andPOP - Pop Culture With Substance

Even if they had a crystal ball, chances are they wouldn’t have seen this coming.

The two surviving members of the 90’s band Sublime have lost the rights to call themselves just that: Sublime.

According to rollingstone.com, a California judge has told the band’s surviving members, Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson, that they cannot use the name Sublime for their band with new singer Rome for any performances, merchandise, or Internet domains. The two musicians debuted their new frontman at last week’s SmokeOut Festival in California.

Original lead singer, Bradley Nowell, died of a heroin overdose in 1996. Nowell’s estate was upset that Gaugh and Wilson were performing under the name Sublime, stating that Nowell had trademarked the name and had never intended for any band that he was not in to use it.

Gaugh and Wilson spent the last decade performing under the name, Long Beach Dub Allstars, and recently renamed the band Sublime after recruiting new frontman Rome. The band’s “We Are Sublime” Website has now been replaced with a picture of a muzzled dog with a sign around its neck that says, “Free Sublime.”

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Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh, the surviving members of Sublime, performed at Saturday’s SmokeOut Festival, only their second show in the 13 years since band mate Brad Nowell’s death, according to rollingstone.com.

An estimated 15,000 fans made the trek to San Bernardino, California to see such performers as Method Man and Redman, Cheech & Chong, Kottonmouth Kings and hosts Cypress Hill. However, the performance that seemed to create a great deal of buzz was that of Sublime, who debuted their new lead singer, 21-year-old Rome Ramirez, at the festival.

Nowell, who died of a heroin overdose, had expressed the hope that no one would use the name “Sublime” for any group that did not include him, and even trademarked the band name under his own name. However, Wilson and Gaugh wanted to perform under the original band name at the festival, and want to continue to do so.

Even before new lead singer Ramirez had taken to the stage, Sublime’s Saturday performance was causing controversy. Days before the show, representatives for Nowell’s estate filed suit against Gaugh, Wilson and Ramirez, citing trademark infringement, but a District Court judge OK-ed the show to go on. Wilson and Gaugh came back with their own statement, which said, “while we all mourn the passing of our brother and band mate Bradley Nowell some 13 years ago, Sublime still has a strong message of hope and love.”

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Sublime’s performance this weekend at California’s 2009 Smokeout Festival was tainted over animosity between the band’s current members, and the family of deceased lead singer, Brad Nowell.

The Nowell estate released an official statement to the Los Angeles times: “Our hope is that Brad’s ex-bandmates will respect his wishes and find a new name to perform under, so as to enhance the ‘Sublime’ legacy without the confusion and disappointment that many fans have expressed upon seeing the announcement.”

Nowell died in 1996 of a heroine overdose, forcing the band to band to break up. In September 2009, Guitarist Eric Wilson and drummer Bug Gaugh reunited with current singer Rome Ramirez to reform the original sound of the punk-reggae group.

The Marijuana culture-inspired Smokeout Festival, which took place in San Bernadino, also featured performances by Method Man, Redman, Cypress hill, Pennywise, and was hosted by Cheech and Chong. Sublime’s style was the ideal blend for the show’s laidback atmosphere, and the band members felt it was important to go by the name that fans are familiarized with.

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