By Randy Lewis
Fourteen years after Sublime frontman Bradley Nowell died from a heroin overdose, the Long Beach ska-punk trio's surviving original members have decided it's time to revive the name and celebrate the group's musical legacy while attempting to add some new chapters to its story.

Drummer Bud Gaugh and bassist Eric Wilson have teamed with a 21-year-old singer and guitarist named Rome, with whom they will play a string of small-scale shows starting April 20 at the Hollywood Palladium.

Copyright © 2010, The Los Angeles Times

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Tonight April 20, 2010 is Sublime with Rome’s first show (The Palladium, Los Angeles) in a sold-out tour and surely the most anticipated tour of the Spring.  Reunited Sublime member’s Bud Gaugh (drums) and Eric Wilson (bass) are embarking on a new musical chapter with a fresh new kid (Rome) and are excited to build on a musical legacy that grows stronger every day.

There is no doubting with no Sublime there would be no Pier, so it is with great pleasure The Pier got the opportunity to have possibly the most in-depth Sublime related interview in years.  Mr Bud Gaugh…

The Pier: What was it like playing that first big reunion show at the Smoke-Out Festival last year? Were you nervous at all?

Bud: I was really excited, I was probably the least nervous out of the three of us cause I can hide behind my drums. When I took the stage and saw the crowd, it was awe-inspiring because all these people were just cheering for us.

It’s been years I have seen a group of people that big and been on stage. I did have to take a moment to take it all in. I stood up on my drum throne and absorbed it for a minute. It was like a welcome home party. That is how it felt for me. It is also cool that our first big show was with Cypress Hill and Pennywise and some familiar faces there. It was a good fit for us coming back.

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May 13, 2010 - Boy its good to be back home. If absence makes the heart grow fonder, I am setting myself up for years of reclusion. This was the best and smoothest running tour I have ever experienced! Even with a few snags here and there it was the best tour I have ever been on! I equate that to the fans first and foremost! The energy at these shows was undeniably Off the Hook! Speaking of "Off the Hook" I am dying to get some sushi from my favorite restaurant in South Lake! The Krew... Best group of guys ever! Totally made this thing happen even when they weren't allowed to make any noise until after 5pm... we still got the rig built, checked 3 bands and had time to chill before doors!!! A-effin-mazing! And this was supposed to be the hell trip?!?!??? I can't wait for the next run this summer! I will see you out there!!!

"What if?" is a question Sublime's Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson have had to live with for more than a decade. After breaking through with an album that would go on to sell five times platinum, they never got to enjoy their success. 

Of course, just before that final album, 'Sublime,' was released and took them to the top of the charts, frontman Bradley Nowell passed away in May 1996 of a drug overdose. Gaugh admits that coming so close to his dreams, only to have them taken away through such tragic circumstances, almost destroyed him, and he turned to alcohol. And it's only after he got sober in 2007 that he could begin to face the past.

Now the father of a 15-month-old daughter, Gaugh is choosing to embrace the past. He and Wilson have found a new singer, Rome Ramirez, and will head out on tour as Sublime With Rome. In this candid interview, Gaugh talks about battling his own demons, giving up heroin after Nowell's death and Sublime's posthumous success.

It's easy to forget, as I think most people do, that you never got to do many of these songs live. Was there a moment for you where it hit you that you guys were really doing this and playing these songs in front of people?

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