Sunday night was brimming with good vibes and great tunes as Sublime with Rome brought SOJA and Common Kings to Marymoor Park. On the front end of their Blessings Tour, they will perform 49 shows in just three months. Rome Ramirez was gracious enough to sit down with me to answer questions about cannabis, musical roots, and the new album Blessings.
Exclusive Interview With Rome
Do You Remember The First Time You Got High?
Rome: I think the first time I ever got high, man, I don’t think I do. I remember the era, but I don’t remember the very first time. I wanna say it was out of a can in the back of a friend’s house. The first time I smoked, I don’t think I was high so I was kinda bummed out.
Do You Prefer Dabs Or Flower?
I appreciate the entire plant. I mean, without flower there would be no concentrate but I prefer concentrates now. Just because, to me, they’re more efficient. Flower is awesome when you’re with people, though. I feel it’s a very unifying thing. Whereas dabs, for me, concentrates are more personal, almost like medicine. It’s my dosage when I’m doing my own thing.
Indica, Hybrid, Or Sativa?
Hybrids and indicas predominantly. Sativas are tight, too, but they kind of keep me up.
What Is Your Favorite Strain?
If I was to pick a strain for like, forever, it would probably be chemdawg or like a purple of some sorts.
How Has Cannabis Influenced Your Music?
I mean it’s influenced everything I’ve done. You know how it is, it’s like, when you’re part of the lifestyle it consumes you, it’s like everything. I think a better question to ask would be, “How would my art be without cannabis?” I don’t even know if I’d be making art, you know what I mean. Like, who even knows? It was just a developmental thing for me that I don’t even think that, in a weird way, I would even be here today if I didn’t smoke, you know?
Sublime With Rome New Album Blessings
What would you say is the most memorable part of making your new album Blessings? What Was The Most Memorable Part Of Making Blessings?
I think one of the big ones would be when my son was born, and maybe five months after, we went into the studio to do the album. That was really tight because I’ve never had a kid and I’ve never had a kid in the studio. It was such a cool thing to see because I always wanted to be in the studio when I was a kid. Now here I am putting my baby in the studio. So he’s going to grow up in a recording studio, which is exactly how I would have planned it.
Is There A Song On The New Album That You’ve Done Differently Than Previous Ones?
I think the song “Thank U” on the album is pretty different. I did that song in like forty-five minutes, it was the last song on that album. The label was like, “You need one more song to put on the record.” I was like, “I already gave you guys twelve.” They said I needed one more song to fill the *air quotes* “contractual obligation.” I was like, “We’re done. We’ve already used all of our
So I went upstairs to my studio and was like, “808, clap, 808, clap. (sings) Took some time to fall away I know I’ve been gone away too long.” Then was like, “Okay that sounds tight.” So I sent it over to Eric and he was like, “This is fire! Let’s put drums on it!” So we put drums on it and that was it.
Rome Talks Musical Roots and Favorite Sublime Song
How Was Your Upbringing And Where You Came From In Your Musical Roots?
Well, I was the only musician in my family. So when I wanted a guitar my folks were just like “alright, it’s cool. The guitar sounds pretty harmless.” So my pops got me an electric, he had one laying around so he just gave me it. My dad, played drums but not a lot. We had a jam room set up in the garage and that was fucking cool. My brother and I would always go fuck around down there. But for the most part, I was kind of stumbling into it. I think that’s why I liked it though because I didn’t have anyone shoving it down my throat. I just do it if I wanted to, when I wanted to, it was my thing and I controlled it. And that, of course, just made me want to do it all the fucking time.
What Would You Say Was Your Favorite Sublime Song Growing Up?
Growing up it would probably be “Perfect World”, it was a B side they had. Maybe a more popular one would be “Under My Voodoo.” I’ve always liked those ones. I’ve always liked their harder stuff too, all of their Descendants covers. It’s hard you know, they’ve had some legendary albums and shit.
Marymoor Park Show Recap
This was my first time at Marymoor Park for a show. I arrived at the park around 5:00 PM with some friends and we headed towards the line. Luckily, I had my tickets at will call and was able to get right in. However, my friends did not and they waited in line for about an hour. They missed quite a bit of the Common Kings set because the show started 20 minutes early. The show was advertised to begin at 6:00 pm. To be honest, I was surprised and disappointed by this. I couldn’t help but think of all the people in line who paid for a ticket and wasn’t able to see the beginning of the show.
The Opening Acts
Common Kings came out electric, like they always do, and got the party started (for those who were able to make it in). Uncle Lui had his wild mane out in full force and lead singer, Junyer, kept the crowd engaged the whole time. SOJA is always a wonderful show and this is the second time I’ve seen them. They did tremendously but I wondered why they didn’t perform their hit song “You & Me.” It’s their most popular track and with lead guitarists, Trevor Young, singing the second verse, it’s absolutely amazing live.
Sublime with Rome
Sublime with Rome was a lot better than I expected and they absolutely killed it. They delivered most of Sublime’s greatest hits while fans sang along to their favorites. Mixing in songs from their new album, they also played their top hit, “Take It or Leave It.” The show wrapped up at 9:30 pm and the band gave the crowd a curtain call bow after their performance.
The last original Sublime member, Eric Wilson, rocked stage left and brought the iconic bass lines we’ve come to love. With Rome Martinez on vocals and drummer, Carlos Verdugo, who was previously with Tribal Seeds. I would certainly see Sublime with Rome again. Anyone who is a reggae rock fan knows the importance of Sublime’s legacy and their influence they still have today in music. The trio is keeping that legacy alive and they deserve praise, not hate, in their ventures.
