Living the Dream….Sublime Style

For last and sweetest blog post of the year, I will be talking about the musical styling of ska-punk band Sublime.

The members of Sublime come from Long Beach in southern California.  They are Eric Wilson, Bud Gaugh and Brad Nowell.  Their first gig wasin a small club on the fourth of July in 1988.  According to folk lore, the band started a riot that night, which led to seven arrests.

In 1992 they debuted their first album, 40 Oz. to Freedom.  The album had such hits as Smoke Two Joints and 40 Oz. to Freedom.

As the trio gained popularity in the So-Cal region, they were asked to play in the inaugural touring of Van’s Warped Tour.  It became obvious that Sublime was the most popular act on stage.  However, there were complications as the tour wore on.  The constant substance abuse of the band members was always an issue.  There were very few sober nights on that tour.  Additionally, the drummer (Bud Gaugh) was arrested on several occasions for possession of marijuana.  During performances, aside from the constant drug abuse, the band also liked to bring their dogs on stage.  This led to several instances of audience members being bitten.  Essentially, this popular act was the biggest liability that Vans could’ve asked for.  However, the public couldn’t get enough of them.

The band released their second album, Robbin’ the Hood in 1994 and then their final album in 1996.  The final album, called Sublime, was originally named Killin’ it.  However, shortly before the album’s release, Brad Nowell died of a heroin overdose and the album’s name was changed out of respect.

This album included the hits, Santeria, Wrong Way, Caress Me Down and What I Got.

Sublime’s music is mellow and inspirational.  The message in most of their songs is one of patience and relaxing.  Even if life sucks, your attitude is the only thing that determines how you feel.  Just love the music and live the life you love.

Secret Lover = Paramore

This week I’ll be talking about the growing band, Paramore.

Paramore is an American rock band that formed in 2004.  The members are lead singer and keyboardist Hayley Williams, lead guitarist Josh Farro, bassist Jeremy Davis and Zac Farro on the drums.  Hayley and the Farro brothers went to private school with each other where they met and began playing.

The name Paramore comes from the maiden name of one of the original band members, which was Paramour.  This is translated as “secret lover.”  Changing the spelling to look more American, the band was formed.  As always, enjoy the music!

In 2005 the band released their first album All We Know is Falling.  This album had such hits as All We Know, Pressure and Emergency.

Gaining popularity through touring and online music sharing, the band quickly became a hit.  Paramore solidified their success in the summer of 2007 with the release of their second album, Riot!  This album had such hits as Crushcrushcrush, Hallelujha, That’s What You Get and Misery Business.

I like Paramore for their upbeat music and powerful instrumentals.  Additionally, I believe that a great strength of the band lies in their vocals.  Female vocalists in the rock and roll world are too few and far between.  I’m not denying that there are other wonderful female vocalists out there.  But to see a rock band put a women up as the lead singer is a refreshing change.  This is especially true when listening to the way she dominates each song and makes it her own.