AboutMatt Maguire Expertise I am new to allexperts, but have plenty of knowledge and experience in the realm of Sublime. Guarantee: you will receive an answer within 2 days of posting the question -- I have no feedback so far and would like to build some.
I can answer most questions about the band, the significance of the lyrics, the show dates,
the unreleased albums and tracks, misinformation, and, above all, I am an expert on their
influences and related music.
Experience I have been a huge fan for 14 years, I ran a server which distributed Sublime's live and unreleased music 24/7 for 4 years, I have answered questions about the band daily for years on their old website, and I know some of the largest collectors in the world. I created the 5 CD bootleg "Rewind Selector" which documents the influences of Sublime and was the topic of a Spin Magazine interview.
Education/Credentials I did not study music in college, but I majored in English, so I can write a clear response. I worked as a research assistant in the past, so I have skills in research if I need to figure out an answer.
Past/Present Clients Sublime fans aren't my clients, but I have distributed swag and rare tracks to all those who want them for years at no cost.
Expert: Matt Maguire Date: 5/3/2008 Subject: Johnny Too Bad?
Question Okay man, heres my problem. I used to get a bunch of really obscure bootlegs and live songs back in the day and since then I have lost the music files and CDs and such. The thing is, I have found all of those songs AND MORE since then. But there is ONE awesome live/demo (or something) song I can't seem to find for the life of me. I'm going to describe the song for you and you tell me if you can figure this out. Okay so it starts out and they are jamming a 'non-particular' beat. Now Brad stops and the rest of the band keeps goin, Brad says to the band "hey guys, you guys remember that U40 (or something like that) song awhile back, remember how it goes? Something like, 'walkin with a pistol with your hand' or something, alright? Let it go!" and then they go into this new beat and Brad starts singing the lyrics "Running down the road! With a pistol in your hand...wanna know, if you are the babylon...One-a one-a these days, I'm gonna leave from this place..." and so on and so forth.
By that description alone if you have heard the song you should know what I'm talking about, so if you perhaps know the 'name' of this recording or can link me to a download or ANYTHING it would be much appreciated.
I effing love that song and it is crucial to my Sublime collection!!
Answer Zarathustra --
Wow...a lot of people come here asking me if I can tell them "that song -- can't remember the lyrics -- it starts with a guitar" and give me next to nothing to go on. You know that song very well, but that admittedly won't help you because the person who made the bootleg didn't know the name of the song! What you're looking for is track 11 off of Sinsemilla 86-96 (a necessity to your collection) and is titled "Freestyle Dub". It is not a freestyle as you may be able to tell when Brad says "...remember that UB40 song" -- although the Eireen part is a freestyle about his ex. The part you're asking about is half way through at 57 seconds.
The original song is called "Johnny Too Bad" by UB40 (remember "Red Red Wine", "Can't Help Falling in Love", "Here I Am, Baby", and "I'll Take You There"?) and they are a major influence of Sublime and American reggae. The two versions are combined in the comprehensive bootleg Rewind Selector that was released in July of 2007 (track 47 of 102).
That should answer your question -- let me know if you have others you're looking for.
