Rome Ramirez is sitting at home in East LosAngeles, and if you were to ask, it’s obvious why he chose to reside in thissection of the City of Angels. “It’s where the recording studios are, so that’swhere I be at.”
Over a brief conversation, the Sublime with Rome guitarist/vocalist reflects on the band’s ongoing evolution, his new project with Duddy B of Dirty Heads and how there’s a certain kinship between him and John Mayer.
He’s also recorded with Blues Traveler,noting, “We met up in the studio in LA and they’rejust super talented and super nice guys, and we really hit it off. Even withour musical styles: I’m big on improvisation and they are really big on improvtoo. We were able to capture their elements in their jams but still formulatesome really strong songs. And they really liked the way that I worked so weended up doing some music together. And we did some stuff with Dirty Heads, itwas cool. We are still friends we’ve always kept in really close touch.”
Sublimewith Rome just passed like the 10-year mark. How does it feel in terms of whereyou guys are?
It honestly feels great. It doesn’t feel like10 years, it’s insane. It’s hard for people to be in bands for 10 years, letalone something like Sublime with such a rich legacy. Who knows how thingscould have gone. I just think that it’s magical: Here we are ten years laterand, honestly, we are putting out the best shit we’ve ever put out. We areplaying more shows than we’ve ever played; It’s such a blessing.
Lookingback, what have been some of the highlights for you?
Honestly I never really thought about thelongevity of the project. When you’re in the moment of it, as soon as you startthinking about end dates and stuff, you start operating not from the heart butfrom the head. My thing was just focus on being in the moment and making gooddecisions. Last week we played One Love and we’re looking at fifteen thousandpeople. I’m side stage with my manager. I look over to him and I’m just like,“Thank you, this is amazing.” I can’t believe our lives. All of us, all my friendswith Dirty Heads, all those guys are all in their own houses now. They’ve gotkids and are really grown up now and we did it all through music. Every singleday I think about that and it just blows my mind.
On theother hand, I’m sure you meet people from all over the world who feel a kinshipwith the Sublime/Sublime with Rome songbook…
Yeah, 100%. When we are on tour, we’ll be inAsia or in Europe and you’ll see the people who come to the shows—their dressand their vocabulary is almost as if they’re from California. Because they areso engulfed in the lifestyle and so engulfed in the music; It’s so cool to seethat. You don’t have to be from California to feel like you’re at the beach,you know what I mean?
Blessings is your first recordwith Carlos Verdugo behind the kit. Tell me about some of the songs on thisrecord.
I mean, a lot of these songs really came fromhonestly me being in a spot where I wanted to just write all the lyrics upfrontfirst and focus on what I wanted to say. I just got married, I was having myfirst child. Things were starting to change for my life; I stopped drinkinghard alcohol. Everything was starting to come into focus for this for the nextchapter. And I just wanted to write all that down and I wanted to capture that.Partly for myself but another reason was when my kid is old enough, he can kindof hear where I was at when I was having him, which is a really weird concept,but I just think it would be cool as a grown man to hear what your father wasgoing through when you were entering the picture.
It’sinteresting that you say lyrics came first and then music. A lot of times it’sthe other way around.
I just really wanted to focus on the message.It was probably over the course of two years where I was writing this album andputting it together.
Youwere talking about how improv is very important to you and letting the musicreally breathe. Are there any songs on the new record that you are particularlyexcited about in the live setting?
Totally. We play a track called “May Day” andthat one transforms into a live record. And it’s very cinematic, that’s theword. It just has really awesome highs and lows and sprinkles some grand pianoin there. And it’s all around minor keys; it’s really cool. We have another record,which is a single, “Wicked Heart.” At the end, we just open up and start to jamand then close it off with this really cool, crowd interactive piece. Honestly,we don’t play to back tracks, so that allows us the freedom to pretty much dowhatever the fuck we want.
I’mcoming from a jamband scene, so for us, that’s the best way to do it. If you’reonstage and you’re feeling a fast one or a slow one, then play a fast one or aslow one.
Exactly, you’re able to really play a show forthe audience. Not just, “Here is the setlist we programmed in rehearsal, sothat’s what you get.” Fuck that. You’re able to really connect I think.
Tell mea little about this Rom & Duddy stuff you’re working on. What kind of itchdoes it scratch that maybe Sublime with Rome doesn’t?
We’re trying to keep everything really brokendown to the core of it. Using all natural instruments and taking this ‘70sfolk-Americana and hitting it with reggae. Think of Neil Young and No Women NoCry put together, that’s the kind of vibe that we’re trying to encompass. Ourversion of the Van Morrison classic [“And It Stoned Me”] really, reallyembodied that. That’s why we decided to put that out first, and it’s one of ourfavorite songs. That was like, “This is what we’re trying to do with thisproject.”
Sinceyou’re a California guy, and Sublime regularly covers “Scarlet Begonias,” areyou a Deadhead at all?
I wouldn’t say I’m a Deadhead, that’s a way oflife. I’m a Grateful Dead fan though. They have records that are undeniable,you know what I mean? I grew up listening to American Beauty and shit with my dad in the car. As far as being aDeadhead goes, I have friends that are actual Deadheads. More importantly, Ijust think that Grateful Dead did it so well with how you really want to createa fanbase, I just think that’s amazing. It’s not even a fanbase, it’s a fuckingcommunity, it’s a family. That’s inspiring as all hell. For any band or anyartist, I think they should model their career like Grateful Dead honestlybecause they’re one of the best to ever do it.
Haveyou seen that sense of community within the Sublime ecosystem?
100%. The Grateful Dead kind of made that,they kind of invented that. Sublime didn’t really have that opportunity becauseNowell passed in ‘96. But the Grateful Dead have continually given back totheir community, whether it was through festivals or other reiterations of theband. I just think that’s awesome. Even now, the current iteration of it withJohn Mayer is such an awesome way to keep giving the music to futuregenerations through different people.
It’skind of like you guys are Sublime & Company...
100%, and that’s how I feel. I don’t think I’man original member of the band, no way. I grew up listening to Sublime, I knowwhat’s up. But I just think that it’s rad that I’ve been given the opportunityto bring the band to a new place and show it to new people.
Exactly.The music is bigger than everyone.
That’s exactly what I was going to say next.It’s bigger than his ego, it’s bigger than him, it’s for the fans.
