Massive vinyl stage backdrop used by famed ska punk band Sublime with Rome during the band’s 2015 summer tour in support of their second album, Sirens. Manufactured by Sew What? Inc., the backdrop approximately measures 33-feet x 30-feet and features Drew Brophy’s highly stylized Sirens album cover art, which features an array of street-art designs with the band’s name in graffiti lettering, “Sublime with Rome,” centrally displayed with a large civil defense siren. The vibrant artwork appears to depict a tsunami moments before landfall, with all areas of the backdrop decorated with surreal imagery, from water creatures and flowers to fire, hearts, and streaks of bright lightning. The band’s instruments are seen buried in the seafloor. The Sew What? manufacturing label to the underside lists the project as “Sublime,” with a date of July 1, 2015. In fine condition.
Per Brophy on his website, the Sirens album artwork contains myriad elements and messages: ‘The little skeleton guy; I pictured the old WWII air raids when they had to crank the siren. The mushroom is a spin-off of Opie’s mushroom from the original Sublime art. The heart represents Rome singing his heart and soul out on the stage. The depiction of Long Beach is the pile of rubble they’re sitting on. It’s getting ready to be hammered by a giant wave. There’s an off-ramp to the 710 freeway to LA, which is shaking as a big earthquake comes through. The cop car in pieces is all that’s left of the cops. The sexy siren is an omen, a ghostly premonition. The psycho garibaldi fish is a throw-back to the Bad Fish lyrics. I’ve been drawing this fish forever and wanted to include it. There’s a tribute to Bradley in there, I’ll leave that up to the viewer to figure out what it is.’
Sublime with Rome was a ska punk band that began as a musical collaboration between former Sublime members Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh, and singer and guitarist Rome Ramirez. The trio initially performed as Sublime until the estate of late Sublime frontman Bradley Nowell issued a legal challenge to the use of the trademarked name for a venture not including Nowell. As a result, they changed their name to Sublime with Rome in January 2010. After four albums and 15 years of touring, the band officially announced its farewell tour dates in March 2024.
