Sublime (band)
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Sublime was an American ska-punk, reggae band that originated in Long Beach, California. Sublime consisted of three members: Bradley Nowell (vocals and guitar), Bud Gaugh (drums), and Eric Wilson (bass guitar). Former members include Joe Gomez Sublime (drums), Kelly Vargas (who played drums whilst Bud Gaugh was in rehab) and Michael Happoldt for a very short time (guitar). The band achieved major mainstream success with their self-titled third album; however, Nowell died of a heroin overdose in his hotel room on the west side of San Francisco shortly before it was released, resulting in the band's split in 1996.[1] Worldwide, Sublime has sold 17 million albums,[2] including about 10 million in the U.S. alone.
Career
Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson were childhood friends, having grown up in the same Long Beach neighborhood; in fact, Eric's father, Billy Wilson, taught Gaugh how to read music and play the drums. Bud and Eric, together with future Sublime manager Michael Happoldt, formed a three-piece punk band called The Juice Bros, during their high school years. It was also during this time that Eric and Bud first met Brad Nowell - they both jammed with him on several occasions, albeit separately, while he attended high school in Long Beach. Brad left to begin college at UC Santa Cruz in 1986, but during a break from school in 1988, the trio (Bud, Brad, and Eric) got together and Sublime was formed. Brad transfered to Long Beach State, but dropped out in 1989 to focus solely on the band.
The band played its first gig on the Fourth of July in 1988 in a small club in Long Beach, California, reportedly (and somewhat famously amongst the cult following the band has since garnered) starting the 'Peninsula Riot' which led to seven arrests. For the next several years, the group focused primarily on playing at parties and clubs throughout Southern California, although they were able to record a few songs and put forth a number of short demos, the best known being Jah Won't Pay The Bills containing several songs which would appear on later releases.
Eventually, Sublime gained a large following within California; after concentrating on playing live shows, the band released its debut album 40 Oz. to Freedom in 1992 under lead singer Brad Nowell's record label Skunk Records. The record established Sublime's unique blend of reggae, punk, ska, and hip hop, and helped to further strengthen the group's growing SoCal following. Initially being sold exclusively at live Sublime shows, the album became widely known in the greater Los Angeles area after rock radio station KROQ began playing the song "Date Rape" from the album.
Sublime was signed to Gasoline Alley/MCA records in June 1994 by Jon Phillips who was doing A&R for the label, and subsequently became Sublime’s manager. Phillips later started Silverback Management, with his brother Matt, in 1998 while managing Long Beach Dub Allstars and Slightly Stoopid respectively. Long Beach Dub Allstars formed in the aftermath of Nowell’s death by Sublime’s remaining members Eric Wilson and Floyd Gaugh, and Slightly Stoopid was signed to Skunk Records as teenagers and was produced by Bradley and Skunk Records co-founder Michael “Miguel” Happoldt. Nowell actually appears on “Slightly Stoopid” Official Website, the band’s first album on skunk 1996.
The band toured extensively throughout 1994 and '95, their popularity increasing gradually beyond the West Coast as "Date Rape" began earning radio play. While their live shows were often a ferociously powerful and gloriously imperfect mash-up of thrash punk, dub, improvised dancehall lyricism and psychedelic rock, the band (Brad in particular) were well-known for being "hit or miss" live. Many videos, publicly available online, of Sublime playing live show Brad's tendency to play heavily intoxicated, sometimes not even able to play the guitar. In 1995, the band co-headlined the inaugural nation-wide Vans Warped Tour. Sublime was easily one of the most popular acts on the tour, but their chaotic, self-sabotaging behavior and unabashed drug use and drunkenness led to tension between the band and the tour management. During the tour, drummer Gaugh was arrested several times for possession of marijuana, and the band's famed practice of bringing their dogs with them everywhere (even on stage) led to concert-goers being bit. Sublime was actually kicked off the tour for some time before crowd demand forced the Warped Tour decision-makers to reconsider and bring Sublime back. After the Warped Tour, and the subsequent Three Ring Circus Tour (famous in Sublime folklore), the band was pressured to begin producing new studio material as a proper follow-up to the suddenly-prosperous 40 Oz. to Freedom. In February of 1996, the band began recording the material which would comprise their major label debut album.
Lead singer Bradley Nowell died of heroin overdose on May 25, 1996 in a hotel room[3], just two months before the release of their self-titled third record, which became a hugely successful release from the single "What I Got", which was featured on the soundtrack for ESPN's X Games.[4] The self-titled album earned the band worldwide fame, and has since gone five-times platinum. Several singles, aside from the #1 Modern Rock Chart hit "What I Got" (inspired by Half Pint's song, Lovin'), received heavy airplay, including "Santeria", "Doin' Time", "Wrong Way", and "April 26th, 1992 ".
A number of posthumous releases followed, among them Second-Hand Smoke in 1997, and Stand by Your Van and Sublime Acoustic: Bradley Nowell & Friends in 1998.[1] By the release of their Greatest Hits compilation in 1999, it had been noted that the band had released as many albums after Bradley Nowell's death as they had when Nowell was still alive.[5] A box set of demos, rarities, and live recording, called Everything Under the Sun, was released on November 14, 2006.[6] Following Sublime's demise, its surviving members, Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh, began a new band under the name "Long Beach Dub Allstars" that included many frequent contributors to Sublime, including Michael "Miguel" Happoldt (former member of The Ziggens), Todd Forman (currently a member of 3rd Alley), and "Field" Marshall Goodman and disbanded in 2002, when Gaugh left for the rock supergroup Eyes Adrift with Krist Novoselic of Nirvana and Curt Kirkwood of Meat Puppets. Bud was also in the band Volcano with Curt and Miguel (Michael Happoldt).[7]
Musical Style
Sublime utilized a genre-blending style which incorporated elements of dub, reggae, ska, punk rock, dancehall, hip hop, psychedelic rock, and acoustic rock. 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.
Sublime's music was highlighted by smooth bass-driven grooves, reggae rhythms, elaborately-cadenced rhyme schemes, and the ability to seamlessly transition between paces and styles throughout a given song (sometimes alternating between furious thrash punk, ska, and slow reggae within the same song). Sublime's musical versatility and willingness to experiment with their sound allowed for a wide range of appeal. Their music often contains psychedelic, harmonic minor-based, or blues-oriented guitar solos, rhythmically-improvised bass solos or dub-lines, turntable scratching, and rolling drum transitions.
Sublime's most appealing attribute, however, was the vocal and lyrical abilities of Bradley Nowell. He proved himself not only as a deeply soulful singer, but also as a talented rapper, dancehall improvisationalist, and scat singer. His lyrics have been praised as humorous and emotionally deep by some, and criticized as immature by others, but it is undeniable that his crooning voice, cadenced rhyme schemes and dancehall-tinged rapping ability were among the biggest draws for the band.
From the band's MySpace:
Rolling Stone writer David Wild has this to say 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 as 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."
Legacy
Even over a decade after Nowell's death and the band's break-up, Sublime remains immensely popular throughout the United States, especially in its state of origin, California. The renowned Los Angeles alternative rock radio station, KROQ, has listed Sublime at #2 during its Memorial Weekend "Top 106.7 biggest KROQ bands of all time" for the past 6 years in a row, behind only Nirvana[9]. With over 17 million units sold worldwide, Sublime is unquestionably one of the most successful ska-punk acts of all time. Although many reggae purists do not accept Sublime as an integral part of reggae history, Sublime has undoubtedly played a large part in the re-emergence of reggae in mainstream music, as they were perhaps the most widespread and prolific reggae-incorporating act since Bob Marley.
They are considered as a preeminent "party band"; their music is extremely popular at high school and college parties throughout the United States, Canada and New Zealand, due to their often narcotic-related subject matter and their dance-worthy, jumpy or skankable feel to their songs.
Sublime, along with 3 other bands, have been confirmed to be included in the upcoming video game Guitar Hero World Tour.[10]
Discography
Albums
| Released | Album | Notes |
| 1992 | 40 Oz. to Freedom | Certified 2x Platinum by RIAA[11]; peaked at #15 at Top Heatseekers in 1995 and #140 in Billboard 200 in 1996[12] |
| 1994 | Robbin' the Hood | Certified Gold by RIAA[11] |
| 1996 | Sublime | Certified 5x Multi Platinum by RIAA[11]; peaked at #13 on Billboard 200[12] |
Tribute albums
| Released | Album | Notes |
| 2005 | Look at All the Love We Found[13] | Featuring covers of Sublime songs by the likes of No Doubt, Jack Johnson and Pennywise |
| 2006 | Forever Free | |
| 2003 | LBC lounge- A Tribute to Sublime | |
| 2006 | Livin's EZ - Hawaiian Tribute To Sublime |
Compilations and live albums
| Released | Album | Notes |
| 1995 | Badfish (EP) | |
| 1997 | What I Got (EP) | Peaked at #169 on Billboard 200[12] |
| 1997 | Doin' Time (EP) | [12] |
| 1997 | Second-hand Smoke | Certified platinum by RIAA[11]; peaked at #28 on Billboard 200[12] |
| 1998 | Stand by Your Van | Peaked at #49 on Billboard 200[12] |
| 1998 | Sublime Acoustic: Bradley Nowell & Friends | Peaked at #107 on Billboard 200[12] |
| 1999 | Greatest Hits | Certified gold by RIAA[11]; peaked at #114 on Billboard 200[12] |
| 2002 | 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Sublime | Certified gold by RIAA[11]; peaked at #190 on Billboard 200[12] |
| 2005 | Gold | Certified gold by RIAA[11]; peaked at #165 on Billboard 200[12] |
| 2006 | Everything Under the Sun | Four disc box set |
Bootleg and unofficial releases
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||||
| US Hot 100 | US Modern Rock | US Mainstream Rock | Adult Top 40 | UK | US Hot 100 Airplay | |||
| 1995 | "Date Rape" | - | - | - | - | - | - | 40 oz. to Freedom |
| 1996 | "What I Got" | - | #1 | #11 | #39 | #71 | #29 | Sublime |
| 1997 | "Santeria" | - | #3 | - | #38 | - | #43 | Sublime |
| 1997 | "Wrong Way" | - | #3 | - | - | - | #47 | Sublime |
| 1997 | "Doin' Time" | #87 | #28 | - | - | - | - | Sublime |
References
- ^ a b Bush, John. Sublime. All Music Guide. Last accessed November 23, 2007
- ^ Big Records
- ^ Prato, Greg. Brad Nowell. All Music Guide. Accessed November 23, 2007
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "X-Games, Vol. 2". All Music Guide: 1997
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Greatest Hits" (Sublime album). All Music Guide: 1999.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Everything Under the Sun". All Music Guide: 2006
- ^ D'Angelo, Joe; Robinson, Iann. Nirvana, Sublime, Meat Puppets Members Form New Group. MTV News: January 31, 2002.
- ^ Wild, David; Rolling Stone; http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=4019425
- ^ KROQ [1]
- ^ http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/52650
- ^ a b c d e f g RIAA certification for Sublime. Last accessed November 23, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Sublime - Billboard Charts & Awards. All Music Guide. Last accessed November 23, 2007
- ^ For The Record: Quick News On Jay-Z, Chevelle, Jessica Simpson, Sublime, The Killers, Mick Jagger & More. MTV News: December 20, 2004
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