CHICAGO — The spirit of Sublime lives on as the Long Beach Dub All Stars continue in the tradition of surf and groove-inspired alternative rock.
Of course, that’s no surprise given that Sublime alumni regrouped to form the All Stars after the 1996 heroin-overdose death of Sublime singer, Brad Nowell.
Band members could have stuck with the name — but decided to change it as a means of moving on, said Marshall Goodman, who played with Sublime in the early ’90s and later returned to become a part of the All Stars. He’s responsible for the group’s drums, turntables and percussion beats.
“We changed the name because Sublime died when Brad died,” Goodman said. “It’s challenging in the sense that we don’t use the Sublime name on any of our advertisements nor do we mention anything like, ‘We’re the Long Beach All Stars, and we used to be part of Sublime.’ We do not want to exploit the name just to sell more records. We want to keep the sprit of Sublime alive and keep moving forward in this new direction.”
Indeed the band is moving forward — and is expected to earn even more fans on this summer’s touring circuit.
It has kept its original incarnation’s intricate mix of hip-hop, jazz, reggae and rock, but still managed to update its sound on its Dream Works Records debut CD, “Right Back.” The album has spawned three singles, and sales continue to climb with the group’s constant touring.
“The members of the group come from all different backgrounds and grew up listening to a wide array of music,” Goodman said.
“When people check out the new record, they will see that mix and a live show will really showcase each band member’s individual talents and instrument-playing abilities,” he said.
The band hasn’t forgotten its roots and typically performs a couple of Sublime songs onstage.
“We always want to be positive with the grooves we produce, and I’m at the point in my life where I am blessed with still being able to express myself through music,” Goodman said.