Sublime

Members: Bradley Nowell, Eric Wilson, Bud Gaugh

Active: 1988 - 1996

HISTORY

Sublime was a band whose style was a mixture of garage punk and ska from Long Beach, California. A more detailed look at the band's stylistic influences reveals a mix of reggae and dub, ska, punk, and hip hop. The band consisted of three members: Brad Nowell (vocals and guitar), Bud Gaugh (drums), and Eric Wilson (bass guitar). The band achieved mainstream success with their self-titled third album, but Brad Nowell died of a heroin overdose shortly before it was released and the band broke up soon after. The band is still considered influential today, and their music sees heavy airplay on American radio stations. Worldwide, Sublime has sold 8 million albums.

Formed in Warren, PA, in 1988 as a garage punk band, Sublime grew to fame in the mid-'90s on the back of the Cali punk explosion engendered by Green Day and The Offspring, though Sublime mixed up their punk rage with reggae and ska influences. The band released just two albums during its first seven years, finally finding a hit with its self-titled third one. It was Sublime's last, however, as lead singer Brad Nowell died in May 1996, just two months before the album's release.

The trio which comprised Sublime -- vocalist/guitarist Bradley Nowell, bassist Eric Wilson, and drummer Bud Gaugh -- played their first gig on the 4th of July 1988 at a small Long Beach club (a show which sparked the infamous Peninsula Riot). The group began aggressively touring around the area with an increasingly substantial following, especially among the surf/skate beach crowd. After four years of concentrating strictly on live shows, Sublime's first album (40 Oz. to Freedom) was recorded in 1992. The LP was released on Skunk Records -- the label formed by Nowell with Sublime manager Miguel -- and sold at shows, but it really started to break when KROQ began playing the single "Date Rape" two years after its initial release.

Mostly due to the radio exposure, Sublime signed to MCA for 1994's Robbin' the Hood, which revealed an experimental ethic more in keeping with cut-and-paste dub than the well-tuned rage of the Cali punk revival. The album performed well at college radio and set the stage for the breakout success of their self-titled third album. On May 25, 1996, however, Nowell was found in a San Francisco hotel room, dead of a heroin overdose. The band collapsed, but Sublime (the album) was still slated for a July release. On the strength of the alternative radio hit "What I Got," the album was certified gold by the end of 1996. A number of posthumous releases followed, among them 1997's Second Hand Smoke, 1998's Stand by Your Van, and Acoustic: Bradley Nowell & Friends.

ALBUMS:

1991 - Jah Won't Pay the Bills (DEMO)

1992 - 40 Oz. to Freedom

1994 - Robbin' the Hood

1996 - Sublime

1997 - Second-hand Smoke

1998 - Stand By Your Van (LIVE)

1998 - Sublime Acoustic: Bradley Nowell & Friends

COMPILATIONS:

1999 - Greatest Hits

2002 - 20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection

2005 - Look At All the Love We Found (TRIBUTE ALBUM)

2005 - Gold

2006 - Forever Free (Tribute album)

2006 - Everything Under the Sun (Box Set)

HIT SINGLES:

1995 - Date Rape

1996 - What I Got

1997 - Santeria

1997 - April 29, 1992 (Miami)

1997 - Wrong Way

1997 - Caress Me Down

1998 - Doin' Time

1998 - Badfish