Bradley Nowell's Estate Threatens Legal Action Over Use of Sublime Name

This weekend, former Sublime members Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson will team with new singer Rome Ramirez at Cypress Hill's Smokeout in San Bernardino, Calif., and perform their first show as Sublime since November 24, 1996, following the passing of lead singer Bradley Nowell.

But Nowell's family is none too pleased.

On Friday, Nowell's estate threatened legal action against the group, saying in a statement that Nowell owned the rights to the Sublime name, and asked Gaugh and Wilson to cease the use of it. "Prior to his untimely passing, both Bud and Eric acknowledged that Brad Nowell was the sole owner of the name Sublime," the statement read. "It was Brad's expressed intention that no one use the name Sublime in any group that did not include him."


Gaugh and Wilson say this isn't the first they've heard from the estate, and they were previously granted legal permission to perform as Sublime. "Brad's heirs apparently do not share this vision and do not want the band Sublime to continue and tried -- unsuccessfully -- to file a temporary restraining order to prevent the band from carrying on," a statement from Gaugh read. "Despite those objections, we are pleased that the United States District Court has allowed us to perform as Sublime for all of our fans."

"It's unfortunate that the Estate would take a position against us," the statement continues. "Eric, Brad and I started this band when we were kids. We were the ones that spent years paying dues playing hole-in-the-wall clubs. We were the ones lugging around our gear in a broken down van. We were the ones that spent years writing, recording and rehearsing. WE. Not anyone else. Sublime is a band -- our band. We were devastated when we lost Brad and there's not a day that goes by that Eric and I don't think about him and miss him. Sublime's music has always been about love and we hope the Estate joins us and the fans that support us in celebrating Brad's life and our music."