Jurassic Park. That was my initial thought sitting down with Eric Wilson in his massive backyard. It’s an expansive landscape of mountain rocks, avocado trees and bronze dinosaur statues. A padded chair sits empty across from a wooden bench, on which Eric sits with Melvin, his playful Rottweiler.
Eric is in fantastic spirits, not at all appearing like the man who almost died days earlier in an ATV accident. His deep side bruise and fractured right arm are at complete odds with his sunny disposition. I ask him what happened with the accident and a wide smile crests his face.
“Well, when I was born, I fell out the wrong way. [Laughs] I was up on the walking bridge with my Mechanical Mule. It lost traction and I went down with it. It was pretty violent.”
Whether he’s grateful just to be alive or simply enjoying time away from the road, Eric Wilson is a happy man. And with good reason. Sublime With Rome is releasing their third studio album this month and will embark on a monster summer tour in June.
We wait 20 minutes for the sun to tuck itself behind the trees, when our seating area slowly illuminates with a warm golden glow. It’s at this precise moment Eric wants us to begin.
What role did smoking pot play in the early development of Sublime’s music?
The guy who introduced me to Brad – Dave D – our relationship was smoking pot. He took me over to Brad’s house and was like, “I think you guys are gonna hit it off pretty good.” And by god, he was right.
When you sing about weed, you might get sweated by the local police or whatever. We weren’t afraid to sing about it. We were punk …
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Author: Stephen Laddin / High Times
