Sublime, Nowell family battle it out over band name
Bands form and, because of outside interference or petty in-fighting, they are no more. The cycle will always be. But some bands hope to recapture the magic with reunion gigs and new albums. For the surviving members of Sublime, their attempt at a reunion is unearthing some painful memories and pitting a once tight-knit unit against one another.
The surviving members of the legendary outfit, Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh, first played a reunion show in Nevada with new singer Rome Ramirez last February. Then, this past weekend at the Smokeout Festival in San Bernardino, California, the trio played for the first time under the Sublime name (see below). However, as Rolling Stone reports, members of Nowell’s family have threatened legal action if Wilson and Gaugh continue to perform under the Sublime name. The family claims that before he died of a heroin overdose on May 25th, 1996, Nowell trademarked the Sublime name to ensure it wasn’t used without him being a part.
“As Brad’s heirs, and with the support of his entire family, we only want to respect his wishes and therefore have not consented to Bud and Eric calling their new project Sublime,” the Nowel family’s statement read. “We have always supported Bud and Eric’s musical endeavors and their desire to continue to play Sublime’s music. We wholeheartedly supported Bud, Eric and the many talented members of the Sublime posse that formed the Long Beach Dub All-Stars, soon after Brad’s death, to honor him through their original recordings, live performances and Sublime music until they disbanded in 2001. But, out of respect for Brad’s wishes, we have always refused to endorse any group performing as Sublime, and now with great reluctance feel compelled to take the appropriate legal action to protect Brad’s legacy.”
But Wilson and Gaugh responded with two statements of their own. The combined statement from the two said that while they continue to mourn Nowell’s untimely passing, they feel performing under the Sublime banner will get their musical message across that much better.
“Brad’s heirs apparently do not share this vision and do not want the band Sublime to continue and tried - unsuccessfully - to file a temporary restraining order to prevent the band from carrying on,” read the Wilson/Guagh statement. “Despite those objections, we are pleased that the United States District Court has allowed us to perform as Sublime for all of our fans. We urge everyone to join us in our message of peace and love, and we look forward to sharing the music we created — the music that defines us.”
Gaugh himself released a personal statement, attempting to drive home the fact that while Nowell is synonymous with the band, the group started in 1986 is just as much his and Wilson’s band.
“It’s unfortunate that The Estate would take a position against us,” Gaugh wrote. “Eric, Brad and I started this band when we were kids. We were the ones that spent years paying dues playing hole-in-the-wall clubs. We were the ones lugging around our gear in a broken down van. We were the ones that spent years writing, recording and rehearsing. WE. Not anyone else. Sublime is a band — our band.”
We’ll keep you updated if and when this issue reaches the courts.
Guys, Check out this letter from Jon of Silverback Management, Sublime’s old management: http://bit.ly/LetterToSublimeFans
Sublime….Most Epic at Smokeout…..Pennywise complete letdown at Smokeout
Yep, I was at the SmokeOut show. I was actually happy to see them live for the first time and Rome actually does have an amazing and he does sound exactly like Brad. On top of all that, I don’t see a real reason why they should use a different name. Hell, after Bon Scott died, AC/DC continued playing as AC/DC, and after Layne Staley died, Alice in Chains continued playing Alice in Chains.
Gary, you are an idiot. I was in the pit for Sublime at Smoke Out and it was fucking epic. Rome was amazing. He paid proper tribute to Brad and totally pulled it off… solos and all. Everyone hating on Rome needs to shut the fuck up. Sublime kicked fucking ass and everyone who was there knows it. Everyone there was screaming and cheering and it was as glorious of a comeback as it possibly could have been. So many people have been commenting about how this reunion shouldn’t be happening without Brad. Well I agree with Bud and Eric that the Sublime legacy shouldn’t be dead forever. Everyone can agree that Brad can never be replaced, but after seeing Rome I believe that he should be the one to keep his legacy alive. People keep saying that “its not the real Sublime”… well it sure fucking sounded like it when I was there. I heard an hour of Sublime songs that I have never been lucky enough to hear live. Sure it wasn’t Brad singing… but at the end of the day its the songs that matter. At least its still 2/3 of the original members. I’ve been a Sublime fan for 13 years and never had the pleasure of seeing them live. I can’t tell you how fucking happy I was to get a chance to see them. I was nervous for them because of all the haters out there and I was praying that they wouldn’t get booed. I was so happy for them and the crowd was fucking loving it. I was almost in tears while they were playing, and after going to 10 festivals this year and seeing almost 200 performances I can honestly put Sublime’s show at Smoke Out on my top 10 most memorable performances of 2009 list. Seriously… anyone who is still hating on Rome obviously wasn’t there. They didn’t disappoint… AT ALL. Watch the youtube videos and listen to the crowd if you don’t believe me. Gary and Jaaacccooo definitely weren’t there. I saw Sublime last Saturday. What did you do?
whats in a name? music comes from the soul…bud and eric will always be “sublime”…therefore, i dont care what name they play under, rome has done a fantastic job replacing a musical icon, that in and of itself is an accomplishment, so keep playin gentlemen i hope to attend a live show in the near future.
p.s. after bob marley died the wailers still maintained “the wailers”
I think they should keep the name, they’re 2/3 of the group. RIP Brad.
Brad just rolled over in his grave, i hope his family is happy. Music is to be shared by fans for all years. To think one man out of a band can claim rights to the name. It belongs to all of them. Does Brad’s family want him to be like axel rose lol It’s always the stupid family
Rome is an idiot and he doesn’t deserve to replace Brad in this band!