Sublime came together in 1988 as a garage punk group and reached widespread recognition during the mid-1990s amid the California punk surge driven by Green Day and the Offspring, even though the trio infused their sound with prominent reggae and ska influences. Over their first seven years the band issued just two albums before achieving mainstream breakthrough via the self-titled collection that appeared in 1996. That record ultimately stood as Sublime’s final studio effort, since vocalist and guitarist Brad Nowell passed away in May 1996, only two months prior to its release.
The three musicians from Long Beach—vocalist/guitarist Nowell, bassist Eric Wilson, and drummer Bud Gaugh—played their debut performance on July 4, 1988, at a modest local club, an event that ignited the notorious Peninsula Riot. They spent the following years on the road and steadily built a devoted audience, particularly within the surf and skate communities. After focusing exclusively on live performances for four years, Sublime entered the studio to record 40oz. to Freedom in 1992; the album came out on Skunk Records, the imprint Nowell had started with manager Miguel, and circulated mainly through shows until KROQ began spinning the single “Date Rape” two years later.
That airplay prompted a deal with MCA, resulting in 1994’s Robbin’ the Hood, an album that leaned toward experimental cut-and-paste dub rather than the polished aggression typical of the era’s California punk revival. The record found favor on college radio and paved the way for the commercial ascent of the self-titled third album. On May 25, 1996, Nowell was discovered deceased from a heroin overdose in a San Francisco hotel room. Although the band disbanded, the eponymous album still reached stores that July.
Powered by the number-one alternative-radio single “What I Got,” the release earned gold certification before the close of 1996. “Santeria” and “Wrong Way” also received extensive rotation, and overall sales eventually surpassed five million copies, placing the album among the best-selling ska-punk records ever. Momentum carried over to the earlier catalog as well, propelling 40oz. to Freedom to double-platinum status and Robbin’ the Hood to gold. Wilson and Gaugh later formed Long Beach Dub Allstars, yet that project never matched Sublime’s brief commercial peak. Several posthumous collections followed, including Second Hand Smoke in 1997, Stand by Your Van and Acoustic: Bradley Nowell & Friends in 1998, Greatest Hits in 1999, and Gold in 2005.
Wilson and Gaugh resumed touring in 2009 with singer/songwriter Rome Ramirez under the name Sublime with Rome. Their first album together, Yours Truly, appeared on Fueled by Ramen in 2011.
