The legendary reggae-punk band Sublime may have collapsed in 1996, but their legacy is far from dead.
Scotty Don't, a rock band from Providence, Rhode Island, will perform a tribute show in Gainesville dedicated to their Sublime heroes. "Badfish - Sublime Tribute in Gainesville" will take place Monday at the Venue.
"The message of Sublime is to have fun while you're alive," said Joel Hanks, the bass player for Scotty Don't. "Even when they sing about depressing shit, they do it in a happy way. Their songs have something everyone can relate to."
Sublime emerged in the early 1990s, riding the same California punk wave as The Offspring and Green Day. Their reggae-flavored punk songs about surfing, sex and drug addiction inspired an entire scene of skater-punks, surfers and underground bands, as well as modern alternative acts like Pepper and Slightly Stoopid.
"So many bands at the time were trying to pull off a mix of ska, punk and reggae," Hanks said. "Sublime were the only ones who really did it."
Sublime's lead singer, Bradley Nowell, died of a heroin overdose in 1996, two months before the band released its final album. Hanks said the members of Scotty Don't grew up on the East Coast and were immersed in the scene Sublime helped create. They formed a band seven years ago under the name Badfish, after a song from Sublime's first album.
Pat Downes, guitarist and singer for Scotty Don't, said times were tough before Badfish became successful.
"You try to split working a day job with playing shows at night and being sleep deprived," he said. "You do both until one or the other takes over, hoping it's the music. That's what happened for us."
The four members who formed Badfish - Hanks, Downes, Ben Schomp and Scott Begin - now tour the nation under two different names. Scotty Don't plays original songs while Badfish continues to cover Sublime songs.
Begin, the drummer for Scotty Don't, described the band's upcoming performance in Gainesville.
"We try to put on a show that people will remember - a lot of energy onstage," he said. "We'll play a lot of Sublime songs that people know, a lot they don't know, as well as some of the Scotty Don't songs."
Scotty Don't has already released an EP in 2007 and plans to release an album in a few months called "Songs from the Back Porch" with the help of Paul Leary, who also produced Sublime's self-titled album.
Badfish plans to play all the hits from Sublime, including "What I Got," "Wrong Way," "Smoke Two Joints" and "Santeria," as well as their more lesser-known songs.
"If people know some hits by Sublime and like what they hear, they should definitely look closer into their music," Downes said.
The Venue is located at 233 West University Ave. Tickets to the show can be purchased online for $13 or at the door for $15. Doors open at 8 p.m. and the show starts at 8:30 p.m.
