Legendary Los Angeles ska punk band Sublime have signed to Fueled by Ramen, and this summer will release their first LP since original frontman Bradley Nowell died in 1996. The group - now billed as Sublime With Rome - features surviving members Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson alongside twenty-two year old Rome Ramirez, who joined the reformed group in 2009.
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The band is currently cutting the disc at Sonic Ranch studio in El Paso, Texas with producer Paul Leary, who worked with the band on their self-titled 1996 LP. "Everything's been going amazing in the studio," Ramirez said in a statement. "The music has been coming along great, and we're confident that we're making a record that will stand the test of time. We can't wait for the fans to hear it, and are already planning a world tour to bring it to them live." Details of the tour will be announced shortly.
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After Nowell's death in 1996, Wilson and Gaugh carried on for five years as Long Beach Dub Allstars. Meanwhile, Sublime's legacy grew as teenagers across the country discovered the band's music. Sublime tribute bands began attracting gigantic crowds, and in 2009 Wilson and Gaugh recruited Ramirez began performing as Sublime until Nowell's estate filed a laswuit claiming they didn't own the rights to that name. The matter was quietly settled last year, and Sublime began performing again - only this time under the moniker Sublime with Rome.
The Nowell estate bears no grudge. "Sublime with Rome earned the fans' approval with their live performances by showing it was never about replacing or forgetting Brad - it was about celebrating the music," Nowell's widow Troy Nowell-Holmes said in a statement. "And now the next chapter begins. Rome is such a great songwriter and with Bud and Eric's amazing talent to back him up, Sublime with Rome will thrive and shine in its own right. I can't wait to hear the new material because I know how talented they all are."