Sublime finds a new singer, reunites in Nevada
Update: Check out the videos below…
Well kids, it happened. Almost four months after rumors of a possible reunion first surfaced, Eric Wilson and Bud Gough took to the stage with new a singer and performed under the name Sublime; the first time doing so since May 25th, 1996. The performance, which took place on Saturday night at the Cantina Los Hombres in Sparks, Nevada, featured a musician named Rome replacing the late Bradley Nowell on vocals. Per Del Mar’s MySpace (Gaugh’s current outfit, which opened the evening):
“So Del Mar played the gig at Cantina last night in Reno, it was packed and amazing. What really fucking killed it was SUBLIME reuniting and playing with new singer, Rome. We’re fucking stoked for Bud, Eric, and Rome- Bud’s still playing with Del Mar, and Sublime doesn’t have any firm tour plans or anything YET, but we’ll keep you posted on their progress. Peace!”
While no pictures or video from the concert have surfaced, a few attendees have offered their firsthand perspective on the evening, including one commenter named LJ on CoS:
I was there last night. It was Eric, Bud, & Rome. You can never replace Brad.. but it was a bad-ass show!!! Rome has a great voice, guitar skills, and killer energy. It does more justice to the music to play it live then to let it rest forever only on recordings!! The crowd was thirsty for this show and the energy was surreal!! They dedicated the set to Brad & said it was the first time they had played those songs live in about 15 years! They played a new song too which sounded pretty bad ass!
As for what’s next? Perhaps Bamboozle?
More as it comes…
“Ball and Chain”
“What I Got”
I am a guitarist/singer from the So cal area. Kelly Vargas is a good friend of mine and I have played in a couple bands with him. I have kicked it with Eric as a musical buddy and jammed with him and was hanging out with him and Kelly around the time they were trying to get “Shortbus” off the ground. I watched all the ideas sort of form themselves for carrying the Sublime torch and thier is no way to satisfy everybody and from what I observed as a musician, it was not easy to get the formula right. I know Ras from the ‘Dubs’ and ‘bus’ was always dealing with comparisons and it was frustrating to make a new successfull group with out going with the original formula. I saw a Sublime tribute band and that was lame but it’s what people wanted to see and there is a Market for that. Lots of money to be made if they do it right. I’m sure if Brad were alive today and in a similar situation, he would totally jam where ever the crowd was and where the gig payed. The way I see it, why not use the name? I just watched the youtube video and damn, that kid is pretty good. He’s taking on the shadow of Brad and thats a big part to fill and I wouldnt want to deal with that but I would love to see Eric and Bud rockin it as a power trio again, thier part in sublime is huge and they are a lot of fun to watch live and somehow they capture a sound that none of the other sublimish bands can. (Pepper is probably the closest, but most of the dub bands forget the bad brains element) I’m sure they will come up with some groovy new tunes. Yeah, its not the same but Eric and Bud sound great together and this kid can do Brad some Justice and at least we can see a piece of what we have been missing for ten years.
Some purists might see it as selling out or disrespect, but, bottom line brad’s gone and I would rather see Eric and Bud jamming and being successfull, then just watching old sublime shows on bootlegs. Good luck guys, and see if that kid can take some private lessons with H.R. that might help bring some credibility.
Im glad bands like Metallica kept going even when they lost a member. Brad has plenty of solo recordings and I agree it wont be the same but maybe thats ok. Dont buy it if you dont like it. Let bud and eric suffer cause your stubborn.
What i don’t understand is why they decided to reunite in nevada, wouldn’t it make more sense to come to a place like, oh, i don’t know, LONG BEACH?!
I think Eric and Bud are good enough judges to make me beleive this is the right thing to do. It’s not like Bradley died last week. It’s been what, 12 years now? If his bandmates want to play those old songs again with a singer who, from the little that I heard, has an incredible voice, then let them enjoy it and play the songs that they were part of the creation of. To write this off as just a cover band is ridiculous. Eric and Bud are one of the most talented rhythym sections ever and I have no doubt that many of Bradley’s songs were inspired by jams that these guys came up with. Anyone with expirience playing in a band should understand this, especially if you know dub and reggae.
Sorry Anonymous, but Sublime is not the same without Brad is all I can say.
hmmm…the two of you above (Gary and Kevin) are retarded and all this bickering doesn’t solve anything about them reunion rumors, just shut up already and think of the new Sublime (but don’t say it’s not the same without Brad), go watch some of the reunion concerts on YouTube or whatever, either way no more of this fuckin’ arguing.
hmmm…the two of you above (Gary and Kevin) are retarded
Who cares about the new Sublime? Exactly nobody! It is NOT the same without Brad.
Kevin and Gary, just because Sublime won’t be the same without Brad doesn’t mean a thing. I agree that the new Sublime won’t be the same as the old Sublime, but whether or not a band member is dead or has left makes some little difference to your opinions, to which there is little logic anyway.
Fans like you may be disappointed in the new Sublime, but some like me might like it. Heck, Eric and Bud’s stuff with Long Beach Dub Allstars may have been Sublime as well, their singer sounds exactly like Brad. In any way, shape or form, Sublime with a new singer/guitarist will still be Sublime, just a new incarnation or what-you-may-call-it.
I don’t know what I’m going to do, but yes Kevin, you are correct that Sublime pretty much won’t be the same without Brad.
It would be nice if there was some way to figure out who was the idiot who posted those reunion rumors months ago and those rumors about hiring a famous singer like Dexter from The Offspring and Billie Joe, that jerk from Green Day. Whoever made up all this fucking shit should learn more about Sublime, that’s where he (or she) will understand why Brad can never be replaced.
No, no, no, no, no! Brad himself was Sublime and Sublime was Brad himself and there’s no reason to bring the band back together without him. Think about it people, if you replaced Kurt Cobain in Nirvana, it just won’t be the same band. So, there you have it, Sublime is not the same without Brad and there’s no reason to replace him!
fuck that.
It’s not possible for Sublime to reunite. This is a cover band…
videos dont work
i agree the music should be glorified onstage rather than just on stereos, if i get the chance ima go see them.
i’m
so
very
sad
now
No way! This can’t be right. Sublime replacing Brad is just not the right thing.
lol wut, you sir are retarded.
i dont get it did he rize frum da ded lol????? i thot da singer ded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQDfwsdzKzc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brKbmscXRR0
Heres a couple videos of ‘What I Got’ and ‘Ball and Chain’ from the performance (found on youtube).
The audio is pretty bad, but you can get a feel for Rome’s stage presence.
Very interesting… I’ll give Rome a chance before I judge the new Sublime, but Sublime without Bradley feels like Nirvana without Kurt.
Aug 31st, 2009 at 11:25 am
[...] for a performance under the Sublime banner at Cypress Hill’s Smoke Out Festival. The trio previously performed together, for what was the first “Sublime” performance in 13 years, at the Cantina Los Hombres [...]