Drummer Bud Gaugh was an integral component of the sound of Sublime, the

Southern California ska-punk/dub band that broke up following

singer/guitarist Brad Nowell's 1996 death.

Gaugh and Sublime's other surviving member, bassist Eric Wilson, just

released the first album by their post-Sublime band, the Long Beach Dub

All-Stars.

Floyd "Bud" Gaugh was born 32 years ago today in California. His family

lived across an alleyway from Wilson, and the two men have been friends

since their youth.

Gaugh and Wilson began playing music and surfing together at Seal Beach,

Calif. The pair would also go to concerts by local punk bands. The lyric

"punk rock changed our lives" from one of those bands, the Minutemen,

was sampled by Sublime on their first LP.

Wilson's father, a big-band drummer, taught Gaugh the instrument. Wilson

had played music with Nowell in the sixth grade, then Nowell moved to

Santa Cruz to attend college. During a break from school, Nowell was

introduced to Gaugh by Wilson and the three formed Sublime.

After selling cassettes of their music at their shows, Sublime recorded

their 1992 debut LP 40 Oz. to Freedom (RealAudio

excerpt of title cut). The band issued the album on its own

Skunk label.

The record sold well via word of mouth, but Nowell soon began experimenting

with hard drugs. Sublime's follow-up, Robbin' the Hood (1994),

was recorded for the most part in a Long Beach crack house with an addicted

Nowell. Gaugh had battled drugs in the past and tried to assist Nowell

with his problem. Shortly before the sophomore LP's release, a local

radio station made a hit of "Date Rape," from Sublime's first album.

Sublime also played before its growing fanbase of surfers and skateboarders

when it co-headlined gigs on the first Vans Warped Tour.

But it was Sublime's eponymous 1996 album, released on MCA nearly two

months after Nowell's death, that became a huge success. Nowell was found

dead from a heroin overdose in a San Francisco hotel room. "What I Got,"

from the LP, became a hit with modern-rock radio, and the album was

certified gold. It also featured such tracks as "Same in the End" and

"April 29, 1992 (Miami)."

Second Hand Smoke, a rarities and remixes LP, followed in 1997.

The following year came Live: Stand by Your Van. Last year the

band issued Acoustic: Bradley Nowell & Friends.

Also in 1998, a Sublime documentary, "Stories, Tales, Lies & Exaggerations,"

was released on home video by director Josh Fischel.

Fischel said of Sublime: "One thing I always noticed in hanging out with

them is that it really [was] a family. ... They're storytellers, and they

tell their story so well, but every time you talk to one of them, it

changes or it sounds different."

On Sept. 21, the Long Beach Dub All-Stars issued Right Back,

featuring reggae musicians such as Barrington Levy, Half-Pint and Tippa;

hardcore Bad Brains singer HR; and guitarist Fletcher Dragge of punk

group Pennywise. The All-Stars feature a number of vocalists, including

Opie Ortiz.

Earlier this year, a vinyl version of 40 Oz. to Freedom was offered

on Sublime's retail website (www.sublimedirect.com) and then made available

in record stores.

Other birthdays: Leon Rausch (Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys), 72;

Jimmy Torres (String-a-Longs), 60; Lolly Vegas (Redbone), 60; Ron Meagher

(Beau Brummels), 58; Don McLean, 54; Richard Hell (Television, Voidoids),

50; Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + the Mechanics), 49; Sting, 48; John

Otway, 47; Phil Oakey (Human League), 44; Freddie Jackson, 41; Robbie

Nevil, 39; Dion Allen (Az Yet), 29; Tiffany, 28; and LaTocha Scott

(Xscape), 26.