By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
August 20, 1995
It took a three-year-old song with a questionable title to win Sublime both notoriety and heavy rotation on radio stations across the country. A more appropriate title for the Orange County, Calif., trio’s hit single “Date Rape” actually would be “Anti Date Rape,” since the rapist ends up in prison – where he becomes a victim of rape himself.
“As far as I’m concerned, if people can’t listen to a song all the way through to figure out what’s being said, then they have no business listening to music,” said drummer Floyd “Bud” Gaugh. “Our song is obviously not condoning rape of any kind, and our fans know this. Some people get upset by the title and think we’re saying something we’re not. We just want people to listen to our music before they judge us.”
A jaunty, ska-influenced pop song, “Date Rape” tells the tale of a drunk man who meets a woman, rapes her and tells her, “If it wasn’t for date rape; I’d never get laid.” When Rolling Stone magazine profiled the Spur Posse – a group of teenage boys whose mission was to have sex with as many girls as possible, using force if necessary – one of them quoted that line.
“Those kids were from our neighborhood, and they really p – – – – – us off,” Gaugh said. “They took that line from our song and were bragging about what they had done, like it was an achievement. They were way off.”
Sublime, which also includes singer-guitarist Brad Nowell and bassist Eric Wilson, will be a main attraction when The Warped Tour hits the Chicago area Saturday in the Rosemont Horizon parking lot. A combination of live music with professional in-line skaters and skateboarders, the show also will include pro BMX rider Keith Traenor and skaters Angie Walton, Tom Fry and Neil Hendrix.
But if you’re going to the show to hear “Date Rape,” don’t hold your breath. They may sing it, but then again they might exclude it from their set list.
“Sometimes we just won’t play it ’cause we figure the kids have heard it on radio so much already they’re probably sick of it,” he said. “But it’s not premeditated. We usually don’t decide till the day of the show. We try to do something a little different at each concert, not just for ourselves and the fans, but also for the other bands we’re traveling with. I know that I go nuts when I watch a band play the same songs over and over every night.”
Sublime’s punk-reggae music is a natural to listen to while watching athletes perform awesome skateboarding routines. Gaugh said he skateboards every time his Volkswagen bus breaks down, but not quite as skillfully as the athletes he’s touring with.
“Punk rock is an aggressive type of music, and today’s type of skateboarding is very aggressive, so you do the math,” he said, laughing. “This tour is a natural. And I think fans of the music and fans of the sport overlap.”
Asked whether he’s ever tempted to change the tempo of his playing depending on which trick the skater or skateboarder might be executing, he said, “Nah. But sometimes when a good fight breaks out, then we’ll play good fighting music.” (He hums the theme to “Rocky.”)
Sublime formed in the late ’80s. They released their debut album, “40 Oz. to Freedom” (which included “Date Rape”), in 1992, and followed that last year with “Robbin’ the Hood.”
The musicians are working on a new CD, which they hope to release by March, 1996.
The Warped Tour
featuring Sublime, L7, Seaweed, Quicksand, No Use For A Name, Orange 9mm, fluf, Tilt, Swinging
Utters, Red-5, Wizo, Civ, Alligator Gun and more
Noon Saturday
Rosemont Horizon parking lot, 6920 N. Mannheim, Rosemont
Tickets, $15
At Horizon Box Office, or Ticketmaster, (312) 559-1212
