Brad -
Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist and Digital Ambassador
Bud - Drum Kit and Accounts Receivable
Eric - Bass Guitar and God of Thunder
It's been a long and wild ride since Sublime's first gig way back in 1988 in
Long Beach, CA. Their explosive debut not only set off a small-scale riot but
also marked the beginning of a rare, genre-busting collaboration. Once known as
the "below average garage punk band that every kid wanted to play at his
party," Sublime steadily escalated from a group of backyard beer buddies to
a renown musical entity. Blending a love of dance-hall and rock-steady reggae
rhythms with an aggressive punk ethic, sublime amassed a nearly fanatical
Southern California following that would do just about anything to catch one of
their blistering sets.
In 1992, realizing the hysteria they were creating, Brad and
co-conspirator/producer Michael "Miguel" Happoldt pawned the band's
equipment and founded their own label, Skunk Records, to release and
self-distribute their now cult classic 40 oz. to Freedom. The album, which was
originally recorded for under $1,000 has gone on to sell over 700,000 copies
with the first 30,000 sold directly from the trunks of their cars. 40 oz. to
Freedom has been RIAA-certified gold, and is currently charting on Billboard
magazine's Top 10 catalog album chart.
Robbin' the Hood, the experimental masterpiece released in 1994, was recorded on
a shoe string budget, partially on 4-tracks, in various living rooms and
abandoned houses around LBC as well at West Beach Studios. This subversive
album, woven together with punk, dub and crazy spoken word, was never meant to
be a follow-up to the conceptual 40 oz.; it served as a precursor to the
untapped possibilities of Sublime. Robbin's eclectic bouillabaisse of sonic
manipulation has now moved over 350,000 pieces.
The edgy morality play "Date Rape" was the first single from 40 oz. to
hit the airwaves in 1995 (3 years after it's release, 7 years after it's initial
recording). Starting at one of the country's most influential rock stations,
KROQ in L.A., the song went on to become one of the most requested songs in the
station's history according to PD Kevin Weatherly. The same scenario repeated
itself again and again in cities like Boston, DC, San Francisco, Detroit,
Denver, Orlando, Austin, Virginia Beach, Chicago and San Diego.
In '96, after two years of continuous touring, the boys went from behind the
wheel to behind the mixing board. This time they branched out from their first
two self-produced efforts and worked with outside producers. The majority of the
album, Sublime, was recorded in Austin at Willie Nelson's Pedernales Studios,
better known as "Willie World." At the helm was the legendary Butthole
Surfer himself, Paul Leary (Supersuckers, Meat Puppets). In addition, David
Kahne (Fishbone and Soul Coughing) sat in as producer on a few of Sublime's
tracks to add the spice to make everything nice.
Sublime, is a true study in versatility and a combination of everything the band
learned from recording both 40 oz and Robbin'. The seventeen tracks on sublime
range from dancehall reggae to ska to psychedelic dub to Hendrix-influenced rock
to early-eighties hardcore punk to amalgamations of all of these styles - this
is a record that can not be easily categorized. Lyrically, the album explores
everything from the joys of music and smoking herb to the realities of the
infamous L.A. riots.
When the self-titled album was released in July, 1996, it immediately entered
the Billboard Top 200 album chart at #62 and steadily climbed through the year
to perch in the top-20. The album was well received by the critics as well as
the public. Sublime received raves including, "Simply put, it is one of the
best rock records of the year..." from Time magazine. It was named the #8
album of the Top 20 albums of 1996 in Spin magazine. The Los Angeles Times
reported that, "This free-flowingggggggg, multi-genre album has more heart
and more soul than anything else I heard all year." That L.A. Times critic
named Sublime her #1 record of 1996.
The album enjoyed great success on the radio with the first single, "What I
Got," which perched at the #1 position on the Modern Rock Chart for three
weeks, was Top-5 for 13 weeks, and is still charting. "Santeria,"
their second single, followed "What I Got" to the upper reaches of the
Modern Rock Chart. "Wrong Way," the band's third single, and "Doin'
Time" the album's current single proved as popular as their predecessors.
Sublime has now sold in excess of three million records, a bittersweet
accomplishment for the band and the record label. In February 1997, the band
accepted their single platinum RIAA awards at the MCA offices (with wife, father
and son accepting for Brad). In September, Brad's family again visited the MCA
offices, this time to receive multi-platinum Sublime and gold 40 oz. plaques.
In November of 1997, Gasoline Alley/MCA Records released Second Hand Smoke, a
new album culled from never before released material, rarities, re-mixes as well
as re-mastered classics from previously released Sublime records. The 19 tracks
on the album, compiled by long-time Sublime collaborator Miguel, chronicle the
body of work of a band that brought the Southern California ska/punk sound to
national prominence.
Also released in November: Doin' Time, the singles, and Sublime, the home video.
Doin' Time, the five-track CD single, is a collection of alternate mixes of
Sublime's "Doin' Time" remade by some of today's most successful
recording artists. Tracks on the single include mixes by Wyclef Jean of the
Fugees, Snoop Doggy Dogg, The Pharcyde, as well as an unreleased Bradley version
and the original album version. Sublime, the home video, contains rare and
impromptu interview footage, four videos from the Sublime record ("What I
Got," "Wrong Way," "Santeria" and "Doin'
Time") and two cult classics ("STP" and "Date Rape").