WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.580 Imagine for a second that you are living through 00:00:02.580 --> 00:00:07.080 the summer of 1996. You're driving down the highway 00:00:07.080 --> 00:00:09.660 with the windows down. Right. The classic 90s 00:00:09.660 --> 00:00:12.039 summer experience. Exactly. You turn on the radio 00:00:12.039 --> 00:00:15.460 and you hear this impossibly catchy, sun -drenched 00:00:15.460 --> 00:00:18.079 song that just completely takes over the airwaves. 00:00:18.179 --> 00:00:19.920 Oh, yeah. It becomes the undisputed soundtrack 00:00:19.920 --> 00:00:22.300 of the entire year. Yes. The band goes multi 00:00:22.300 --> 00:00:24.780 -platinum. They achieve this massive culture 00:00:24.780 --> 00:00:28.219 -shifting global fame. But, well, here is the 00:00:28.219 --> 00:00:31.500 wild part. Yeah. Imagine millions of fans singing 00:00:31.500 --> 00:00:34.359 along to those number one radio hits, completely 00:00:34.359 --> 00:00:36.299 unaware that the lead singer -like, the absolute 00:00:36.299 --> 00:00:39.119 heart and soul of the band had died exactly two 00:00:39.119 --> 00:00:41.500 months before the album even came out. It is 00:00:41.500 --> 00:00:44.359 a staggering psychological disconnect for a culture 00:00:44.359 --> 00:00:47.179 to process. I mean, you have this incredibly 00:00:47.179 --> 00:00:50.679 vibrant, living piece of art completely dominating 00:00:50.679 --> 00:00:53.219 the zeitgeist while the architect of that sound 00:00:53.219 --> 00:00:55.780 is just, well, already gone. It's totally wild. 00:00:55.960 --> 00:00:58.119 So today we are pulling from a comprehensive 00:00:58.119 --> 00:01:00.500 Wikipedia history of the iconic American rock 00:01:00.500 --> 00:01:03.939 band Sublime. A fascinating source text. It really 00:01:03.939 --> 00:01:06.260 is. And your mission today, as you listen to 00:01:06.260 --> 00:01:08.959 this deep dive, is to journey with us as we explore 00:01:08.959 --> 00:01:11.939 how a group of Southern California kids built 00:01:11.939 --> 00:01:15.040 an absolute empire on a fake it till you make 00:01:15.040 --> 00:01:17.650 it attitude. Oh, the hustle was real. It was. 00:01:18.109 --> 00:01:20.109 We're going to examine the actual mechanics of 00:01:20.109 --> 00:01:22.569 their impossible musical fusion, how their volatile 00:01:22.569 --> 00:01:25.269 lifestyle clashed with the industry, and how 00:01:25.269 --> 00:01:28.430 decades later their legacy is experiencing an 00:01:28.430 --> 00:01:31.290 unprecedented bloodline driven resurrection. 00:01:31.430 --> 00:01:33.629 Which is just such a rare thing in music history. 00:01:33.790 --> 00:01:35.590 Right. OK, let's unpack this because reading 00:01:35.590 --> 00:01:37.569 through the source material, you quickly realize 00:01:37.569 --> 00:01:40.290 this is not your standard rock biography. Far 00:01:40.290 --> 00:01:42.549 from it. I mean, this deep dive functions as 00:01:42.549 --> 00:01:45.329 a profound case study in how art can become a 00:01:45.329 --> 00:01:48.000 living, breathing entity. that survives its creator, 00:01:48.739 --> 00:01:51.319 it forces us to ask incredibly complex questions 00:01:51.319 --> 00:01:55.040 about legacy, legal ownership, and, well, the 00:01:55.040 --> 00:01:57.260 messy reality of what happens when the music 00:01:57.260 --> 00:02:00.120 outlives the musician. Absolutely. So to understand 00:02:00.120 --> 00:02:02.019 the chaos of the aftermath, we really have to 00:02:02.019 --> 00:02:04.019 look at the chemistry of the origin. Long Beach, 00:02:04.019 --> 00:02:07.900 California, 1988. Setting the scene. Yeah. We 00:02:07.900 --> 00:02:10.740 have a trio. Bradley Knoll on vocals and guitar, 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:14.520 Eric Wilson on bass, and Bud Gaw on drums. Now, 00:02:14.639 --> 00:02:16.520 Eric and Bud were childhood friends, and they 00:02:16.520 --> 00:02:19.560 were strictly militantly into punk rock. Hardcore 00:02:19.560 --> 00:02:21.400 funk, yeah. But Bradley had just dropped out 00:02:21.400 --> 00:02:23.180 of the University of California, Santa Cruz, 00:02:23.680 --> 00:02:26.919 and he brings this entirely new flavor back home. 00:02:27.400 --> 00:02:30.979 He introduces these die -hard punk kids to Jamaican 00:02:30.979 --> 00:02:33.900 reggae and ska. Which is a massive pivot. It 00:02:33.900 --> 00:02:36.680 is. And I want to dig into how bizarre this was 00:02:36.680 --> 00:02:38.960 at the time, because, you know, blending those 00:02:38.960 --> 00:02:41.120 genres is not as simple as just playing a punk 00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:43.759 song with a reggae beat. No, not at all. The 00:02:43.759 --> 00:02:45.840 mechanics of blending those styles are inherently 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:48.500 contradictory. Well, think about it. Punk rock 00:02:48.500 --> 00:02:50.780 is built on aggressive, driving down strokes 00:02:50.780 --> 00:02:53.099 and sheer velocity. It pushes you forward. Right. 00:02:53.099 --> 00:02:56.340 It's very aggressive. Exactly. Scott and Reggae, 00:02:56.360 --> 00:02:58.360 on the other hand, are built on the offbeat, 00:02:58.539 --> 00:03:00.599 the upbeat. It's a rhythmic style that forces 00:03:00.599 --> 00:03:03.379 you to lean back into the groove. So when Bradley 00:03:03.379 --> 00:03:05.340 Knoll brought these influences together, they 00:03:05.340 --> 00:03:08.020 essentially had to invent a completely new muscular 00:03:08.020 --> 00:03:10.520 language as a trio. Oh, that makes sense, like 00:03:10.520 --> 00:03:12.680 a new way of physically playing together. Yeah. 00:03:12.830 --> 00:03:15.030 They weren't just playing punk or just playing 00:03:15.030 --> 00:03:17.650 reggae. They were seamlessly transitioning from 00:03:17.650 --> 00:03:20.210 the frantic distorted energy of hardcore punk 00:03:20.210 --> 00:03:24.169 into a deep heavy dancehall groove sometimes 00:03:24.169 --> 00:03:27.090 within the exact same four -bar phrase. And the 00:03:27.090 --> 00:03:29.229 source material highlights just how vast their 00:03:29.229 --> 00:03:30.969 influences were. I mean, they're drawing from 00:03:30.969 --> 00:03:34.169 Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, obviously. But they're 00:03:34.169 --> 00:03:36.990 also heavily pulling from hip hop acts like NWA 00:03:36.990 --> 00:03:40.250 and Public Enemy, borrowing the concept of sampling 00:03:40.250 --> 00:03:43.469 and heavy drum grooves. Add in Bad Brains, Frank 00:03:43.469 --> 00:03:47.050 Zappa, and even ABBA. ABBA, I love that detail. 00:03:47.069 --> 00:03:49.449 Right. If you are listening to this, imagine 00:03:49.449 --> 00:03:52.349 trying to pitch that specific cocktail to a club 00:03:52.349 --> 00:03:55.409 promoter in 1989. You've got a band. doing all 00:03:55.409 --> 00:03:57.430 of it at once. The promoters simply didn't get 00:03:57.430 --> 00:04:00.210 it. I mean, venues in Southern California at 00:04:00.210 --> 00:04:02.990 that time were highly segregated by genre. Yeah, 00:04:03.090 --> 00:04:05.669 very compartmentalized. Very. You had punk clubs 00:04:05.669 --> 00:04:07.889 for the punks, hip hop venues for the hip hop 00:04:07.889 --> 00:04:10.849 crowds, and reggae nights for the reggae purists. 00:04:11.409 --> 00:04:13.469 A hybrid act confused the booking agents. They 00:04:13.469 --> 00:04:15.810 didn't know where to put them. Right. They viewed 00:04:15.810 --> 00:04:18.769 polish and clear categorization as safe bets, 00:04:19.029 --> 00:04:22.379 so they flat out refused to book the band. Which 00:04:22.379 --> 00:04:25.300 leads to, honestly, my absolute favorite piece 00:04:25.300 --> 00:04:27.860 of their early history. They couldn't get a gig, 00:04:28.199 --> 00:04:31.189 so they just invented a completely fake record 00:04:31.189 --> 00:04:34.050 label. So good. They called it Skunk Records. 00:04:34.470 --> 00:04:36.449 When they approached venues, they didn't introduce 00:04:36.449 --> 00:04:39.430 themselves as three broke kids from Long Beach. 00:04:39.810 --> 00:04:42.629 They said, Hello, we are Skunk Records recording 00:04:42.629 --> 00:04:45.370 artists. Such a bold move. It's brilliant. It's 00:04:45.370 --> 00:04:47.870 like hacking the bureaucracy of the music industry. 00:04:48.290 --> 00:04:50.269 You realize the system isn't built for your weird 00:04:50.269 --> 00:04:52.490 hybrid art. So you literally forge the permit 00:04:52.490 --> 00:04:54.850 that makes you look official just to force people 00:04:54.850 --> 00:04:58.089 to pay attention. It reminds me of a rogue culinary 00:04:58.089 --> 00:05:01.120 fusion food truck. OK, I like analogy. Like they 00:05:01.120 --> 00:05:03.540 knew their bizarre recipe, this reggae punk thing, 00:05:03.579 --> 00:05:06.579 was delicious, but they had to print a fake health 00:05:06.579 --> 00:05:08.699 inspector grade just to get people to take the 00:05:08.699 --> 00:05:10.899 first bite. What's fascinating here is that this 00:05:10.899 --> 00:05:16.139 DIY subversive origin is crucial because it perfectly 00:05:16.139 --> 00:05:18.339 mirrored their musical philosophy. Oh interesting. 00:05:18.579 --> 00:05:20.860 Yeah. They weren't just blending genres. They 00:05:20.860 --> 00:05:23.279 were actively ignoring boundaries. They didn't 00:05:23.279 --> 00:05:25.300 care about the established rules of the music 00:05:25.300 --> 00:05:27.319 industry any more than they cared about the established 00:05:27.319 --> 00:05:29.860 rules of music theory. They just bypassed the 00:05:29.860 --> 00:05:32.740 gatekeepers entirely. Exactly. They hacked the 00:05:32.740 --> 00:05:35.939 system because they view the system as inherently 00:05:35.939 --> 00:05:37.879 flawed. And they took that subversive energy 00:05:37.879 --> 00:05:40.120 to the extreme. The source material mentions 00:05:40.120 --> 00:05:42.819 they literally trespassed into a school studio 00:05:42.819 --> 00:05:45.339 at midnight. Oh, yeah, Cal State Dominguez Hills. 00:05:45.800 --> 00:05:48.600 Right. A music student named Michael Miguel Hapelt 00:05:48.600 --> 00:05:51.259 snuck them in. They recorded from midnight until 00:05:51.259 --> 00:05:54.060 seven in the morning, dodging security, and that 00:05:54.060 --> 00:05:56.279 illicit session became their foundational early 00:05:56.279 --> 00:05:59.589 tape. Ja won't pay the bills. Which built them 00:05:59.589 --> 00:06:02.810 a massive, fiercely loyal grassroots following. 00:06:03.149 --> 00:06:05.050 I mean, they were literally selling these tapes 00:06:05.050 --> 00:06:07.290 out of the trunks of their cars at local surf 00:06:07.290 --> 00:06:09.189 and skate shops. We also have to mention the 00:06:09.189 --> 00:06:10.930 unofficial fourth member of the band because 00:06:10.930 --> 00:06:13.209 it adds so much to their local mythology. Lou 00:06:13.209 --> 00:06:18.149 Dog. Yes. In 1990, Bradley adopts an abused Dalmatian 00:06:18.149 --> 00:06:20.889 puppy from a shelter, names him Louie after his 00:06:20.889 --> 00:06:24.699 grandfather. Lou Dog. A legend in his own right. 00:06:24.980 --> 00:06:28.459 Truly. This dog becomes a free -roaming mascot. 00:06:28.759 --> 00:06:30.699 He just wanders around the stage during their 00:06:30.699 --> 00:06:34.240 chaotic backyard shows. It paints a vivid picture 00:06:34.240 --> 00:06:37.300 of this wildly independent, rebellious energy. 00:06:37.420 --> 00:06:39.660 It really does. But as we move into the early 00:06:39.660 --> 00:06:42.379 90s, the source material shows how that exact 00:06:42.379 --> 00:06:45.199 rule -breaking energy started to become a highly 00:06:45.199 --> 00:06:47.779 volatile cocktail. The transition from playing 00:06:47.779 --> 00:06:50.079 Long Beach house parties to operating within 00:06:50.079 --> 00:06:52.920 a professional music industry is where the friction 00:06:53.529 --> 00:06:56.990 Well, the grind was incredibly taxing. By 1992, 00:06:57.290 --> 00:06:59.550 they self -released their album 40 Ounces to 00:06:59.550 --> 00:07:02.290 Freedom under their fake Skunk Records imprint. 00:07:02.430 --> 00:07:04.709 And it actually worked, right? It did. It starts 00:07:04.709 --> 00:07:07.350 gaining massive local traction, especially after 00:07:07.350 --> 00:07:10.490 the massive Los Angeles radio station KROQ puts 00:07:10.490 --> 00:07:13.209 the track Date Rape into heavy rotation. That's 00:07:13.209 --> 00:07:15.930 huge for an independent band. Massive. That album 00:07:15.930 --> 00:07:18.910 ends up moving over 209 ,000 units before 1996, 00:07:19.269 --> 00:07:21.480 so they had undeniable momentum. But their follow 00:07:21.480 --> 00:07:24.160 -up in 1994, Robin the Hood, deliberately subverted 00:07:24.160 --> 00:07:26.819 all commercial expectations. Yeah. The source 00:07:26.819 --> 00:07:29.779 describes it as an experimental commercial failure. 00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:32.879 It was packed with spoken word nonsense, random 00:07:32.879 --> 00:07:35.959 acoustic home recordings, and lo -fi samples. 00:07:36.120 --> 00:07:38.639 Very anti -commercial. Right. And while they 00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:41.019 are releasing confusing albums, their lifestyle 00:07:41.019 --> 00:07:43.560 is colliding hard with professional expectations 00:07:43.560 --> 00:07:47.949 on the road. Cut to 1995, they co -headline the 00:07:47.949 --> 00:07:50.310 inaugural Vans Warped Tour. Which is supposed 00:07:50.310 --> 00:07:52.370 to be their massive national breakout. Exactly. 00:07:52.509 --> 00:07:54.410 Instead, they get kicked off the tour for an 00:07:54.410 --> 00:07:57.120 entire week. Bud Goff later admitted their routine 00:07:57.120 --> 00:07:59.519 was to wake up, drink, play their set, drink 00:07:59.519 --> 00:08:01.879 more, and verbally abuse the staff and other 00:08:01.879 --> 00:08:04.540 bands. Just absolute chaos. And the final straw 00:08:04.540 --> 00:08:07.579 was Lou Dog, the mascot, biting four different 00:08:07.579 --> 00:08:09.959 skateboarders. It is the quintessential self 00:08:09.959 --> 00:08:12.459 -destructive rock and roll disaster narrative. 00:08:12.560 --> 00:08:14.139 I have to push back on that narrative, though. 00:08:14.339 --> 00:08:17.680 Oh, how so? Well, it's so easy for music historians 00:08:17.680 --> 00:08:20.600 to romanticize the chaotic rock star lifestyle. 00:08:20.860 --> 00:08:23.980 But looking at these facts, was this anti -establishment 00:08:23.980 --> 00:08:26.100 behavior actually really self -sabotage? That's 00:08:26.100 --> 00:08:29.660 a valid question. Like, they clearly had undeniable 00:08:29.660 --> 00:08:32.100 generational talent. If they hadn't been actively 00:08:32.100 --> 00:08:34.179 antagonizing their peers and letting their dog 00:08:34.179 --> 00:08:36.379 bite people, could they have been massive years 00:08:36.379 --> 00:08:37.820 earlier? Were they just getting in their own 00:08:37.820 --> 00:08:40.360 way? That is the essential tension of their entire 00:08:40.360 --> 00:08:42.259 career. From a strictly business perspective, 00:08:42.639 --> 00:08:46.039 absolutely, it was self -sabotage. But we have 00:08:46.039 --> 00:08:49.259 to look at the cultural context of the mid -90s 00:08:49.259 --> 00:08:51.519 punk and alternative scene. Okay, set the scene 00:08:51.519 --> 00:08:54.139 for us. The culture was actively rejecting the 00:08:54.139 --> 00:08:57.259 overproduced, highly polished glam rock of the 00:08:57.259 --> 00:09:01.120 1980s. In the 90s, authenticity was the ultimate 00:09:01.120 --> 00:09:04.120 currency. Polish was viewed with intense suspicion. 00:09:04.519 --> 00:09:06.799 Ah, so trying too hard was a bad look. Exactly. 00:09:06.970 --> 00:09:09.529 So to their fan base, their messiness, their 00:09:09.529 --> 00:09:11.850 unpredictability, and their outright refusal 00:09:11.850 --> 00:09:14.509 to behave professionally, that was their authenticity. 00:09:14.830 --> 00:09:16.669 It proved they weren't manufactured industry 00:09:16.669 --> 00:09:19.230 plants. So the chaos was almost a badge of honor 00:09:19.230 --> 00:09:21.289 for the fans, even if it was a nightmare for 00:09:21.289 --> 00:09:24.190 the booking agents. Precisely. However, the business 00:09:24.190 --> 00:09:26.149 side of the music industry has a breaking point. 00:09:26.429 --> 00:09:29.850 The Warped Tour eviction served as a harsh, necessary 00:09:29.850 --> 00:09:32.389 reality check. They had to get it together. Yeah, 00:09:32.490 --> 00:09:34.450 the label and management essentially cornered 00:09:34.450 --> 00:09:36.950 them, making it clear that the novelty of the 00:09:36.950 --> 00:09:39.870 party band antics had worn off. That immense 00:09:39.870 --> 00:09:42.929 pressure forced them to finally focus, stop messing 00:09:42.929 --> 00:09:45.830 around, and get into a proper studio to record 00:09:45.830 --> 00:09:49.200 a definitive major label debut. And that pressure 00:09:49.200 --> 00:09:52.139 cooker environment in early 1996 produced an 00:09:52.139 --> 00:09:54.759 absolute diamond of a record, which brings us 00:09:54.759 --> 00:09:56.940 to the most tragic irony of this entire story. 00:09:57.360 --> 00:09:59.720 Yeah. February 1996, they head into the studio. 00:10:00.159 --> 00:10:02.220 They finish recording their self -titled third 00:10:02.220 --> 00:10:05.159 album. They pour everything into it. And then 00:10:05.159 --> 00:10:08.659 on May 25, 1996, the day after playing a show 00:10:08.659 --> 00:10:11.840 in Petaluma, California, Bradley Knoll dies at 00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:14.460 a heroin overdose in a San Francisco motel room. 00:10:14.519 --> 00:10:17.870 It's just so sad. He was only 28 years old. is 00:10:17.870 --> 00:10:20.429 utterly devastating. He had struggled with addiction 00:10:20.429 --> 00:10:23.450 for years and he passed away on the very precipice 00:10:23.450 --> 00:10:25.330 of everything the band had been working toward 00:10:25.330 --> 00:10:27.970 since those Long Beach house parties in 1988. 00:10:28.649 --> 00:10:30.190 Here's where it gets really interesting from 00:10:30.190 --> 00:10:32.350 a purely cultural standpoint. Two months later 00:10:32.350 --> 00:10:35.149 the self -titled album Sublime is released to 00:10:35.149 --> 00:10:37.610 the public and it becomes a cultural juggernaut. 00:10:37.750 --> 00:10:40.750 An absolute phenomenon. It goes five times platinum. 00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:44.539 Over 10 million copies sold in the U .S. alone, 00:10:44.620 --> 00:10:47.139 pushing the band's total global sales past 17 00:10:47.139 --> 00:10:50.039 million. Tracks like Santoria, Wrong Way, and 00:10:50.039 --> 00:10:52.580 What I Got, which hit number one on the modern 00:10:52.580 --> 00:10:55.139 rock chart, are inescapable. You couldn't go 00:10:55.139 --> 00:10:56.820 anywhere without hearing them. And I want to 00:10:56.820 --> 00:10:59.139 dig into why this album exploded the way it did, 00:10:59.220 --> 00:11:01.940 because sure, morbid curiosity about a deceased 00:11:01.940 --> 00:11:04.200 singer might get people to tune in once, but 00:11:04.200 --> 00:11:06.500 it doesn't sell 10 million records and keep a 00:11:06.500 --> 00:11:09.019 song on the radio for 30 years. If we connect 00:11:09.019 --> 00:11:11.700 this to the bigger picture, The underlying reason 00:11:11.700 --> 00:11:14.600 it endured is that the music itself was a masterpiece 00:11:14.600 --> 00:11:17.779 of its era. As No Doubt's bassist Tony Canal 00:11:17.779 --> 00:11:20.279 pointed out in the source material, Sublime managed 00:11:20.279 --> 00:11:22.440 to create a sound that seamlessly, incredibly 00:11:22.440 --> 00:11:24.559 fused all those disparate genres we talked about 00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:26.679 earlier. Right, the punk, the ska, the hip hop. 00:11:26.840 --> 00:11:29.980 Yeah. But the critical glue holding that impossible 00:11:29.980 --> 00:11:33.200 fusion together was the undeniable soul in Bradley 00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:35.899 Noel's voice. He didn't sound like a punk singer 00:11:35.899 --> 00:11:38.519 trying to do reggae, he sounded like a man pouring 00:11:38.519 --> 00:11:40.950 his absolute soul into the microphone. There 00:11:40.950 --> 00:11:43.490 is also this fascinating contrast in the album 00:11:43.490 --> 00:11:47.330 itself. You have these incredibly dark, lyrical 00:11:47.330 --> 00:11:49.210 themes. I mean, they are singing about severe 00:11:49.210 --> 00:11:52.809 addiction, the LA riots, prostitution, and deep 00:11:52.809 --> 00:11:55.610 depression. Very heavy subject matter. But it's 00:11:55.610 --> 00:11:58.370 entirely masked by the sunniest, most upbeat, 00:11:58.710 --> 00:12:01.210 danceable instrumentation imaginable. It tricks 00:12:01.210 --> 00:12:03.889 the ear. And because of his sudden death, the 00:12:03.889 --> 00:12:06.539 album was essentially sealed in amber. It became 00:12:06.539 --> 00:12:09.379 a perfect, untouchable artifact of the 1990s. 00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:11.620 Because there's no follow -up to ruin it. Exactly. 00:12:12.039 --> 00:12:13.779 There would never be a disappointing follow -up 00:12:13.779 --> 00:12:16.720 record. There would be no messy public decline 00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:19.159 or creative differences playing out in the tabloids. 00:12:19.500 --> 00:12:22.179 The band was frozen in time at the absolute height 00:12:22.179 --> 00:12:24.740 of their creative power. The art was sealed in 00:12:24.740 --> 00:12:27.679 amber, but the surviving human beings, Eric Wilson 00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:30.200 and Bud Goh, were thrust into an incredibly messy 00:12:30.200 --> 00:12:32.620 reality. Think about being in their shoes. I 00:12:32.620 --> 00:12:34.799 can't even imagine. You were mourning your childhood 00:12:34.799 --> 00:12:37.539 best friend. But simultaneously, your band is 00:12:37.539 --> 00:12:39.580 suddenly the biggest musical act in the world. 00:12:39.799 --> 00:12:41.980 What do you even do with that? The initial reaction 00:12:41.980 --> 00:12:45.200 from their camp was closure. Their manager, Jason 00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:47.320 Westfall, issued a very definitive statement 00:12:47.320 --> 00:12:50.480 saying, just like Nirvana, Sublime died when 00:12:50.480 --> 00:12:53.100 Brad died. Very final. And for a while, that 00:12:53.100 --> 00:12:55.759 was the accepted reality. The label released 00:12:55.759 --> 00:12:58.220 posthumous compilations like Secondhand Smoke 00:12:58.220 --> 00:13:01.259 and live albums like Stand By Your Van. But the 00:13:01.259 --> 00:13:03.899 entity of sublime was considered over. Eric and 00:13:03.899 --> 00:13:05.720 Bud did try to keep playing together, though. 00:13:05.879 --> 00:13:07.960 They formed a group called the Long Beach Dub 00:13:07.960 --> 00:13:11.480 All Stars in 1997, pulling in a lot of frequent 00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:13.379 sublime collaborators. Yeah, trying to keep the 00:13:13.379 --> 00:13:15.220 community going. But even that fell apart by 00:13:15.220 --> 00:13:18.039 2002. The source notes, they disbanded because 00:13:18.039 --> 00:13:20.639 several members broke a strict no -drug vow they 00:13:20.639 --> 00:13:23.299 had taken. It just shows how incredibly long 00:13:23.299 --> 00:13:25.679 and destructive the shadow of addiction really 00:13:25.679 --> 00:13:28.240 was in that scene. The trauma of losing Bradley 00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:30.639 was still very present, and it was dictating 00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:33.059 how the surviving members navigated their careers. 00:13:33.340 --> 00:13:35.840 It was everywhere. Which brings us to the highly 00:13:35.840 --> 00:13:39.179 controversial era of 2009. Eric and Bud attempt 00:13:39.179 --> 00:13:41.460 to officially reform the band, and they recruit 00:13:41.460 --> 00:13:43.960 a young guitarist and singer named Rome Ramirez. 00:13:44.120 --> 00:13:46.580 Right, a very polarizing move for fans. Yeah. 00:13:46.750 --> 00:13:50.870 Rome was a wildly talented kid who grew up idolizing 00:13:50.870 --> 00:13:53.889 sublime. But the moment they try to tour, they 00:13:53.889 --> 00:13:57.029 hit a massive legal wall. A Los Angeles judge 00:13:57.029 --> 00:13:59.490 formally bans them from performing under the 00:13:59.490 --> 00:14:01.870 name sublime. This is where the legal mechanics 00:14:01.870 --> 00:14:04.250 of legacy become fascinating. Oh, absolutely. 00:14:04.710 --> 00:14:06.970 The judge ruled that they needed explicit permission 00:14:06.970 --> 00:14:09.470 from Bradley Noel's estate, which controlled 00:14:09.470 --> 00:14:11.919 the trademark and the rights to the name. the 00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:14.700 estate refused. So the surviving members had 00:14:14.700 --> 00:14:18.519 to legally modify their moniker to sublime with 00:14:18.519 --> 00:14:20.840 Rome. Think about the mechanics of that friction. 00:14:21.039 --> 00:14:23.740 If you're Eric and Bud, you wrote those iconic 00:14:23.740 --> 00:14:25.580 bass lines, played those drums, you sweat in 00:14:25.580 --> 00:14:27.860 those vans for a decade. From your perspective, 00:14:27.860 --> 00:14:30.360 it's your band. Of course they felt that way. 00:14:30.659 --> 00:14:33.139 But replacing a frontman in a punk trio isn't 00:14:33.139 --> 00:14:35.399 like replacing a CEO at a corporation. I look 00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:37.919 at a trio like a three -legged stool. Every single 00:14:37.919 --> 00:14:40.240 member is a load -bearing pillar. That's a great 00:14:40.240 --> 00:14:42.840 way to put it. If you remove one leg and bolt 00:14:42.840 --> 00:14:45.080 on a new piece of wood, the entire center of 00:14:45.080 --> 00:14:47.539 gravity shifts. You can't just plug a new singer 00:14:47.539 --> 00:14:50.440 into a profoundly intimate dynamic built in Long 00:14:50.440 --> 00:14:53.500 Beach backyards and expect the universe, or the 00:14:53.500 --> 00:14:56.460 legal system, to just accept it without friction. 00:14:56.879 --> 00:14:59.139 That analogy perfectly captures the tension. 00:14:59.679 --> 00:15:02.480 It forces us to ask, who truly owns the legacy 00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:05.610 of a band? Is it the surviving musicians who 00:15:05.610 --> 00:15:07.590 physically create the instrumental landscape? 00:15:08.210 --> 00:15:10.730 Or is it the estate of the singular voice and 00:15:10.730 --> 00:15:12.730 personality that define the group's identity 00:15:12.730 --> 00:15:14.990 to the broader public? It's a tough call. It 00:15:14.990 --> 00:15:18.370 really is. And for over a decade, that ideological 00:15:18.370 --> 00:15:20.529 and legal tension between the surviving members 00:15:20.529 --> 00:15:23.370 and the Knoll family estate seemed insurmountable. 00:15:23.679 --> 00:15:26.700 They existed in entirely separate camps. Bud 00:15:26.700 --> 00:15:28.720 Goff actually ended up leaving Sublime with Rome 00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:31.440 shortly after their 2011 debut album, leaving 00:15:31.440 --> 00:15:33.500 Eric Wilson to carry on with Rome for years. 00:15:33.779 --> 00:15:36.159 It felt like the legacy was permanently fractured. 00:15:36.220 --> 00:15:38.919 It really did. But then an unexpected twist of 00:15:38.919 --> 00:15:40.940 fate brought the bloodline and the bassline back 00:15:40.940 --> 00:15:43.039 together. And it actually begins with a profound 00:15:43.039 --> 00:15:45.480 act of healing from Bradley's family. The Noble 00:15:45.480 --> 00:15:47.799 Family Foundation is a critical piece of this 00:15:47.799 --> 00:15:51.029 puzzle. Bradley's sister Kelly and their father 00:15:51.029 --> 00:15:54.450 Jim channeled their grief into spearheading Bradley's 00:15:54.450 --> 00:15:56.470 house. That's the rehab facility, right? Yes. 00:15:56.710 --> 00:15:59.269 It's a rehab facility located in Southern California, 00:15:59.809 --> 00:16:03.110 but it's uniquely designed specifically for musicians 00:16:03.110 --> 00:16:05.470 in recovery. Which is such an important distinction. 00:16:05.980 --> 00:16:08.840 The touring lifestyle is inherently dangerous 00:16:08.840 --> 00:16:11.799 for sobriety. You are constantly surrounded by 00:16:11.799 --> 00:16:14.960 free alcohol, erratic schedules, and a culture 00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:17.820 that enables excess. It's a perfect storm for 00:16:17.820 --> 00:16:20.419 relapse. By building a facility tailored to the 00:16:20.419 --> 00:16:22.860 specific psychological pitfalls of the music 00:16:22.860 --> 00:16:25.419 industry, they aren't just honoring Bradley. 00:16:25.820 --> 00:16:28.179 They are actively working to break the cycle 00:16:28.179 --> 00:16:30.360 that took his life. And they helped fund this 00:16:30.360 --> 00:16:33.000 through a 2020 compilation album called The House 00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:35.539 That Bradley Built, featuring modern bands covering 00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:38.399 sublime songs. Oh, that's beautiful. It is. So 00:16:38.399 --> 00:16:41.159 there's this deep ongoing process of generational 00:16:41.159 --> 00:16:44.019 healing happening in the background. That underlying 00:16:44.019 --> 00:16:46.779 healing perfectly sets the stage for the massive 00:16:46.779 --> 00:16:50.039 shift that occurred in December of 2023. Eric 00:16:50.039 --> 00:16:52.440 Wilson and Bud Gow reunite to play a benefit 00:16:52.440 --> 00:16:55.080 show at the Terragram Ballroom in Los Angeles 00:16:55.080 --> 00:16:58.360 for HR, the vocalist of bad brains. The legendary 00:16:58.360 --> 00:17:00.879 figure for them. Exactly. But when they take 00:17:00.879 --> 00:17:03.000 the stage, the front man isn't Rome Ramirez, 00:17:03.320 --> 00:17:06.710 it's Jacob Noel. Bradley Sun. The plot twists 00:17:06.710 --> 00:17:09.690 of this entry for sublime fans. Reading the timeline 00:17:09.690 --> 00:17:12.430 of what happens next is just incredible. So what 00:17:12.430 --> 00:17:15.349 does this all mean? The reception is instantaneous. 00:17:15.690 --> 00:17:18.609 By January 2024, Jacob becomes a full -time member. 00:17:18.690 --> 00:17:21.190 Things move so fast. In April, they are playing 00:17:21.190 --> 00:17:24.420 the main stage at Coachella. In May 2024, they 00:17:24.420 --> 00:17:26.799 dropped Feel Like That, which is billed as the 00:17:26.799 --> 00:17:29.420 first new Sublime song in 28 years. And they 00:17:29.420 --> 00:17:31.640 actually utilized old vocal takes from Bradley 00:17:31.640 --> 00:17:33.859 mixed with new vocals from Jacob, right? Yes, 00:17:33.980 --> 00:17:36.279 it's incredible. Meanwhile, Sublime with Rome 00:17:36.279 --> 00:17:38.240 announces they are officially disbanding by the 00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:41.160 end of 2024. The momentum entirely shifts back 00:17:41.160 --> 00:17:43.420 to the original rhythm section and the air to 00:17:43.420 --> 00:17:45.740 the name. And looking ahead, the scale of this 00:17:45.740 --> 00:17:49.569 rebirth is massive. In March 2025, They announced 00:17:49.569 --> 00:17:51.430 they are working on a brand new album with producer 00:17:51.430 --> 00:17:53.970 Travis Barker. Huge. They released a new single 00:17:53.970 --> 00:17:57.670 called En Sonata in July 2025. They are already 00:17:57.670 --> 00:17:59.809 booked to headline the Louder Than Life Festival 00:17:59.809 --> 00:18:02.650 in September 2026. They are everywhere again. 00:18:02.950 --> 00:18:05.349 Beyond the music, the cultural legacy is exploding. 00:18:05.690 --> 00:18:07.690 Ayla Smith -Brewing released a Mexican lager 00:18:07.690 --> 00:18:09.849 that sold out in five minutes. There's an official 00:18:09.849 --> 00:18:12.549 graphic novel, and Sony Pictures is actively 00:18:12.549 --> 00:18:15.130 developing a biographical film starring KJ Apa 00:18:15.130 --> 00:18:18.829 as Bradley Noel. I am genuinely in awe of how 00:18:18.829 --> 00:18:21.549 rare this is. You see so many legendary bands 00:18:21.549 --> 00:18:24.630 face immense vitriolic backlash from fans when 00:18:24.630 --> 00:18:26.950 they try to replace an iconic frontman. Oh, all 00:18:26.950 --> 00:18:28.809 the time. But the fan base has embraced this 00:18:28.809 --> 00:18:31.809 completely. Why does this specific reunion bypass 00:18:31.809 --> 00:18:34.269 all that typical cynicism? This raises an important 00:18:34.269 --> 00:18:36.630 question, and I think it works because it entirely 00:18:36.630 --> 00:18:39.200 bypasses the imposter problem. How so? When Rome 00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:42.359 Ramirez stepped in, despite his undeniable talent, 00:18:42.799 --> 00:18:45.019 a certain segment of the fan base was always 00:18:45.019 --> 00:18:47.039 going to view him as an outsider stepping into 00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:49.960 shoes he didn't earn. But Jacob Newell literally 00:18:49.960 --> 00:18:52.440 shares the DNA of the founder. Right, he's family. 00:18:52.880 --> 00:18:55.839 Exactly. When fans look at him, they don't see 00:18:55.839 --> 00:18:58.900 a corporate cash grab or a glorified cover band. 00:18:59.359 --> 00:19:01.839 They see a continuation of the bloodline. They 00:19:01.839 --> 00:19:04.200 were watching a son honor his father, and they 00:19:04.200 --> 00:19:06.359 were watching Eric and Bud finally get to play 00:19:06.359 --> 00:19:09.000 these songs with the closest living piece of 00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:11.960 their best friend. It is generational healing 00:19:11.960 --> 00:19:15.279 unfolding live on stage. That is incredibly powerful. 00:19:15.440 --> 00:19:17.019 Think about the journey we just mapped out. We 00:19:17.019 --> 00:19:18.980 started with these three kids in Long Beach in 00:19:18.980 --> 00:19:22.319 1988 literally faking a record label permit just 00:19:22.319 --> 00:19:24.119 to get a foot in the door. The skunk records 00:19:24.119 --> 00:19:26.119 hustle. We followed them through the absolute 00:19:26.119 --> 00:19:29.140 chaos of the 90s alternative scene straight into 00:19:29.140 --> 00:19:32.200 the devastating tragedy of 1996 when the world 00:19:32.200 --> 00:19:34.880 lost Bradley Noe weeks before his own masterpiece 00:19:34.880 --> 00:19:37.779 changed the musical landscape forever. And out 00:19:37.779 --> 00:19:40.359 of that deep trauma decades later comes this 00:19:40.359 --> 00:19:43.950 beautiful redemptive reunion. It completely refrains 00:19:43.950 --> 00:19:46.210 the tragedy. The music didn't die with the artist. 00:19:46.490 --> 00:19:48.529 It just went dormant until the next generation 00:19:48.529 --> 00:19:50.690 was ready to carry it. It leaves you with this 00:19:50.690 --> 00:19:54.190 final, lingering concept to mull over. If you 00:19:54.190 --> 00:19:56.069 think about the bands you grew up listening to, 00:19:56.170 --> 00:19:59.609 we usually think of a rock band as a fixed, static 00:19:59.609 --> 00:20:02.069 group of friends, right? Sure, yeah. They are 00:20:02.069 --> 00:20:04.670 frozen in a specific era, usually their 20s, 00:20:04.869 --> 00:20:07.450 captured on a CD or a cassette tape. But what 00:20:07.450 --> 00:20:09.670 if a band can actually function as an heirloom? 00:20:09.710 --> 00:20:11.829 An heirloom, I love that. Think about the mechanics 00:20:11.829 --> 00:20:14.410 of that. If Jacob Knoll continues to sing his 00:20:14.410 --> 00:20:16.769 father's words, to play his father's chords, 00:20:16.829 --> 00:20:19.230 and perhaps one day his kids do the exact same 00:20:19.230 --> 00:20:23.390 thing, Sublime ceases to be just a 1990s ska 00:20:23.390 --> 00:20:26.109 punk group. It transcends the era. Exactly. It 00:20:26.109 --> 00:20:28.970 becomes an ongoing living tradition. It proves 00:20:28.970 --> 00:20:31.200 that while musicians themselves are mortal, the 00:20:31.200 --> 00:20:33.700 groove they leave behind can literally be inherited. 00:20:34.279 --> 00:20:36.400 So to everyone listening, imagine being in the 00:20:36.400 --> 00:20:38.599 crowd at one of their shows today. You are singing 00:20:38.599 --> 00:20:41.119 along to those same sun -wrenched anthems from 00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:44.759 the summer of 1996. But this time, it's different. 00:20:45.099 --> 00:20:46.900 It is, because when you look up at the stage, 00:20:47.160 --> 00:20:49.140 you aren't looking at a ghost. You're looking 00:20:49.140 --> 00:20:51.720 at the future. Thank you for joining us on this 00:20:51.720 --> 00:20:54.160 deep dive. Keep exploring, keep questioning, 00:20:54.460 --> 00:20:55.420 and we'll catch you next time.