Badfish

Considering the surfing theme I’ve given this blog, I suppose I’d be remiss if I failed to include Sublime among one of the first videos posted to the site.

“Borrowing” from Wikipedia (as usual), Sublime was a 90′s band from Long Beach, California, whose music combined a mix of reggae, dub, ska, punk, and hip hop. The band consisted of three members: Brad Nowell (vocals and guitar), Bud Gaugh (drums), and Eric Wilson (bass guitar). The band initially obtained wide exposed throughout Southern California (especially the surf scene, which I was in at the time). They eventually achieved mainstream success with their self-titled third album in 1996.

Before achieving such success, however, Nowell descended into what he described as a two-year heroin “experiment.” He claimed that his heroin use was justified, since it aided with his artistic creativity, thereby increasing the likelihood that his material would attract the attention of a major label.

Upon reaching the success he sought, Nowell attempted detoxification and drug rehabilitation several times – unsuccessfully. He eventually died of a heroin overdose shortly before the release of that third album. Although that album achieved posthumous success, the band broke up soon after Nowell’s death.

If was a loss on many levels, but mainly because Nowell left behind a wife and infant son.

One of my favorite songs of theirs is Badfish, the video for which I think accurately captures the essence of their music and the time period.