Southern California stoners love 4/20, but they’ll have another reason to continue puff, puff, passing the joints on 4/21 this year when legendary Long Beach ska punk rock band Sublime releases a new live album recorded with their original lead singer in 1994. And while they listen to the new release, they can also partake of Sublime’s own, just-released cannabis brand—which, they assure us, is of the highest quality.
The band announced Tuesday that $5 at the Door (Live at Tressel Tavern, 1994) will be released on April 21, following the rollout of REEFERS by Sublime, now available in select licensed SoCal retail dispensaries.
“Cannabis culture has been a part of Sublime since the beginning, and I’m stoked that we now have our own line of products,” bassist Eric Wilson said in a statement. “Cannabis takes me to that place when we were kids in the garage, playing music for ourselves. REEFERS is for anyone whether it’s used for relief, creativity, alternative medicine or to chill out.”
The first product in the REEFERS line—currently available only to residents near participating dispensaries—is the Smoke Two Joints two-pack of curated cannabis pre-rolls —named after Sublime’s 1992 hit “Smoke Two Joints,” off of the 40oz. to Freedom album, which is still getting regular airplay on SoCal commercial rock stations to this day.
Sublime’s cannabis products are made in partnership with Costa Mesa’s The Healing Plant, a licensed manufacturer of cannabis products for California’s adult use and medical marijuana marketplace.
It’s the latest example of the music industry turning to the legal cannabis products for additional revenue streams as music itself loses market value due to the dominant streaming platform subscription model. At the end of 2022, iconic SoCal music label Death Row Records launched its own cannabis line, helmed by cannabis connoisseur Snoop Dogg, who already had his own brand, Leafs by Snoop. Meanwhile, Willie Nelson owns wholesale cannabis brand Willie’s Reserve Label, and Wiz Khalifa previously partnered with Colorado-based RiverRock Wellness on Khalifa Kush.
“Holistic wellness. Medical necessity. Adult preference. Whatever your need or personal choice, Sublime has its own weed now and it is quality,” adds Sublime drummer Bud Gaugh. “Vested and tested, by me, try ’em and see!”
Healing Plant CEO Robert Taft calls the collaboration “a labor of love,” as he’s been a fan of the band since he was a kid. He’s well aware of Sublime’s presence in cannabis culture, and promises more products are on the way this year, including “a full line of lab tested, top quality concentrates, tinctures and even edibles.”
While only those who can get to the select dispensaries can get high on the band’s legal weed, the rest of the world can enjoy the new digitally restored and mastered live album, which has long been a fan-favorite performance with original frontman Bradley Nowell, who died from a heroin overdose in 1996.
The Tressel Tavern performance had previously been available only available as raw, bootlegged recordings under the name Memories. Now, $5 at the Door (Live at Tressel Tavern, 1994), is getting its first official release through Surfdog Records, with all 26 tracks restored and remastered.
“We were so excited when we unearthed this tape from the 1994 Everett, Washington show,” says Surfdog Records President Scott Seine in a press release Tuesay. “What made this even more special is the fact that there was only a left and right channel, straight from the mixing board, so there was no way for any fixes or manipulation to the performance even if someone wanted to. This show is raw, authentic and true Sublime.”
The live album promises to be an exciting experience for those who never had the chance to see Sublime live before before Nowell passed away in a San Fransisco motel on May 25, 1996, due. Fans can place their pre-orders now and get a sneak peek with a stream of “Loving / Good Hole College.”
In 2009, Gaugh and Wilson teamed up with Rome Ramirez to form Sublime with Rome, playing nearly all of Sublime’s original songs (except for “Caress Me Down,” out of respect for Nowell) and recording new material, as well. Though Gaugh left the band in 2011, Sublime with Rome still tours and releases new music with Ramirez, Wilson and Carlos Verdugo.
Whatever weed you’re getting high on, be sure to stock up for your listening pleasure, as the track list is generously extensive:
1. Don’t Push / Right Back / New Thrash
2. Work That We Do
3. 40oz. To Freedom
4. House Of Suffering
5. Badfish
6. Leaving This Babylon
7. Prison Oval Rock
8. We’re Only Gonna Die For Our Arrogance
9. Let’s Go Get Stoned
10. Pool Shark / Pool Shark Reprise
11. S.T.P.
12. I’m Not a Loser
13. Scarlet Begonias
14. Loving / Good Hole College
15. Cost of Living
16. D.J.’s
17. Saw Red
18. Jah Is My Light / Greatest Hits
19. Jailhouse
20. 54-46 That’s My Number
21. Date Rape
22. Ebin*
23. Youth Are Getting Restless
24. Romantic Girl / Winner Takes All
25. Myage
26. Slow Ride
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