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Reel Time: Sublime with Rome

Following the death of lead singer Brad Nowell’s death in 1996 from a heroin overdose, Sublime’s two remaining members—drummer Bud Gaugh and bassist Eric Wilson—continued to make music with various groups including the ill-fated Long Beach Dub Allstars that disbanded in 2002.

In 2009, at a bar in Reno, Nev., Gaugh and Wilson debuted a new Sublime lineup with young singer/guitarist Rome Ramirez taking over Nowell’s duties. The band subsequently toured last summer under the banner Sublime with Rome and has now begun the process of recording a record.

With a tentative release date of June and four songs in the can with producer Sylvia Massy (TOOL, The Black Crowes, Prince)—“Panic,” “Take it or Leave It,” “She’s a Murderer” and the tentatively titled “Dub Track #1”—Gaugh gave Relix the inside scoop on the much anticipated new album.

What other bands have you looked to for guidance that were able to continue after a fundamental lineup change?

AC/DC—that was just proof in the pudding that this could be done as long as we handled it properly. Also The Dead in going back out and just dropping the Grateful part—changing the name to acknowledge that there has been a change in the lineup and that it’s a new yet similar entity.

What was the crowd reaction like to the Sublime with Rome shows this past summer?

It’s been amazing and they’ve been fully supportive. The crowd response is awesome. Sometimes the crowd is even louder singing the lyrics than the PA system. They sing every word to every song throughout the show. It’s nothing but love and support.

Did you and Eric ever think you’d go back to the trio format?

Eric and I figured that we would go out and do Sublime music again—we just didn’t have the idea of what it would be called. There never was any doubt that we would do a three piece band again and play this kind of music. When we sat down with Rome and jammed, it was like we had been old friends for a long time. Seeing the smile on Eric’s face was the anchor for me in knowing that this was gonna do the music justice.