In 1988, Southern California natives Bradley Nowell, Eric Wilson and [Hawaii native] Bud Gaugh–and later on, a dalmatian named Lou Dog–came together to form the impassioned ska band, Sublime. Music was an essential part of Nowell’s youth and eventual career. His mother taught piano, and even as his father was a construction worker, he additionally played guitar. This musical influence fell upon Nowell as both his parents began to teach him guitar. According to an episode of VH1’s “Behind the Music” interviewing the band, Nowell was first exposed to reggae music when accompanying his father on a sailing trip in the Virgin Islands.
Reggae is a genre of music originating in Jamaica throughout the late 1940’s and ‘60s, often recognized to be pioneered by artists such as Frederick Nathaniel Hibbert and Bob Marley and The Wailers. Not soon after the development of reggae, elements from Caribbean mento, calypso and American jazz and r&b combined to create ska. Smithsonian Folklife Magazine journalist Jake Homiak says, “By the late fifties, a new style known as ska burst onto the urban scene. As anthropologist Ken Bilby tells it, ‘Ska was born when urban Jamaican musicians began to play North American rhythm and blues, a style that had penetrated the island via imported records and radio broadcasts from Miami and other parts of the southern United States.’”
Ska is often split into three waves [periods]: the original [Jamaican] scene, Britain’s ska-rock revival and the final wave, a combination of second wave and punk. Third wave ska exploded in alternative scenes in America–specifically the coasts, emerging well known artists commonly associated with the genre like No Doubt, Less Than Jake and Sublime. While Sublime is not singularly defined by just one genre as their discography consists of hip hop, ska, punk and reggae rock, ska is the genre that the band is commonly associated with. The sound of Sublime heavily and directly influenced bands like Slightly Stoopid and Long Beach Dub Allstars.
With Nowell on vocals and guitar, Wilson on bass and Gaugh on drums, the band independently released a demo album, “Jah Won’t Pay the Bills,” featuring hits like “Badfish” and numerous demos for future albums. The band contracted a following with the release and local performances of the album. Under the band’s own record label, Skunk Records, established by Nowell and Michael “Miguel” Happoldt in 1990, they released two studio albums. “40oz to Freedom” was released June 1992, further growing the band’s popularity–primarily in California. As hits from the album like “Date Rape” received radio play, the band began to work on their second studio album, “Robbin’ the Hood,” which–at the time–did not perform as well as its predecessor. While Sublime fans then [and now] recognized and appreciated the experimental aspect of the album, it was unfortunately a commercial failure.
Sublime’s final studio album featuring Nowell was recorded throughout February and May of 1996. Throughout his musical career and recording of the self-titled album, Nowell struggled with a heroin addiction. Nowell’s father recalls the vocalist’s excuse for drug use on “Behind the Music”: “His excuse for taking the heroin was that he felt like he had to be larger than life. He was leading the band, leading his fans, and he had to put on this persona. He heard a lot of musicians say they were taking heroin to be more creative.”
May 25, 1996, Nowell fatally overdosed on heroin only a week after marrying Troy Dendekker and 11 months after welcoming their son, Jakob Nowell. Bittersweetly, “Sublime” posthumously released two months [July 1996] after Nowell’s death, reaching levels of success the band had not seen before. Sublime was introduced to immense mainstream and commercial success, peaking at No. 13 and spending over 230 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart. The album’s tracks, “Wrong Way,” “What I Got” and “Santeria” grew to be the band’s largest and most influential songs.
As a result of Nowell’s death in ‘96, Sublime broke up. In 2009, remaining members Wilson and Gaugh collaborated with musician and fan Rome Ramirez, and briefly continued under the name Sublime. However, the band later changed their name to Sublime with Rome due to a legal challenge faced by Nowell’s estate regarding the trademarked name.
According to a People interview written by Jordan Runtagh with Nowell’s son, Jakob, now 29 he had felt “increasingly uneasy” as fans began to blur the line between a “tribute act” and “distinct musical identity,” mistaking the Sublime with Rome for the real Sublime. Jakob added, “I’ll bump into people who tell me, ‘Dude, I saw Sublime play in 2014!’ And I’m like, ‘No you didn’t…’ It’s very weird. There’s only one band called Sublime and they stopped performing when my father died in ’96.” In 2024, Sublime with Rome announced the band’s planned disbandment to occur at the end of the year. This disbandment was announced for awareness of Wilson’s personal struggle and the founding members of Sublime rebranding with Nowell’s son, Jakob.
Making his debut at April 2024 Coachella, Jakob joins Wilson and Gaugh as the vocalist and guitarist for Sublime. Prior to joining his father’s bandmates, Jakob had been busy with his own band, Law and Jakob’s Castle. In a previously mentioned People interview, Jakob spoke fondly of crossing the country in a cramped mini van and experiencing the “pirate” lifestyle of playing on the road and sleeping on floors. In the recent time of many stars having familial relationships in the industry and being accused of it largely contributing to their success–which is referred to as nepotism–Jakob does not believe it largely impacted his successes: “A lot of people think there was a nepotism thing at play for me and it was easy to snap my fingers and make [a music career] happen,” he said. “But I’ve put in my work. I’ve played on the road, I’ve slept on floors. I enjoy that, too. I like the pirate lifestyle!”
As Jakob, Wilson and Gaugh have fun with their new and resumed musical ventures of Sublime, they collectively agree on performing throughout each year at select festivals and shows. Jakob includes that he does not have interest in writing new material for Sublime. He uses the opportunity of being in Sublime to further get to know his father. “When we create art, it contains pieces of you,” he says. “Recurring themes, lyrical inside jokes. Those things create this map of a person you’ve never met. I think stepping into this role has given me a lot of closure. The story feels complete.” Jakob does not claim the position of “frontman” that many assign to him. In a beautifully written San Diego Magazine excerpt and interview done by Inna Vityaz, Jakob told Vityaz, “My dad, Bradley, was Sublime’s only frontman,” he continues, “I’m only here to fulfill a role and then try to see where we can bring that to new heights, into new areas. You know, I can’t just try to be something that I’m not.”
Witnessing the revival of a band that I hold so dear to my heart–as someone who bases their entire life around music–creates a bittersweet sense of joy. Speaking for myself and [maybe] other fans. Being a part of an art established by someone you had come from yet never got to know is sad, tragic and incredibly personal yet beautiful. Seeing it occur through an artist I am absolutely captivated by only pushes me to wholefully appreciate the wonders of music and art. Jakob said: “We come together at musical events and we revel and we celebrate and we move forward. I think that’s the most beautiful process of my entire life.”
