Monthly Archives: September 2010

Early in 2010, the legendary Sublime officially announced their return to the stage with new frontman Rome. Their first outing in 14 years, a sold out spring theatre tour run, was followed by a televised performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live where the band showcased their first new song written together, ‘Panic.’ The band launched their first full scale U.S. tour earlier this summer. In addition to performing ‘Panic’ on tour, the band has been performing songs from Sublime’s back catalog, many of which have actually never been performed live before.

Rome, a 21-year-old northern California native, was introduced to Gaugh and Wilson in 2008. Last year, a handful of jam sessions led to an impromptu show at a small club in Nevada flooring a packed-house crowd. The trio played several further shows together before officially announcing themselves as Sublime With Rome. Rome is currently featured on the chart-topping Dirty Heads breakout single ‘Lay Me Down.’ Co-written with the band, ‘Lay Me Down’ broke Billboard chart records holding the top spot for 12 consecutive weeks, as an independent release.

One of the most notable and successful ska-punk bands of all time, Sublime has sold over 17 million albums worldwide with the group’s music remaining in constant radio rotation across the country. Influential Los Angeles rock radio station KROQ has listed Sublime as the #3 act in their annual “biggest bands” list for the last six years in a row with the single ‘Date Rape’ ranking as the all-time most requested song at the station. To this day, the group’s multi-platinum landmark debut album ‘40oz. to Freedom,’ lo-fi follow up ‘Robbin’ the Hood,’ and multi-platinum self-titled major label debut (a virtual greatest hits set in itself) are all widely regarded as music collection staples. Formed in Long Beach in 1988, Sublime’s final performance was in the spring of 1996.

Never shy of embracing the epic, Cradle of Filth have constantly sought to push the boundaries of their art. Whether through elaborately theatrical stage shows (incorporating giant lumbering puppets, fire-breathing dancers, freaks and stilt-walkers from the notorious Circus Of Horrors), provocative merchandise (including the now legendary ‘Jesus Is A C***’ t-shirt), breathtaking artwork or the weighty subject matter of their albums (their previous one was a concept album telling the story of a French Lord who fought alongside Joan Of Arc, before embarking on a horrific killing spree), this is a band who have refused to be confined by the labels that have been placed on them.