When Sublime formed in 1988, Rome Ramirez was just being born. Little did anyone know that 21 years later, Ramirez would be the lead man for the new version of Sublime, Sublime with Rome.
Ramirez joined original Sublime members Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh in 2009, and the trio has been making music ever since. Since becoming the frontman for Sublime with Rome, Ramirez has had to win over old-school Sublime fans who might put pressure on Ramirez for being the guy taking the place of the late Bradley Nowell.
The pressure had not phased Ramirez though and, if anything, fans seem to be more excited that Sublime with Rome is making new music rather than showing concern that the new frontman is a good 20 years younger than the original leading man.
Now performing and touring for two-plus years, Sublime with Rome recorded their debut album, “Yours Truly,” which was released on July 12 of this year. The release was perfect timing as it happened a mere six days after the start of the 311 Unity Tour, which Sublime with Rome is co-headlining.
“It’s been amazing. We’re having a really good time. The dudes in 311 run a real family-oriented kind of tour. Everyone gets along. It’s fun to be on the road every day, to be traveling with them. We’re stoked, we’re having fun,” says Ramirez, who took a break to do a phone interview with IN.
Over the phone, Ramirez is calm and collected and perhaps a bit distracted by what’s going on around him. It is obvious by the way he quickly answers questions that he has been doing a lot of interviews lately, but despite his hurried manner, he is excited to talk about Sublime with Rome and their new album.
“The album took us about six weeks to record. We’ve been writing songs for the past year and a half. A handful of songs are songs that I had previously written a couple of years ago. It’s like a mesh of the whole time that we have known each other and been jamming and creating,” explains Ramirez. “We’re definitely confident about it.”
Part of making an album with the original members of Sublime includes harking back to what old-school fans fell in love with, and Ramirez acknowledges this. For Sublime with Rome, the best way to do this was to create a few songs that are reminiscent of what fans were initially drawn to.
“We wanted to write an album that we would like to hear, that paid respect to the original sound, but feeding in to some new influences as well. We’re pretty confident that we captured that aim, so to speak,” says Ramirez.
Listening to the album proves Ramirez’s statements to be accurate. It’s a little weird as there are times on the album where you have to remind yourself that you are not listening to Bradley Nowell. Ramirez has a voice that is easily compared to the original frontman but is also expressed in a style that is his own, and every now and then can easily be compared to guitar god John Mayer. Some elements of the album speak to the ska-punk fans of music while others are just good ole classic reggae with a bit of funk and horns. Some even speak to fans of hip-hop.
“At the time, I was listening to a lot of blues, a lot of motown. There’s a real kind of soulful vocals throughout the album. Just different styles and tunes. We have a nice rap track with Wiz Khalifa on there. There’s new twists and some new style of music in there,” says Ramirez.
The album certainly captures the influences that Ramirez references and though it is a bit tame compared to original Sublime sounds, fans should be content with what they hear. It is, after all, a new band, at least one third of it is.
While the rest of the world might focus on the fact that Ramirez is not Nowell, the young musician is not allowing himself to be overwhelmed by the size of shoes he has been filling for the past few years.
“I don’t really look into it too much. I just do everything from the heart. If you do everything from the heart, it’s funny, good shit tends to happen,” says Ramirez. “I don’t switch up the formula, I just make sure that I am doing it with respect and doing it with respect to others and everything kind of works out in my favor. It’s weird like that.”
His good intentions have received a lot of positive feedback. The 311 Unity Tour has had some pretty big acts on its bill in the past (think Snoop Dogg and The Offspring), and the opportunity to be a part of the tour has given Sublime with Rome the chance to not only get their names back on the brains of music fans but also to perform in front of hundreds of thousands of 311 fans.
“We’ve been definitely growing as far as our fan base [goes]. We’re so stoked about it. A lot of 311 fans that come out don’t even know that Sublime is back on the road with a new dude. And a lot of Sublime with Rome fans that come out haven’t even seen 311 in a very long time. It’s been beneficial for everybody,” says Ramirez.
As our interview winds down, Ramirez says that Sublime with Rome should be headlining their own tour this winter, and he encourages people to come check out the new music.
When asked what he would say to someone who has not seen Sublime with Rome, Ramirez answers with confidence: “Go to the show. I will give them free tickets. If they love it, which I am sure they will, they will come back every summer. And if they don’t, it’s probably not their style of music,” says Ramirez.
Seems like a good enough reason to go. If nothing else, you can’t miss the chance to see the “new dude” in Sublime.
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