WTOP’s Jason Fraley previews Sublime with Rome at Live! Casino in Maryland (Part 1)

We don’t practice Santeria, we ain’t got no crystal ball, but we do know that this is a last-chance opportunity.

Music fans in the D.C. area have exactly one week until Sublime with Rome brings its “Farewell Tour” to The Hall at Live! Casino & Hotel in Arundel Mills, Maryland on Wednesday, Aug. 28.

WTOP caught up with longtime frontman Rome Ramirez, who took over as the new lead singer of Sublime in 2009 after the tragic death of the band’s founder Bradley Nowell in 1996.

“It’s been an amazing 15 years, we’ve gotten to tour the world and put out some great albums,” Ramirez told WTOP. “It’s been an absolute pleasure, a journey to say the least, but I have some music of my own that I want to put a lot of my focus into. … This year has been such an amazing send-off celebration with the fans, it’s been emotional and awesome. It’s a real blessing to be able to connect with the fans one last time under this outfit.”

Ramirez was born in Fremont, California in 1988, the same exact year that Sublime formed in Long Beach, California with Nowell on vocals and guitar, Eric Wilson on bass guitar and Bud Gaugh on drums.

Their breakthrough album “40 Oz. To Freedom” (1992) featured memorable tracks for die-hard Sublime fans, including “Waiting for My Ruca,” “Smoke Two Joints,” “Badfish,” “Rivers of Babylon” and an arguably superior cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Scarlet Begonias.” As for their second album “Robbin’ the Hood” (1994), Ramirez’s favorite was “STP,” sampling Smokey Robinson, while fans will also remember the Gwen Stefani collaboration “Saw Red.”

Still, it was their self-titled third album “Sublime” (1996) that became iconic with the decade’s most singable ska-punk and reggae-rock tunes, including “Santeria,” “Doin’ Time,” “What I Got,” “Wrong Way” and “Caress Me Down.” Tragically, Nowell died of a heroin overdose that same year, leaving Sublime fans with only three albums.

“They didn’t really have a lot of music that they put out, but it’s a testament to how good the music is because it stands the test of time,” Ramirez said. “When I heard the band I was 12, so Bradley had been dead for a couple years. I was pretty bummed out that I wouldn’t ever be able to see them live. … I started hanging out with Eric, he’d have these parties, and one day, he was like, ‘Do you wanna play some Sublime songs?’ I was like, ‘Hell yeah, man!’”

In 2009, Ramirez first joined Sublime on stage at Cypress Hill’s Smoke Out Festival in San Bernardino, California, officially joining Wilson and Gaugh to record their first Sublime with Rome album “Yours Truly” (2011). While Gaugh left in 2011, Wilson remained for two more albums “Sirens” (2015) and “Blessings” (2019) before departing earlier this year just months before the release of their fourth and final album “Sublime with Rome” (2024).

Now, after the Sublime with Rome “Farewell Tour” concludes, Ramirez will pursue his promising solo career, while Bradley’s son, Jakob Nowell, will carry on the legacy of Sublime with Gaugh on drums and Wilson on bass.

“It’s a really beautiful thing,” Ramirez said. “He’ll be taking over the torch, and moving forward, you’ll be able to see Sublime with him as the singer. It’s a beautiful project in and of itself, it’s so much closer to his family and I feel like it’s his time to shine now with the songs. The theoretical baton has been passed, so it’s a beautiful thing.”

WTOP’s Jason Fraley previews Sublime with Rome at Live! Casino in Maryland (Part 2)

Listen to our full conversation on the podcast below:

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