. They later formed Sublime with Brad Nowell...
in 1997, which also included many frequent Sublime contributors such as Michael "Miguel" Happoldt (former member of The Ziggens
The Ziggens
The Ziggens are a band based out of Orange County, California whose self-described style of "cowpunksurfabilly" combines elements of surf, rockabilly, punk, ska, and country. The Ziggens are led by Bert Susanka who sings and plays rhythm guitar. Other members include Dickie Little on lead guitar,...
), Todd Forman (3rd Alley
3rd Alley
3rd Alley is an American band that originated in Long Beach, California. 3rd Alley formed in October 2004 after Zack Walters, then a solo artist, sent a four-track demo to Long Beach Records, landing on Greg "Mudd" Lowther's ears...
) and "Field" Marshall Goodman. LBDA disbanded in 2002, due to several members of the band breaking a no-drug vow they had taken.
Nowell's widow, Troy was in recent negotiations with label execs as well as entertainment impresario Paul Ruffino to produce a documentary based on Sublime's rise led by Bradley Nowell. Troy Holmes (Nowell) was delayed from making the project a reality until the estate of Nowell could be settled.
Bud Gaugh joined the short-lived Eyes Adrift, a supergroup consisting of Bud on drums, Krist Novoselic (of Nirvana) on bass, Brett Sebade on banjo, Payton Batliner on xylophone, and Curt Kirkwood (of The Meat Puppets) on guitar and vocals. On September 24, 2002, Eyes Adrift released their only album, a self-titled LP consisting of 12 songs. They released one single from the CD, entitled, "Alaska".
Sublime with Rome
On 28 February 2009, Gaugh and Wilson reunited for a show in Nevada and called themselves Sublime; the singer and guitarist that joined Wilson and Gaugh onstage was Rome RamirezRome Ramirez
Roman René Ramírez , better known as Rome Ramirez or simply Rome, is an American singer and guitarist currently playing with Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson from Sublime in a new venture...
, a then-20-year-old from Northern California. On August 31, 2009, it was announced that the reunited Sublime featuring new front-man Rome would be playing Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. Cypress Hill was the first Latino hip-hop group to have platinum and multi-platinum albums, selling over 18 million albums worldwide...
's Smokeout Festival on October 24 in San Bernardino, California
San Bernardino, California
San Bernardino is a city located in the Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area , and serves as the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States...
.
Brad Nowell's family and the executors of his estate threatened Gaugh and Wilson, along with Rome, with a lawsuit if the reconstituted band used the Sublime moniker.
On November 3, 2009, a Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
judge shut down an effort by the new lineup to perform under the name. As part of the preliminary injunction, the new lineup were unable to perform or record under the name Sublime without approval and permission from the Nowell estate.
On January 22, 2010, a settlement was announced and the new incarnation of Sublime was named Sublime with Rome
Sublime with Rome
Sublime with Rome is a musical collaboration between Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh, formerly of the band Sublime, and singer and guitarist Rome Ramirez. The group chiefly performed songs by Sublime, which was fronted by Bradley Nowell until his death in 1996...
.
The band embarked on the Sublime with Rome Tour
Sublime with Rome Tour
Sublime with Rome Tour is the unofficial name of a world concert tour by Sublime bassist Eric Wilson and drummer Bud Gaugh, joined by singer and guitarist Rome Ramirez under the moniker of Sublime with Rome.-History:...
in 2010, and released an album of new material, Yours Truly
Yours Truly (Sublime with Rome album)
Yours Truly is the debut album by rock group Sublime with Rome, which was released on July 12, 2011. It is the first album since the original Sublime disbanded in 1996, due to lead singer and guitarist Bradley Nowell's death. According to the liner notes, the album is dedicated to him...
in July 2011.
Musical style and influences
Sublime was one of the most popular bands of the third wave of ska, specifically characterized as ska punkSka punk
Ska punk is a fusion music genre that combines ska and punk rock. It achieved its highest level of commercial success in the United States in the late 1990s. Ska-core is a subgenre of ska punk, blending ska with hardcore punk.The characteristics of ska punk vary, due to the fusion of contrasting...
. Their genre-blending mash-up style incorporated elements of dub
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, first-wave
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
and second-wave
2 Tone
2 Tone is a music genre created in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s by fusing elements of ska, punk rock, rocksteady, reggae, and New Wave. It was called 2 Tone because most of the bands were signed to 2 Tone Records at some point. Other labels associated with the 2 Tone sound were Stiff...
ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
, punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
, improvised dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
, hip hop, psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
and acoustic rock, which they developed through their live shows.
Through samples, lyrics, and covers, Sublime makes reference to an eclectic mix of bands from the 1960s through the early 1990s.
Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
and associated Jamaican reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
acts The Wailers, and Peter Tosh
Peter Tosh
Peter Tosh, born Winston Hubert McIntosh , was a Jamaican reggae musician who was a core member of the band The Wailers , and who afterward had a successful solo career as well as being a promoter of Rastafari.Peter Tosh was born in Grange Hill, Jamaica, an illegitimate child to a mother too young...
feature prominently in Sublime's songs, as do other Jamaican reggae and dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
acts such as Born Jamericans
Born Jamericans
Born Jamericans was a reggae/hip hop duo formed in Washington, D.C., popular in the 1990s.The group comprised Norman "Notch" Howell and Edley "Shine" Payne. Notch's voice is smooth and melodic, while Shine's is rougher and tends more toward rapping...
, Toots & the Maytals
Toots & the Maytals
Toots and the Maytals, originally called simply The Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group and one of the best known ska and reggae vocal groups. According to Sandra Brennan at Allmusic, "The Maytals were key figures in reggae music...
, The Melodians
The Melodians
The Melodians were a reggae band formed in the Greenwich Town area of Kingston, Jamaica in 1965, by Tony Brevett , Brent Dowe and Trevor McNaughton...
, Wayne Smith
Wayne Smith (musician)
Wayne Smith is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician.-Biography:His 1985 recording of " Sleng Teng", is generally regarded as the beginning of ragga style reggae. The rhythm was created on a Casio MT-40 and is based on the riff from Eddie Cochran's "Somethin' Else"...
, Tenor Saw
Tenor saw
Tenor Saw was a prominent dancehall singer in the 1980s, and one of the most influential singers of the early digital reggae era...
, Frankie Paul
Frankie Paul
Paul Blake , better known as Frankie Paul, is one of Jamaica's best-loved and popular dancehall reggae artists. Born blind, he has been dubbed by some 'The Jamaican Stevie Wonder'.-Biography:...
, The Wailing Souls
The Wailing Souls
The Wailing Souls are a Jamaican reggae vocal group still recording and performing live, whose origins date back to the 1960s.-Career:They have recorded with many top Jamaican record producers including Coxsone Dodd of Studio One, Lloyd "King Jammy" James, Henry "Junjo" Lawes, Delroy Wilson and...
, Barrington Levy
Barrington Levy
Barrington Levy is a reggae and dancehall artist from Jamaica.-Career:In 1976, Levy formed a band with his cousin, Everton Dacres, called the Mighty Multitude; the pair released "My Black Girl" in 1977...
, Half Pint, Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
and Yellowman
Yellowman
Yellowman is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay, widely known as King Yellowman...
. The band additionally covered "Smoke Two Joints" originally by Oregon-based reggae group The Toyes
The Toyes
The Toyes are an American reggae band based in Grants Pass, Oregon. Their style has been described as a "cross between Bob Marley and Barenaked Ladies". They are perhaps most famous as the original songwriters and recorders of the song "Smoke Two Joints". It was originally recorded in 1983, and was...
.
Sublime was also heavily influenced by the 1980s and 1990s hip-hop and rap
Rap
Rap may refer to:*Rapping, performance in which rhyming lyrics are used, with or without musical accompaniment ; while an MC performs spoken verses in time to a beat/ melody**Hip hop subculture**Hip hop music...
scene of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, alluding to or borrowing from such acts as N.W.A and Eazy-E
Eazy-E
Eric Lynn Wright , better known by his stage name Eazy-E, was an American rapper who performed solo and in the hip hop group N.W.A. Wright was born to Richard and Kathie Wright in Compton, California...
(who died 14 months before Nowell), the Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
, Just-Ice
Just-Ice
Just-Ice A former bouncer at punk clubs, Ice was one of the first of the New York MCs to embrace hardcore rap, and when he burst out of Fort Greene, Brooklyn, as Just-Ice, he gained instant notoriety. Muscle-bound, tattooed, aggressive—he resembled Mike Tyson in more than just looks—and with a...
, Public Enemy and Flavor Flav
Flavor Flav
William Jonathan Drayton, Jr. , better known by his stage name Flavor Flav, is an American rapper and television personality who rose to prominence as a member of the rap group Public Enemy...
, KRS-One
KRS-One
Lawrence Krisna Parker , better known by his stage names KRS-One , and Teacha, is an American rapper...
, Doug E. Fresh
Doug E. Fresh
Douglas E. Davis , better known by the stage name Doug E. Fresh, is an American rapper, record producer, and beat boxer, also known as the Human Beat Box...
, Too $hort
Too $hort
Todd Anthony Shaw , better known by the stage name Too Short , is an American rapper, producer, and actor who started his career at the age of fourteen in East Oakland, Oakland, California.-Career:...
, Mobb Deep
Mobb Deep
Mobb Deep is an American hip hop duo from Queensbridge, Queens, New York, U.S., that consists of Havoc and Prodigy. The duo is "one of the most critically acclaimed hardcore East Coast hip-hop groups." The group is best known for its dark, hardcore delivery, as exemplified by the single "Shook Ones...
, as well as the Philadelphia-based rapper Steady B
Steady B
Warren McGlone , known by the stage name Steady B, was an American rapper and emcee who, along with Schoolly D, the Fresh Prince, and Three Times Dope, was one of the first wave of Philadelphia-area rappers to gain notoriety in the mid to late 1980s...
and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
hip-hop The Geto Boys
Geto Boys
Geto Boys is a rap group from Houston, Texas, consisting of Scarface, Willie D and Bushwick Bill. The Geto Boys earned notoriety for its lyrics which included misogyny, gore, psychotic experiences, and necrophilia...
.
The southern California metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
, surf rock and punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
scene influencing Sublime includes Big Drill Car
Big Drill Car
Big Drill Car was a pop punk/melodic hardcore group from Huntington Beach, California, who were active from the late 1980s to mid-1990s and briefly again in the mid-2000s...
(who were thanked in the first two albums), The Ziggens
The Ziggens
The Ziggens are a band based out of Orange County, California whose self-described style of "cowpunksurfabilly" combines elements of surf, rockabilly, punk, ska, and country. The Ziggens are led by Bert Susanka who sings and plays rhythm guitar. Other members include Dickie Little on lead guitar,...
, Minutemen
Minutemen (band)
Minutemen were an American hardcore punk band formed in San Pedro, California in 1980. Composed of guitarist D. Boon, bassist Mike Watt and drummer George Hurley, Minutemen recorded four albums and eight EPs before Boon's death in an automobile accident in December 1985...
, The Descendents
Descendents (band)
The Descendents are an American punk rock band from Hermosa Beach, California. As of 2011, they have released six studio albums, three live albums, three compilation albums and three EPs. The Descendents broke up and reformed several times over the years, sometimes with different musicians...
, Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion is a punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1979. Their current line-up consists of Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz , Jay Bentley , Greg Hetson , Brian Baker and Brooks Wackerman . Gurewitz is also the founder of the label Epitaph Records, which has released almost all of the...
, The Bel-Airs
The Bel-Airs
The Bel-Airs were an early and influential surf rock band from Southern California, active in the early 1960s.They were best known for their 1961 hit "Mr. Moto", an instrumental surf rock song that featured a flamenco inspired intro and contained a melodic piano interlude...
, Secret Hate, as well as fellow fusion band Fishbone
Fishbone
Fishbone is a U.S. alternative rock band formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California, which plays a fusion of ska, punk rock, funk, hard rock and soul. Critics have noted of the band: "Fishbone was one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the late '80s...
. Sublime was also influenced by Washington, DC hardcore acts such as Fugazi
Fugazi (band)
Fugazi is an American post-hardcore band that formed in Washington, D.C. in 1987. The band's continual members are guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally and drummer Brendan Canty....
(who were also thanked in the first album) and Bad Brains
Bad Brains
Bad Brains is an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1977. They are widely regarded as among the pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members objected to this term to describe their music. They are also an adept reggae band, while later recordings featured elements of...
. The band also referenced popular California and Swedish bands like Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
, The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
, ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
and Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
.
A few references are made to funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
, and soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
bands such as James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
, the Ohio Players
Ohio Players
The Ohio Players were an American funk and R&B band, most popular in the 1970s. They are best known for their double #1 hit songs "Fire" and "Love Rollercoaster".- Biography :...
, Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, Aswad, as well as a smattering of Irish, Scottish and English bands like Boomtown Rats, The Specials
The Specials
The Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups...
, and Primal Scream
Primal Scream
Primal Scream are a Scottish alternative rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie and Jim Beattie and now based in London. The current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes , Martin Duffy , and Darrin Mooney...
.
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 blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
y guitar solos, rhythmically-improvised bass solos or dub-lines, turntable scratching
Scratching
Scratching is a DJ or turntablist technique used to produce distinctive sounds by moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable while optionally manipulating the crossfader on a DJ mixer. While scratching is most commonly associated with hip hop music, since the late 1980s, it has been used...
and rolling drum transitions and heavy bass lines. They are known for being one of the first and most influential reggae fusion
Reggae fusion
Reggae fusion is a fusion genre of reggae that mixes reggae or dancehall with other genres, such as pop, rock, hip hop, R&B, house, jazz & drum and bass....
musicians.
Impact and legacy
With the mainstreamMainstream
Mainstream is, generally, the common current thought of the majority. However, the mainstream is far from cohesive; rather the concept is often considered a cultural construct....
success of their self-titled album, going five times Multi-platinum
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
and earning worldwide airplay, Sublime's impact persists to this day. As one of the most popular ska-punk bands, it is credited with reviving popular interest in ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
, as well as bringing punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
into the mainstream
Mainstream
Mainstream is, generally, the common current thought of the majority. However, the mainstream is far from cohesive; rather the concept is often considered a cultural construct....
. Their signature sound and their songs are often associated with the beach/coastal areas of Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
, such as San Diego, Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
, Venice Beach and Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
as well as areas of Northern California
Northern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
like Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz County, California
Santa Cruz County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, on the California Central Coast. The county forms the northern coast of the Monterey Bay. . As of the 2010 U.S. Census, its population was 262,382. The county seat is Santa Cruz...
.
Over a decade after Nowell's death and the band's breakup, Sublime remains immensely popular throughout North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, especially in its state of origin, California. Its songs have been featured via soundtrack in a variety of media. Los Angeles alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
radio station KROQ
KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM — branded 106.7 KROQ — is a commercial modern rock radio station licensed to Pasadena, California serving the Greater Los Angeles. The call sign is pronounced "kay rock." It is the flagship station of Loveline hosted by Dr...
has listed Sublime at #3 in their annual "Top 106.7 biggest KROQ bands of all time" list for the past six years in a row, behind Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
and Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
, and #81 at the "Top 166 Artists of 1980-2008" list. With over 17 million units sold worldwide, Sublime is one of the most successful ska-punk acts of all time influencing many modern reggae and ska acts.
Discography
- For Sublime With Rome's discography, see Sublime with Rome discography.
- 40 Oz. to Freedom40 Oz. to Freedom40oz. to Freedom is the 1992 debut album by the Southern California ska-punk band Sublime released by Skunk Records and again by MCA. 40oz. to Freedom received mixed critical reviews upon its first release, but has earned an improved public perception since...
(1992) - Robbin' the HoodRobbin' the HoodRobbin' the Hood is the second album by the Southern California ska punk band Sublime, which was released in 1994.- Context and production values :...
(1994) - SublimeSublime (album)Sublime is the third and final album released by ska-punk band Sublime. Originally intended to be titled Killin' It, the band and record label agreed to substitute an eponymous title due to lead singer Bradley Nowell's death prior to the album's release...
(1996)
- 40 Oz. to Freedom