Initial career (1997–2001) Eric Wilson and
Bud Gaugh met in childhood (in 1979) and later started their first garage
punk band, consisting of
drums,
bass and vocals. In 1988, with
Bradley Nowell, they formed the
ska punk and
reggae rock band
Sublime, which went on to sell over 17 million albums worldwide. After Nowell's fatal heroin overdose in 1996, Wilson and Gaugh founded the Long Beach Dub Allstars (LBDAS) with
RAS-1 from Long Beach reggae band Jah Children on guitar & vocals, who were then joined by frequent Sublime contributors
Michael "Miguel" Happoldt,
Todd Forman, and
"Field" Marshall Goodman. Eric Wilson said: "We will never replace the greatness that Sublime did or what Bradley has done." The LBDAS were originally a 10-piece and they recorded their debut recording called
Right Back, which shortly after completion in 1999 saw the departure of three members. Their second album,
Wonders of the World was recorded and released in 2001. It featured "Sunny Hours" featuring
will.i.am from
The Black Eyed Peas. "Sunny Hours" was also used as the theme song for the
Friends spin-off
Joey.
Breakup and aftermath (2002–2012) In 2002, rumors that the band had broken up began to surface. Apparently the band had taken a hard-drug-free vow and some of the band's members had broken this vow, which caused Bud Gaugh to quit and join
Eyes Adrift with
Krist Novoselic of
Nirvana and
Curt Kirkwood of
Meat Puppets. Gaugh subsequently played with Kirkwood and Michael Happoldt in the band Volcano. Eric Wilson, Trey Pangborn and
RAS-1 formed
Long Beach Shortbus with former
Slightly Stoopid and temporary Sublime drummer, Kelly Vargas (later replaced by Damion Ramirez).
Marshall Goodman, Jack Maness and
Opie Ortiz formed Dubcat, with members of
Hepcat. Shortbus has had slightly more success than Dubcat, though the latter has yet to release an album. Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh later reunited in
Sublime with Rome, a new incarnation of Sublime which chiefly performs songs by that band and features
Rome Ramirez in place of
Bradley Nowell. However, Gaugh left shortly after their first tour to focus on family and played a few shows with the band Badfish.
Reunion (2012–present) On September 1, 2012, Long Beach Dub Allstars played their first show in 11 years at the Queen Mary Events Park next to the
Queen Mary in
Long Beach, California, where they opened for
The Wailers and played alongside
Tribal Seeds. Then on September 30, 2012, Long Beach Dub Allstars performed at the Yost Theater in
Santa Ana, California, where they opened for
Fishbone. They played another show at the Brixton Southbay in
Redondo Beach, California on January 25, 2013, with the local Redondo Beach Band Special "C". The reunion lineup consists of
Marshall Goodman "Ras MG" on drums, Michael "Miguel" Happoldt on lead guitar/vocals, Opie Ortiz on vocals, Jack Maness on vocals/guitar/keys, Tim Wu on sax/flute/vocals, and Edwin Kampwith on bass. In 2017, the group toured across California and played one-off shows in Nevada and Florida. They were set to play two shows in San Francisco and Sacramento early in 2018, as well as a gig at
Red Rocks Amphitheatre on April 19. On May 29, 2020, the Long Beach Dub Allstars released their eponymous third studio album under
Suburban Noize Records. The self-titled album features 10 tracks with their first single, "Tell Me" along with a music video. On June 30, 2023, the Long Beach Dub Allstars released their fourth studio album,
Echo Mountain High on Regime Music Group. It features 13 tracks with their first single, "Let Yourself Shine" that was released on social media and YouTube on April 21. Other singles released with music videos are "Somewhere" and "Preacha" featuring
Long Beach local musician Philileano. ==Lineup==