- 7/8/2025
Sublime is back with a new single “Ensenada” on July 18 and are working on their first new album in 30 years, alongside collaborators including Jon Joseph (BØRNS), Travis Barker, Jon Feldmann and more. The band shares their journey, from starting out to rising to fame, discusses why they’ve chosen to release their new project independently, and reflects on Jakob Nowell—son of the late Bradley Nowell—joining the band and his efforts to preserve his father’s legacy. They also talk on Lana Del Rey’s cover of “Doin’ Time,” performing at Warped Tour, and more!
Are you excited for Sublime’s new album? Let us know in the comments!
Are you excited for Sublime’s new album? Let us know in the comments!
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MusicTranscript
00:00I guess I have, like, my mom to thank.
00:01Hi, Mom.
00:02Shut up, my mom.
00:04I made it, Mom.
00:06And how did you guys link up with some of the collaborators
00:08you're working with now, Travis Barker being one of them?
00:11We've done shows with Travis throughout his career.
00:16What was that experience like?
00:17Yeah, Travis was playing for the Aquabats.
00:20Oh, wow.
00:21And Bud walked him over to the Blink camp and said, hey, man,
00:26this guy's, you know, you guys are better than that,
00:28you're a drummer.
00:30A lot of people in my demographic, young women,
00:32discovered Sublime as maybe through that Lana Del Rey
00:34cover of Due in Time.
00:35Were y'all involved in it?
00:36I didn't debate on it.
00:37Really?
00:38OK, wow.
00:39So were you there with, like, Jack Antonoff
00:41or any of the people who were working on that record?
00:43I wasn't Jack Antonoff.
00:44What are you talking about?
00:45I was going to say the same thing.
00:52We're here with one of America's all-time great band,
00:54Sublime.
00:55And we're going to kick it off the only way the Billboard
00:57knows how with a Billboard moment.
01:00You guys, what is your favorite Billboard moment,
01:02whether it's a chart thing, a past interview you've
01:05done with us, anything like that?
01:07From what I remember, it was the Billboard Awards show
01:09that we played with Slayer and some other bands,
01:13and then we got an award.
01:14It was a lot of years ago, so I don't remember that much
01:16about it, but it was a whole heap of fun.
01:20You guys started this off as a high school band,
01:23and I'm wondering, what was your intention?
01:25A high school dropout band.
01:26High school dropout band, there you go.
01:28What was your intention with the band from the beginning?
01:31Was it a hobby that you and your friends were just doing for fun,
01:34or did you have the aspiration to be an internationally successful band?
01:38No, we just wanted to play some cool music and, you know,
01:41all the kids are in there.
01:42You can hear the girls' phone numbers.
01:45Did it work?
01:45It did.
01:46Okay.
01:47It doesn't get any more authentic than that, man.
01:49I love that.
01:50I love hearing the old classic stories of where it started,
01:52because it's like a lot of people look for that kind of authenticity in music,
01:56and, man, I've heard it all, like, you know, back in the day in Long Beach,
02:00you know what I mean?
02:00Yeah.
02:01It's cool.
02:02Yeah, and how do you feel like their story of growing up in Long Beach
02:05kind of matched with your own growing up in Long Beach?
02:07Oh, I mean, it's crazy, let alone it being like a similar area,
02:11but you just see so many kids from my generation,
02:14and now, like, the newest generation.
02:15I think that's what makes music timeless when you're just talking about
02:18the stuff that's happening around you,
02:20and the actual sound of it just feels like something you could hear
02:23walking down the street, you know, someone blasting while they're,
02:25you know, riding on a bike or a skateboard or whatever,
02:28so to that effect, it almost feels like, you know, nothing's changed.
02:31That's what being timeless feels like to me, for sure.
02:33I love that.
02:34You guys are so intertwined with, like, Southern California culture as a band,
02:39and I feel like local scenes are so important.
02:43It feels like nowadays that a lot of local scenes are kind of like online scenes
02:48instead of things that happen in real life,
02:50so I'm wondering if y'all could reflect on that and how you think it affects music,
02:53that kids are not really building local scenes as much now.
02:56When we were kids, we all hung out on the street and got in trouble and stuff,
03:00like, we didn't want to be in the house at all,
03:02but then the cops got, like, a task force where they had these FI cards,
03:08they called them, and you're walking down the street,
03:10and they're pulling you over and take your ID to, you know,
03:13try to make you cry or something, and then they write your name on the FI card,
03:18and then it starts to pile up.
03:20Oh my gosh.
03:21So they're, like, tagging teenagers.
03:22Yeah, it got rid of the whole punk scene everywhere, you know.
03:26Wow.
03:27Yeah, if I didn't have, like, music, I'd probably be in prison, you know,
03:31because all my friends were getting arrested when I was at band practice.
03:35That affects the crowd size in your early years of all your friends who are in jail.
03:41So who were some of y'all's early inspirations growing up
03:44when you first started the band, you were trying to find your sound?
03:47Bands from around Redondo Beach, like Black Flag was a huge influence,
03:51and The Descendants, and The Minute Man, that's just here.
03:54And then, you know, all the reggae greats, you know, like Bob Marley, Peter Tosh.
04:00There's a lot of people locally that listen to all the influences I just described,
04:05and, but few people who can blend it all together.
04:08Which is why it's exciting for me to sing in a project like this,
04:10because you're just like, once you start picking it apart,
04:12you notice, like, oh, no way, that's that one, like, you know, riff that I heard in this song.
04:15You know, it's so cool, man.
04:16I find that to be quite interesting, because nowadays we're kind of seeing it flipped.
04:20Like, kids are recording music first and then learning how to play live.
04:24Oh, dude, that's so true.
04:25Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's fishy.
04:27I didn't even think about that.
04:27They record in their bedroom first and they're like, wait, I got to get a band together?
04:31Yeah.
04:32It was the opposite for us.
04:33Yeah.
04:34We just jammed in our garage and the whole recording thing was a privilege,
04:38you know, like, to find someone to record us and all that.
04:45In your early years, you were releasing on your own label, Skunk Records.
04:49Yeah, we just made it up.
04:49Yeah, wait, so how did that come to be?
04:51Why did you all decide to do indie at the time?
04:54Was it just because you couldn't find, like, a major that was a good fit?
04:57Or how did that work?
04:58Like, for one thing, we didn't play anything that anybody else was doing.
05:03And record labels aren't willing to, you know, take the chance on if it's going to get big or not.
05:11We just made up our own shit.
05:12And then we just started building our own following, you know, selling stuff out of the trunk,
05:17the car, and we were starting to make some money, you know?
05:20And that's when the record labels were like, well, we can't have them make money without us making money,
05:25you know?
05:28What were those, like, first label conversations like?
05:32Were you all just like, what the heck is happening?
05:34Or?
05:34It was ridiculous.
05:36Yeah, some of them were like total vampires.
05:39We're going to own everything.
05:40We'll take this, this, this, and you'll have nothing and like it, kid, you know?
05:44And then some of them were, they were just like, well, what do you expect us to do with you?
05:49I mean, you know, you don't sound like anybody on our label.
05:52What do you want us to do with you?
05:54For this upcoming project, are y'all releasing it independent or?
05:57Yeah, pretty, yeah, exactly.
05:59Okay, so how did y'all decide on that as like the right solution and the right way forward?
06:04I think people are seeing that that's sort of the direction things are going.
06:08I'm sure, you know, not to get too crazy with it, but labels definitely still have their place for
06:11some people's path.
06:12But for us, you know, I was so inspired by all the legends and myths I heard growing
06:16up about how they just, like you said, like skunk records, almost like this made up label kind
06:20of thing.
06:20So I wanted to make up my own label and we call it sunburnt records.
06:23And it's more about, you know, putting on shows and trying to create valuable memories for people
06:27that are less disposable.
06:29And when you do a record independently, I think it is just that it becomes a little bit less
06:35disposable and it's more personal to us as a band and the fans who, who it's for.
06:41And how did you guys link up with some of the collaborators you're working with now,
06:44Travis Barker being one of them?
06:46How did that conversation begin?
06:48Yeah, we've done shows with, with Travis throughout his career, yeah.
06:54And y'all were part of like really, really early Warped Tour, right?
06:57So like, what was, what was the very first one?
07:00Yeah.
07:00Okay.
07:00Wow.
07:00What was that experience like?
07:01Yeah, Travis was playing for the Aquabats.
07:03Aquabats, yeah.
07:05Oh, wow.
07:05And Bud walked him over to the, to the Blink camp and said, hey man, this guy, you know,
07:11this guy's better than that drummer.
07:14I swear to God, dude, Travis told me the same story too.
07:16It's like, it actually happened like that.
07:19They just go way back.
07:20You'd be surprised.
07:21And he's the biggest, Travis is like the biggest sublime fan ever too.
07:24Like their music is just, when you make genuine music at like wide net, wide, wide net.
07:29It touches so many people who go on to be inspired by it and create their own.
07:32Heading back into the past, you were part of the first Vans Warped Tour.
07:36You guys were playing locally and building up just kind of a grassroots following on your own,
07:41not playing by any rules, making exactly the kind of music you wanted.
07:45Unfortunately, Bradley, his father passed away just before the third album was released.
07:50What was the aftermath of the third album like?
07:53Because it's, it's a celebratory moment that y'all have been waiting for,
07:56but it was in such a dark time for the band.
07:59So that pretty much sums it up.
08:00Yeah.
08:01Yeah.
08:02Yeah.
08:08It's definitely, you know, bittersweet.
08:11A lot of success on that album, you know, it was a banger album.
08:15So, you know, we, we were just super excited, but it just, you know,
08:21it was just a bummer at the same time, you know.
08:23Did you guys anticipate that that was going to be the album that took things off?
08:26Was there a lot of anticipation for you guys ahead of it or?
08:29Yeah, definitely.
08:30This was our first big, big, uh, production, our first major label.
08:35Yeah, as soon as we played it back on the first recording, it was just like, yeah.
08:39We were so excited, like just leaving the studio the first time with the working demo.
08:44We all popped it in our cars, driving around, just like bumping it.
08:48When you're playing live so often, you build such a chemistry with the players that you're playing with.
08:53And I'm wondering what it was like to introduce Jacob to the band all these years later.
08:58Did you feel like instant chemistry between the three of you or did it take some time?
09:03It was pretty seamless.
09:04I remember when we were talking about it, we were originally doing this as a tribute.
09:11I think it was you that said, well, yeah, it sounds like a good idea.
09:13I know I can jam with Bud, but can we jam with Jacob?
09:17You know, it's good to put together in the studio and see how it'll work.
09:22Give it a try.
09:23Yeah.
09:24Wow.
09:24And I mean, did you, did you expect that call or were you just shocked by it?
09:28No, I mean, you know, yes and no. Like it was, it was just cool. Um, yeah,
09:33they wanted to do this tribute thing and they asked me to come and sing and,
09:35you know, we wanted to get in there and make sure it was a good fit.
09:38And I think when we jam,
09:38we just all got goosebumps and it was cool and it made sense. Um, for me, you know,
09:42I take the position super seriously, even though it's,
09:45you still want it to be like fun and chaotic and goofing around and trying to do
09:49justice and, and learn the songs accurately and be able to sing good and,
09:53and be charismatic and entertaining. And so now, like,
09:57I think we're past probably like a year into doing this with this lineup.
10:00Yeah.
10:00And, uh,
10:01one year.
10:02Yeah, dude. Now every show is just like off to the race. It's the blast. You know,
10:05we just did red rocks. So much fun.
10:07We did so many songs.
10:08Yeah.
10:08We did something we played for like 30 minutes over our set time.
10:12That sounds like a really fun show. I mean, how was that Coachella show?
10:21That one I was nervous for and I don't usually get nervous for sets,
10:24but it's just,
10:24that was our second show.
10:25Yeah. It was like right after HR and I was like, oh, come on.
10:28I was nervous for him.
10:29Yeah.
10:30You guys played, you know, big, big shows before.
10:33And it's like, we, we vibe off of the crowd, you know,
10:36we feed back off that, that crowd energy. So it's, you know,
10:40the more the merrier kind of thing for us. It was like, wow, I wonder,
10:44I wonder how Jake's going to do up there with, with all these people,
10:47you know, is he going to thrive or, but you know, Jake's got great,
10:51great stage skills, you know, his crowd control is, is amazing. You know,
10:55I, I, I picked up on that. Um, the first time he came through Reno,
11:00when I saw you there, the first, uh, one of the first castle shows.
11:03One of the first times my band ever played.
11:05And, uh, just took control of the crowd, you know,
11:08and he grabbed everybody and, and included them into the show. You know,
11:12he was like, Hey, who's that guy back there in the back?
11:14The guy with the hat. Yeah. No, you with the big smile. Yeah.
11:17That guy right there. Yeah. This song's for you, buddy.
11:20Then I still try to do that stuff when it gets bigger. Just,
11:22just what he said about how they as a band like feed off the crowd.
11:25I learned from my uncles, you know what I mean? I learned how to,
11:28how to do that kind of stuff and to be more comfortable. Yeah.
11:30I think we played that, what was it? WSL, the surf one.
11:33And I remember during, I think it was like same in the end.
11:35I had this moment where I was like,
11:37like completely out of my body kind of experience. Yeah.
11:39And I remember I mentioned it to Eric afterwards.
11:41You were like, yeah, man,
11:42it's kind of like the whole point of sublime. I felt it on that song too.
11:46Yeah. And how did you prepare for going into that first rehearsal?
11:50I mean, did you, I imagine you knew most of the songs already and.
11:53No, I didn't. Okay. Yeah. Okay.
11:55Well, yeah, I imagine you probably haven't played them.
11:57I knew some deep, I knew them cause like my mom would play and I do,
12:01when I was a kid, just like a lot of teenagers,
12:03like I would listen to it cause it was just awesome music.
12:06And I'd be like, no way my dad and my family really made that so cool.
12:09A lot of times people say I sound like my dad,
12:11which I hope to at a time cause I want it to be authentic,
12:15but sometimes I don't, I don't fucking hear it at all.
12:17Like I use such an out, I'll never,
12:19you can never compare to the original singer of any band.
12:22You know what I mean? Yeah.
12:22Like everybody's got their unique take on things.
12:24So for me, it's just a more about respect.
12:27Like this is such a OG band that it's just fun to get to even go up there and do it.
12:31Yeah.
12:32As we've like talked about a little bit throughout this,
12:35you know, sublime kind of has a sound that can't be pinned down.
12:38How are you guys thinking about coming back?
12:40Do you, do you feel like you can kind of play with whatever you want now and the sky's the limit?
12:44It's an exciting time.
12:45I think that like sublime was one of those bands that was formative for exactly what you just said,
12:49is that like everything goes in cycles and stuff like that.
12:52But now we're, we're seeing this era where people are very nostalgic for 90s and early 2000s
12:57aesthetics, but also sensibilities.
13:00And the sensibility of those eras was like, let's just mash everything we like together.
13:03As far as us getting in the studio and jamming on new stuff or reworking old stuff or adding
13:08in some of our friends on tracks, that's always the goal is to keep that OG spirit alive.
13:13And y'all are preparing to do quite a few festivals, right?
13:16And you're choosing to do that over kind of a traditional tour.
13:20Yeah, I think so.
13:20I think it makes it more special and stuff.
13:22And then, you know, my band Jacob's Castle and the whole Sunburnt Records crew,
13:26we still put on smaller shows for the people that can't make it out to the big dates.
13:29And we'll jam a bunch of sublime songs and stuff.
13:31Yeah, I got a band called Spray Allen.
13:32Spray Allen's part of that.
13:34Do you have a tour schedule ahead for them?
13:37Yeah, we're playing the Warped Tour.
13:39There's like one or two shows of that.
13:42And a bunch of clubs and stuff like that this summer.
13:45Yeah, we're putting them on some dates of our burnt tour,
13:48going over mostly East Coast dates.
13:50And then as far as like the big shows, I think a big part of it is just like, you know,
13:53really reestablishing sublime as just like a dominant alternative rock force, you know what I mean?
13:59Like there's tons of awesome, you know, reggae shows out there, you know,
14:03that sort of Cali reggae scene and vibe and a bunch of bands and festivals.
14:07Those are all cool and stuff like that.
14:09But I see sublime playing, you know, festivals like Beach Life, you know,
14:13Punk at the Park is really cool.
14:15We did Riot Fest last year.
14:16The type of fans that I love are the people that when you ask what kind of music they listen to,
14:19they say, I listen to everything and they mean it.
14:21They listen to everything.
14:22Yeah, you guys have this Vegas takeover coming up.
14:25Can you tell me a little bit more about that?
14:26That'll be fun. It's like three nights.
14:28Pennywise is going to be there.
14:29Atari's, Jesse James Pariah, Zeno.
14:32It's going to be fun.
14:32It's going to have that family jam feel.
14:35And we're going to go crazy.
14:36I, for one, I do love Vegas, the city, but I also kind of,
14:39I always tend to lose money there.
14:41It's not a good gambler.
14:42So I'm just going to try to maybe just play a little bit of slots and blackjack and poker
14:46and that's it.
14:47And then the roulette and then that's it.
14:49Give yourself a limit.
14:51I mean, during this kind of streaming era that we're in now,
14:54I mean, I think one way a lot of people in my demographic,
14:58young women discovered Sublime is maybe through that Lana Del Rey cover of Due In Time.
15:03Summertime and the living's easy.
15:07I absolutely love that cover.
15:09I'm wondering, did you guys have a heads up about it?
15:12Were y'all involved in it?
15:13I did the base on it.
15:14Really? Okay. Wow.
15:15Yeah.
15:15So were you there with like Jack Antonoff or any of the people who were working on that record?
15:19I wasn't Jack Antonoff.
15:20What are you talking about?
15:21I was going to say the same thing.
15:24No, I, I just came in and I, there was already like some drum, drum,
15:28Josh did the drums on it, Josh Freeze.
15:31He had already done that like a week before and,
15:33and there was a guitar or something else and I just put the bass on and split.
15:36What are you guys most looking forward to about this upcoming rollout?
15:41Just all of it, man. You know, just, just having stuff out there and just,
15:46if people are enjoying it, then that'll be, it's like Schrodinger's box.
15:49Like I'll know I'm happy if, if everyone else is, you know.
15:51Mmm.
15:52It's funny because I'll, I'll find myself like, like coming along to one of the songs
15:58that we wrote and it's, it's a different one, not every time, but it's a different one.
16:03Often, you know, it switches up. So I'm, you know, it's telling me that, you know, I'm,
16:07I'm really excited about it coming out. You know,
16:10this is like the first time I've felt like the self-titled album. Like I said, I, I, I'll,
16:16I'll start humming it to myself and, and so there's a lot of good tunes on this album.
16:22I look forward to when Bud just gets on this high plane on the fills and stuff and
16:29just blows me away. And then I feed off of that, you know, we get a few moments like that
16:35every show, I think.
16:36Thank you so much for chatting with me about your new project. I can't wait to hear it all.
16:41We can't be responsible for anything you do while listening to Sublime.
16:44I'm,
16:50I'm.
16:52I'm.
16:52I'm.
16:54I'm.
16:55I'm.
16:55I'm.
16:57I'm.
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