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| Growing Up (Reprise) |
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A year after Bradley started his "one year experiment in creativity," Sublime began to record the bulk of what would become their first full-length release, 40 oz. to Freedom. It has been reported that 40 oz. to Freedom was funded by Brad�s father Jim, with only $1,000, although Miguel would say that it was raised "by any means necessary."
By now, everybody who knows Sublime knows how 40 oz. to Freedom, without any major distribution, sold 30,000 copies directly from the band members trunks, before it was ever offered in any major record stores. Within a short span of time, it had become one of the most successful independent label albums ever recorded, and also hit #1 on the Billboard Heatseakers chart, which chronicles new and upcoming artists. Still, despite the regional success of 40 oz., Sublime still wasn�t well recognized outside of Southern California.
Sublime continued to tour, and soon would travel out of state, playing as far away as Orlando, FL, Boulder, CO, Portland, OR, and Cleveland, OH. While the demand for another release was there, Sublime finally seemed to have more lofty aspirations, as they channeled their attention into a demo tape titled Secret Tweeker Pad, or S.T.P. for short. This tape would be sent out to record companies all across America in order to promote Sublime�s music far away from Long Beach.
Another demo tape, this one untitled, was also made, and sent to local record companies and radio stations, and contained a list of Sublime�s tour dates in California, specifically so that the record agents and/or station D.J.�s and program selectors could see Sublime live and hear more of their music.
Before they released another album, Sublime recorded another limited run tape, along the lines of Jah Won�t Pay the Bills, entitled Chiva Kenevil. Contained on the tape were several songs that would later be on their upcoming compact disc release, plus the only song that Miguel ever wrote for the band, a short, 17-second track entitled Drunk Drivin�. Chiva Kenevil would make up the bulk of the original songs on Robbin� the Hood, Sublime�s second full-length release.
Robbin� the Hood was originally intended to be released as an EP, with only 6 songs that were recorded in abandoned crack houses in and around Long Beach. However, Bud and Eric decided that 6 songs on a CD was a rip-off, and decided to make more songs, including several dubs and instrumental songs, including a cover of the Peter Tosh song, Steppin� Razor. The rest of the disc was filled with Sublime�s most experimental music to date, but never garnered Sublime national attention.
It wasn�t until 3 years, and four releases, after 40 oz. to Freedom that Sublime finally received the attention that would get them recognized on a national scale. In 1995, the influential Los Angeles radio station KROQ started playing Sublime�s Date Rape, a song that Bradley says was inspired by a real-life encounter with a student and a frat party who had come down the hallway and told his fraternity that he has just had sex with a drunk girl.
The song, which was over 6 years old at the time, was wearing out it's welcome with Sublime, who had begun to dislike the song. Despite this, it became an instant hit at KROQ, where it soon became the most requested song on the playlist, and alternative rock radio stations all across America began to follow suit and add the song to their playlists as well. It enjoyed good exposure almost everywhere, and, just as in Los Angeles, it was heavily requested all over the country.
Along with the success, of course, came the controversy. Many people, including feminists, missed the point of the song, and said that it glorified rape and violence toward women, treating it as a jokable subject that could be parodied in a song. Even music critics jumped on the bandwagon to trash the song, which ended with the criminal in question being raped himself, in jail.
This song finally brought Sublime the second attention of the national labels that it first garnered when 40 oz. was first released. Originally thought to be too juvenile, Sublime was signed to MCA due to the continued success of their live shows, and the recognition brought by Date Rape's continued hit status on radio.
When MCA took over, they decided to nationally distribute Sublime�s first two studio albums, 40 oz. and Robbin� the Hood. There were, however, minor changes in the releases. Most notably, two entire tracks were removed from 40 oz., along with two sections of other songs. The song Get Out! Was lifted from 40 oz. to Freedom due to a question in the legality of the song�s samples. As Miguel put it, the samples were from "an old British burn-out band that shall remain nameless." This band was Led Zeppelin, and the samples were taken from The Lemon Song.
As Skunk Records says, MCA edited 40 oz. down to 32 oz. with the cuts, yet it was still distributed nationally and now the independent versions are highly sought-after collectibles for Sublime fans. The album has recently been certified platinum by the RIAA, joining Sublime�s 1996 self-titled triple-platinum album as Sublime�s only platinum releases.
During the summer of 1995, Sublime began to go on their biggest tour to date, and what would become their highest profile tour ever, The Warped Tour, which showcases alternative punk, ska, and hip-hop bands. Sublime was finally able to get their music out to new fans, but not in three lucrative markets, including Cleveland, OH. Sublime described the reasons behind their punishment as "normal shit that happens when you�re drunk, happened every day." In addition to this, Bud was arrested for possession of marijuana, and Lou was allowed into a couple of shows, and bit a few audience members while there. This eventually got Sublime kicked off of the bill for a few shows.
During the winter of 1995, Sublime entered the studio again, this time with name producer Paul Leary of the Butthole Surfers to record what would become Sublime�s 1996 masterpiece self-titled album. Sublime�s success with this album was fully anticipated by the band, who said that both producers working on the album, Leary and David Khane were big-name producers, and "you know you�re going to have a hit with a name producer."
But even earlier, as far back as 1993, Bradley envisioned the success of Sublime�s third album. One day, while meeting over lunch, Brad and Miguel drew up a contract on a napkin, summarizing the deals for the European release and tour for Sublime�s third album, which was intended to be titled Killin� It. The two went so far as to name the album�s hit single, which was written on the napkin as "loving�is what I got." Coincidentally, during Sublime�s final days, they were gearing up for a European tour, where all three of their albums were being released.
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