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 is there a year that the contract voids so that the band can release some real shit.
im sure there are tons of live concerts and recordings and shit that bud and miguel have, i think the world deserves to see all brad had.
i hope the band sees that there are millions of people wanting more and more of sublime,
there are so many shows that ive seen bits and pieces of, or audio, i know theres videos left to be released.
i hope they share it all one day.
Answer Hey Rob,
Sorry for the slight delay. Real busy over here...
Anyway, the "contract" with MCA was a total rip off from the beginning. The guys got worked worse than I have ever seen; other than "Creedance Clearwater Revival", with a record deal contract that was specifically written with the record companies best interest in mind ONLY & with long term effects to everyone involved & EVERYTHING that they do. It is a very long and convoluted story regarding the specifics of the deal(contract) so I'm going to be "general" rather than "specific" which would take about a year to explain.
Sublime wanted to get a deal and MCA wanted to make money, PERIOD. They didn't(and don't to this day) care about sublime from ANY other standpoint than to make money off of them. Real shady and EVIL shit dude, you wouldn't believe it. Let's put it this way: They could, at ANY time, let sublime out of their contract considering that their lead singer died a horrible & tragic death & considering that they have made BILLIONS off of sublime... but why would they do that?? There are still Millions to be made off of their music, not to mention, Brad's death. It is a "Me, Me, Me" attitude over there dude, the epitome of "Greed" and "Capitalism" gone terribly Arie.
Brad's Dad served as their "management" during that time & he is a contractor so he wasn't well versed on the shady, manipulative ways of the music industry & signed what came to be know as one of the most fucked up contracts ever produced by the record industry.
Usually, when you sign a contract, you make sure that there are certain provisions written into the thing so that if anything happens, you BOTH have a say in what comes next. Say, your drummer has his arm cut off in a car accident (Def Leppard)... well, to take care of each party, you have to have provisions written into your contract FIRST so that you are BOTH taken care of. If not, the record company (if they CHOOSE) can say: "Sorry about your luck" and you are on your own.
Unfortunately, Sublime didn't do that & MCA choose NOT to take the higher ground with sublime & choose to be assholes from the minute Brad died. The guys just saw an amazing offer thrown on the table because everyone at MCA knew that they were a pain in the ass; but they also knew that they ruled on so many different levels, which would connect with everyone from Grandpa to the 4 year old kids playing in the sandbox. However, because they WERE a pain in the ass (notoriously so) MCA made SURE to cover themselves 10 times over. "We own this and that NOW, and if anyone "dies", we essentially own everything".. shit like that. Setting themselves up to profit for years to come very subtly and dishonestly.
So, for one of the "stipulations", they buffered the contract KNOWING that one of these "fuck ups" was probably gonna die. Again, too much to explain, but you get the idea.
When Brad died, they instantly had a say in everything that sublime did because they instantly owned everything. Stuff like: In order to play their songs live, they have to have permission and pay royalties. REALLY (and I can't say REALLY enough) jacked up.
There was no 'backing out' of the contract when Brad passed or ANY sympathy. Just, "You owe us 7 albums, what are you going to do?"
Then you get into the convoluted mess of sublime and Miguel having to pick and choose the stuff to give to MCA to release because once you do, they own that too. Which stuff do you keep for a later date even though we want to please our fans?? If you release it through the record company, you get tons of press, publicity, and promotion/merchandising... which in turn means money for all parties.. but you also fuck yourself in advance, because.. for instance: when Bud or Eric want to play "Leaving Babylon", they just released in on the Box Set and so they don't own free rights to perform it anymore. Horrible dude.
But, then you have to understand sublime's predicament. They can't release anything without MCA being involved because if they do, they will get sued.. and I mean SUED! It is very easy for a corporation like MCA to file a lawsuit for $100 million dollars & GET IT...
So, in the end.. and to protect yourself and the ones you love from destitute,.. what would you do?
Play the waiting game with the labyrinth of legalities in place insuring that you never get out from under the "contract"?, or say fuck it & surrender to the fact that you are screwed & play their game? Tough call for those guys every day.
Any way you look at it, they are over a barrel. It is REALLY bad. It's like they signed their souls over to the devil. Constantly having to check with a lawyer before they even speak; let alone "do".
The bigger problem is that once the guys in sublime decide (or decided) to do something (either old or new) with their music, they essentially have to sign a new contract, or extend an old one. "If you want to do that, you'll have to sign here.."
So, let's say when the Dub Allstars would play "Saw Red" or something like that,... another contract was signed by Bud and Eric... Get it?
These "contracts" could be for the month of July, for a year or for 10 years,.. but to do anything, they have to do that. See?
So, in turn, they never get clear of MCA..
When Bud and Eric play with Rome at DiPiazza's on July 25th, they will have signed a contract to do so. If they didn't and just played the gig; even if they didn't use the name "sublime" at all,... they would be sued for breach of contract as soon as they played "Santeria".
For something like this, contracts say shit like: "Any use of any music and or its likeness therein of the band sublime by Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh; of the formerly named band, "sublime" in which they were members, without written and expressed permission of it's owners; MCA, lmtd. will be in breach of contract and viewed as such in a court of law punishable by the full extent of the law in a Federal Court System".
Literally Bro, Eric could get sued for playing the bass line from "Date Rape" within a new song with Rome if he didn't have expressed, written permission by the powers that be at MCA.
I could go on for days on this one, but I think you get the gist of it.
