AboutGMan Expertise I can answer any/all questions in regard to "sublime". I was down with the band and Skunk Records since 1991; the year they released their second cassette, "Jah Won't Pay the Bills" until the end in 1996. I have answers to all of your questions about their music, their releases, their unreleased music, their promos, merchandise, and the like. You ask it, I'll answer it.
Experience I have extensive knowledge of "sublime" from their origin(s)through the end of their career. I have been involved with "sublime" from the early years when Kelly Vargas was on Drums, I know everything that there is to know about their early career, their rise to fame in the early 90's, & on through until May 96' when Brad passed away. I specialize in the band's merchandise. I have been collecting everything that is "sublime" since the beginning and have extensive knowledge on the subject. They released an unparalleled amount of DYI promotional merchandise before being signed to MCA & I would be glad to help you find out what piece of their BIG puzzle you are holding on to and/or what you'd like to get your hand on!
Publications I am a regular on all of the sublime chat boards and was a constant on the now defunct sublime board, "The Curb" where many people considered me the "go to guy" for information on "sublime" and the rarities that they left behind for us all.
Question I had read somewhere that the album "Robbin' the Hood" was recorded during one of the worst parts of Brad's addiction and that a majority of the tracks were actually recorded in a Long Beach crack house. This wouldn't surprise me after hearing the Raleigh Soliloquies. I'm wondering how much truth there is in this.
By the way, who is that in the Raleigh Soliloquies?
~Amy
Answer Hey Amy,
Yes, you heard right. Most of "Robbin the Hood" was done by Brad & highly under the influence. He wasn't really at a bad (worst)place with heroin necessarily,... he was fairly new to using at that point. He started his "1 year experiment" some time in late 1993 or early 1994 as far as I know & that's when it got REAL bad. He was really addicted or "into" speed and coke/crack (and of course weed & alcohol) at that point. Meth was super big in So. Cal in the early 90's and Long Beach is a mecca for drugs. That's what "STP" is all about. He would hole up in different abandoned houses in LB & just tweak out and jam. That's why on the liner notes of "Robbin" it says: "This entire CD was recorded and mixed on a 4-track cassette machine in various living rooms..."
Most of all, that time was his "worst" in terms of speed usage. As far as I know, at that point,... he was just using heroin on a recreational basis to come down from the speed.
You can see Brad (and the shape he was in) around this time in this clip from Golden West College in Huntington Beach, Ca.
And, Raleigh was this guy that was a total nut-case & he cracked everybody up with his whacked out rants. Kelly Vargas, former drummer for sublime, had a brother named Matt Vargas who worked at a halfway house, where Rollie resided. His parts of the album were recorded in the halfway house and released as the 'Raleigh's Soliloquy's' on "Robbin the Hood".
