Sublime With Rome will be calling it quits after completing a previously announced tour, the group revealed with a press release on its website.
The news comes just a week after the two surviving members of Sublime's original incarnation performed with Jakob Nowell, son of the Long Beach group's late frontman, Bradley Nowell, fueling rumors that the group could mount a full-scale reunion with the younger Nowell.
After breaking up following Nowell's death from a heroin overdose in 1996, surviving members Bud Gaugh (drums) and Eric Wilson (bass) formed the Long Beach Dub All-Stars, and in 2009 the two began performing the band's old songs under the Sublime name, with Ramirez joining on guitar and vocals. Following a legal challenge from Nowell's estate, the band changed its name to Sublime With Rome, releasing one original album, 2011's Yours Truly, which breached the top 10 of the U.S. album chart. Gaugh left the group that same year, expressing reservations about using the Sublime name.
"In hindsight I would not have used the name," Gaugh said in 2012. "I didn't want to in the first place, I was talked into it and I would like to apologize to certain people and the fans for trying to justify or talk them into it as well."
Ramirez and Wilson continued touring and recording as Sublime With Rome, releasing Sirens in 2015 and Blessings in 2019.
Eric Wilson (left) and Bud Gaugh perform as Sublime With Rome in 2011.
On Dec. 11, Gaugh and Wilson reunited for the first time in a decade, playing a set of Sublime songs with the younger Nowell at a Los Angeles benefit concert for Bad Brains' frontman H.R. Neither the band nor Nowell -- who, at 28, is currently the same age that his father was when he passed -- have yet confirmed any plans to tour or record together again.
Though a substantially popular band in the mid-1990s in Southern California -- where their breakthrough single "Date Rape" was first played by seminal radio station KROQ -- Sublime only truly became nationwide stars upon the release of their self-titled third album, which hit stores two months after Nowell's death in 1996. Sublime saw the group reach No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart with single "What I Got," with the album eventually going 5x platinum.
Ramirez, who was virtually unknown when he first joined forces with Gaugh and Wilson, explained his departure with a post on the band's website. Read it in full:
"After almost two remarkable decades I am announcing my departure from Sublime With Rome at the end of 2024. The upcoming performances over the next year will allow us to reflect on countless incredible memories together!
Over the last two years I've been spending countless hours pouring my soul into my solo music, and the excitement to share these songs with you is building up! I've got some really big news that I can't drop yet. Just wait!"
Rome Ramirez announced his departure via the band's website.
"Singing and playing guitar for this iconic band has been a lifetime opportunity, and just flat-out, absolutely epic," Ramirez concluded. "Carrying on the Sublime legacy has been a trust I'll forever cherish. This is only the beginning. With utmost gratitude."
