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: 7/13/2007 Subject: Fake autographs
Question QUESTION: There is a site online that claims they have an autographed Sublime poster by Bradley Nowell. They sent me a picture and it's the Sun poster with "Just let the lovin' take ahold" quoted on the bottom. Across it in silver ink is "Bradley Nowell".
I'm seriously doubtful in any legitimacy this might have. Do you know how to find out when the poster was first produced? I'm willing to bet it was after he died. Also, do you know where any examples of his signature might be found? Just to compare them on the off chance this is legit.
Thanks for your time.
ANSWER: Andrew --
I don't have enough information to legitimately answer your question, but I'll do my best; you didn't show me a link of the poster.
If the poster is this: http://www.buildaposter.com/bapadmin/photos/thumb/GL3984_thumb.jpg
it is undoubtedly fake. I have never seen that poster, it was MADE on a site called "Build a poster", the lyrics are from a couple non-radio hit songs "Boss DJ" and "Get Out!", Sublime's pre-death promos were hand-made like the Badfish sardines and the 3-Ring Circus Animal Crackers... Without the picture I can't verify that it does or does not look like his autograph, but I can tell you that all the legit auto's I've seen said "Brad" not "Bradley Nowell." I don't know of autographs online for you to compare. If you can post that link as a followup to this question, hopefully a barage of emails from fans will stop the guy from screwing someone over.
I emailed the site www.AutographMoviePoster.com, company name "Autograph R Us", and asked about a Sublime autograph. They claim to specialize in hard to find autographs.
They wrote me back saying that had this and to let them know if I was interested. I questioned them on where they got it, etc. and they responded with this:
"We specialize in finding autographs no one else can find, we been doing this for 12 years, so we know how to find good deals, and any autograph. We buy strickly from UACC Dealers, and IADA . We will send you a photo of the autographed poster shortly!"
There were other things that made me doubt this site was legit but I won't go into all of them.
Thanks for your help.
Answer It is definitely fake for all the reasons mentioned above. If you go on ebay and look up movie stars' autographs you will find dozens by supposedly reputable dealers, even with certificates of authenticity. Certificates are easier to fake than autographs. I had a friend who bought an autograph and it looked legit compared to a real one he had seen...it was fake. This company has taken it a step further, providing an auto without much comparison to the original.
You should probably mention the police in your next email with them. I'd bet you'd never hear back from them.
