Rome Ramirez Takes Brad Nowell's Legacy Seriously In Sublime With Rome

Long Beach ska-punks Sublime were right on the verge of breaking through to the mainstream in 1996 when tragedy struck — their charismatic frontman and songwriter Brad Nowell passed away in a San Francisco motel room from a heroin overdose at the age of 28. Their acclaimed self-titled third album dropped just two months later, spawning the smash hit single What I Got and making Nowell (and his band) posthumously famous all over the globe.

Strangely, as the years passed Sublime's popularity never waned — their legacy and popularity even seemed to increase with time. In 2009 Sublime's remaining members Eric Wilson (bass) and Bud Gaugh (drums) decided to further honour the band's legacy by returning to the live scene, recruiting new frontman Rome Ramirez — a long-time fan — and hitting the road as Sublime With Rome.

"[Sublime's music] is so timeless just because you can't slap a label on it: seriously, I think that's why Sublime has become so legendary."

"I've been a fan for pretty much my whole life, so to be able to play that same music now is like a dream," Ramirez tells. "But I've been doing it a long time now and we've added to the legacy, and just to be able to travel the world with the guys, immersed in this music, it's like I get to live a whole different lifestyle — and all because of the band.

"[Sublime's music] is so timeless just because you can't slap a label on it: seriously, I think that's why Sublime has become so legendary. The songs just don't really sound like anybody else, and Brad was originally able to write lyrics that connected with what everyone was thinking, especially in SoCal where people are a little more carefree and open-minded, and I think Sublime hit that on the head."

Naturally Sublime With Rome sought to become more than a nostalgia vehicle, since adding to the band's canon with two new albums. "One of the things that Eric and Bud were really adamant about when we started was writing new music, and continuing to keep writing and push the envelope," Ramirez reflects. "It's hard to be in a band and not create music. Having been in the band for a few years now, we have a level of comfort and writing new music is one of the parts in the process that we really look forward to.

"At this point it's just about putting together shit that we dig. If you listen to our contributions to Sublime it just sounds like a melting pot of different genres — there's some shit that sounds a little more on the hip hop side, some that's a little more on the rock side, and then some trippy sounds that are a little more on the What I Got produced side, so it has its own vibe or sound. We just really try to stay focussed on writing shit that we like, and shit that we'd like to listen to."