Sublime’s just-released “3 Ring Circus: Live at the Palace — October 21, 1995” CD and DVD may be the first of many plunders into the group’s archives, according to drummer Bud Gaugh.
Gaugh tells Billboard that while completing the vintage concert package — in time to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Sublime’s first show on July 4, 1988 — even more material from the past began to surface.
“There’s definitely a lot more video footage that we came across,” says Gaugh. “We’re going through it a little bit at a time and sorting out. We had good shows, bad shows, good shows with bad recordings, bad shows with good recordings. We were big fans of ‘press record now, no matter what,’ so there’s a lot of work in there.”
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Among the treasures, the drummer says, is Vans Warped Tour footage from 1995, shows from New York and Chicago, and collaborations with the Wesley Willis Fiasco.
Gaugh says he and bassist Eric Wilson are “having a lot of fun sifting through” everything, and he has no doubt that, in conjunction with the estate of the group’s late frontman Bradley Nowell, some if not all of it will eventually be released. “Why not? Everybody seems to love it still. Why should we hold onto it and hoard it? Let’s share the love. It’s like our way of saying ‘Thanks for so damn long’ to everyone who’s supported us.”
For now, however, “3 Ring Circus” stands as the first-ever officially released complete Sublime concert, and Gaugh says that compiling it was an emotional experience for all concerned.
“Oh, man, it was crazy sitting down and watching it for the first time,” Gaugh recalls. “I felt like I had needles jumping out the back of my neck. I had to watch a little bit of it, then stop and kind of take it in and let the emotions flow through for a minute before carrying on. It went from every extreme — sadness, joy, nostalgia, but mostly good things.”
Besides the Sublime vaults, Gaugh is keeping himself busy these days with his family and working on custom cars, but he is playing music with a couple of bands, including Del Mar and Phil ‘n the Blanks with friends from the punk band Sexrat. Gaugh also has no regrets about deciding to quit Sublime with Rome in 2011.
“It was just a disagreement about where it should have been going,” says Gaugh, who upon leaving expressed regret about using the Sublime name. “You know how it is; you get sold one bill of goods, and when it’s time to pick it up the package is completely different. That’s the name of the game.
Sublime with Rome continues with Josh Freese taking Gaugh’s place. The group is reportedly working on a new album, though no title or released date have been announced.