Check out Volume 1 here!
When not performing at various festivals across North America in 2024, front man Jakob Nowell immersed himself in the Sublime catalog and found a deep sense of connection to his late father. The band is tapping into the 90s nostalgia, writing and recording the new songs with powerhouse producing duo Travis Barker and John Feldmann, in addition to working with producer Jon Joseph (BĆRNS). The first single will be released this Summer via their newly established label Sublime Recordings.
"I grew up on Sublime. ā40oz. to Freedomā changed the way I listened to music. Iām so honored to be working with the guys in Sublime. Creating music for this album has been so fun and exciting. Bradley comes through his son Jakob while writing in the studio and performing. Chills every day in the studio when he sings and play guitar. This is going to be really special." ā Travis Barker
āSublime has always been a huge influence on me and to be able work with the band has been inspirational and game changingā¦It has been a highlight of my life to work on such a seminal record with such talented people. Iām so grateful for this opportunity and to continue the legacy and keep it authentic to what they have historically done.ā ā John Feldmann
After Jakob Nowellās debut as Sublimeās new front man at Coachella 2024, he and his uncles Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson continued the momentum of this latest chapter of the band, performing at over 20 festivals and shows across North America by the end of last year. Additional highlights from 2024 include Sublimeās late-night television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, a 4-song set on the Howard Stern Show and the bandās first top 10 hit on alternative radio since 1997 with their single āFeel Like That,ā featuring the vocals of both Bradley Nowell and his son Jakob together.
2025 is shaping up to be an even busier year for the band, with a handful of headlining shows, high-profile festival appearances to support the release of the new album.
For more information, please visit sublimelbc.com.
Sublime 2025 Tour Dates
- April 5 ā LIV Golf Miami ā Miami, FL
- April 18 ā Red Rocks Amphitheater ā Morrison, CO
- May 3 ā Beachlife Festival ā Redondo Beach, CA
- May 16 ā Welcome To Rockville ā Daytona Beach, FL
- May 23 ā BottleRock Napa Valley ā Napa, CA
- May 25 ā Boston Calling ā Boston, MA
- June 14 ā Vans Warped Tour ā Washington, DC
- July 12 ā 89.7 The Riverās 30th Anniversary Show ā Omaha, NE
- July 20 ā Minnesota Yacht Club Festival ā Saint Paul, MN
- September 14 ā Sea.Hear.Now ā Asbury Park, NJ
- September 19 ā Shaky Knees Festival ā Atlanta, GA
When Brandon Hagen broke his arm a few years ago, his life changed in an instant. Heād been fronting Boston indie rock outfit Vundabar since 2013, and suddenly, he was unable to do the things heād built his life around. Recovery came, in part, in the form of a custom guitar prototype built by Mike Baranik of Baranik Guitars. Hagen deconstructed and rehabilitated his relationship to the 6-string on that instrument, an experience that led to Vundabarās sixth LP, Surgery and Pleasure, released on March 7.
On tour supporting the record, the band appeared at Grimeyās in Nashville for a performance on March 11, and PGās Chris Kies caught up with Hagen to hear about his journey and learn what tools the guitarist has brought on the road. As Hagen tells it, his setup is less about expertise and received wisdom, and more about āintuitive baby modeāāgoing with what feels and sounds good in the moment.
Brought to you by DāAddario.
An A1 B4
Hagenās No. 1 is this Baranik B4, a custom job that he received two days before leaving for tour. Hagenās arm was broken when Vundabar was playing a festival in California a couple years ago, and Baranik, a fan of the band, stopped in to see them. He offered to send a custom prototype to Hagenāwho was new to the field of boutique guitarsāand the B4 was born, borrowing from the Baranik B3 design used for Unknown Mortal Orchestraās Ruban Nielson and the Hofner 176 played by Jamie Hince of the Kills. The guitar helped Hagen fall back in love with guitar as his arm healed.
Hagen was searching for Strat-style clarity and jangle but with a hotter sound, so Baranik put in Lindy Fralin P-90s in the neck and bridge positions, plus a sliding, unpotted gold-foil pickup in the middle, wound by Baranik himself. A wheel control on the lower bout beside the traditional pickup selector switch lets Hagen blend the pickup signals without outright switching them on or off. Along with traditional master volume and tone controls, the red button beside the bridge activates a Klon clone pedal built into the back of the guitar. Hagen used a Klon on every track on the new Vundabar record, so it made sense to have one at his fingertips, letting him step away from the pedalboard and still create dramatic dynamic differences.
Hagen uses Ernie Ball Slinky strings (.011s), a step up from the .10s he used to use; he was chasing some more low end and low mids in his sound. His guitars stay in standard tuning.
Jazz From Japan
Hagen also loves this 2009 Japan-made Fender Jazzmaster ā62 Reissue JM66, which splits the difference between classic Fender chime and a darker, heavier tone.
Blending Fenders
Hagenās signal gets sent to both a Fender Hot Rod Deville and a Blues Junior. He likes to crank the Juniorās single 12" speaker for a nastier midrange.
Brandon Hagen's Board
Hagen runs from his guitar into a JHS Colour Box, which adds a bit of dirt and can be used to attenuate high or low frequencies depending on which room Vundabar is playing. From there, the signal hits a Keeley Compressor, EHX 2020 Tuner, EHX Pitch Fork, EHX Micro POG (which is always on with subtle octaves up and down to beef things up), Boss Blues Driver, Way Huge Swollen Pickle, MXR Carbon Copy (which is also always on), and a Boss DD-7āHagen loves the sound of stacked delays.
Price unveiled her new band and her new signature model at a recent performance at the Gibson Garage in Nashville.
The 6-string was inspired by the J-45 she bought at Nashvilleās Carter Vintage Guitars after she was signed to Third Man Records, where she made her 2016 ice-breaker album, Midwest Farmerās Daughter. But her affection for Gibson acoustics predates that, going back to when she found a 1956 LG-3 in her grandmotherās home. The guitar had been abandoned there by her songwriter great uncle, Bobby Fischer.
āI played it for years before I found my J-45,ā Price recounts. āAt Carter Vintage, I tried a lot of guitars, but when I picked up that J-45, I loved that it was a smaller guitar but really cut through, and I was just really drawn to the sound of it. And so I went home with that guitar and Iāve been playing it ever since.ā
āHaving a signature model was something I had dreamed about.ā
Of course, Price was also aware of the modelās history, but her demands for a guitar were rooted in the presentāthe requirements of the studio and road. The 1965 J-45 she acquired at Carter Vintage, which is also a cherry āburst, was especially appealing ācompared to a Martin D-21 or some of the other things that I was picking up. I have pretty small hands, and it just was so playable all up the neck. It was something that I could easily play barre chords on. I could immediately get everything that I needed out of it.ā
If youāve seen Price on TV, including stops at Saturday Night Live, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, youāve seen her ā65. And youāve also seen, over the years, that part of the soundholeās top has been scraped away by her aggressive strumming. Itās experienced worse wear from an airline, though. After one unfortunate flight, Price found her guitar practically in splinters inside a badly crushed case. āIt was like somebody would have had to drive over this case with a truck,ā she relates. Luckily, Dave Johnson from Nashvilleās Scale Model Guitars was able to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
After that, an alternative guitar for the road seemed like a requirement. āHaving a signature model was something I had dreamed about,ā Price says. Friends in her songwriting circle, including Lukas Nelson and Nathaniel Rateliff, already had them. Four years ago, a tweet asking which women they thought should have signature models appeared, and one of her fans wrote āMargo Price.ā Smartly, Price tagged Gibson and retweeted. Codey Allen in Gibson entertainment relations spotted the tweet and agreed.
The double pickguard was chosen for Priceās J-45 because of its symmetry, as a nod to the Hummingbird, and due to her heavy strumming hand.
Photo courtesy of Gibson
āThe neck is not quite as small as my J-45, but it is just a bit smaller than many J-45s fives, and very playable no matter what size hands you have.ā
āAnd so we began our journey of building this guitar,ā Price says. āI debated whether it should be the LG-3, which I still have hanging on my wall, or the J-45. I went to Montana and visited their [acoustic] factory and sat down with Robi Johns [senior product development manager at Gibson acoustic], and we ultimately decided that the J-45 was my guitar. Then we started talking about the specs. We did pull from the LG-3 in that the body of this signature guitar is a bit smaller. It still has a really loud, clear sound that rings through. The neck is not quite as small as my 1965 J-45, but it is just a bit smaller than many J-45s, and very playable no matter what size hands that you have.ā
The pickup that Price selected is a L.R. Baggs VTC Element with a preamp, and she took a prototype of the guitar on the road opening for the Tedeschi Trucks Band. āI am used to playing with a really loud band, with drums and sometimes a couple electric guitars, and I wanted to make sure that this guitar just cut through,ā she says. āIt was really important to me that it be loud, and it cut beautifully. Itās got a mahogany body and scalloped bracing, which makes it very sturdy. This guitar is a workhorse, just like me.ā
The Margo Price J-45ās most arresting characteristic, in addition to its warm sunburst finish, is its double-sided pickguard with an etching of a quartet of red-tailed hawks in flight. Itās practical for her strumming style, but itās also got a deeper significance.
āWe talked about all sorts of things that we could put on the pickguard, and Iāve always been a big fan of the Hummingbird, so what we did is a bit of a nod to that,ā Price continues. āIāve always been drawn to red-tailed hawks. They are supposed to be divine messengers, and they have such strength. They symbolize vision and protection. I would always count them along the highway as Iād be driving home to see my family in Illinois.ā
Birds of a feather: āIāve always been drawn to red-tailed hawks,ā says Price. āThey are supposed to be divine messengers, and they have such strength. They symbolize vision and protection.ā
Photo courtesy of Gibson
With its comfortable neck, slightly thinner body, and serious projection, Price notes, āI wanted my guitar to be something that young girls can pick up and feel comfortable in their hands and inspire songs, but I didnāt want it to be so small that it felt like a toy, and that it didnāt have the volume. This guitar has all of those things.ā To get her heavy sound, Price uses DāAddario Phosphor Bronze (.012ā.053) strings.
Price says she and her signature J-45, which is street priced at $3,999, have been in the studio a lot lately, āand I have a whole bunch of things Iām excited about.ā In mid March, she debuted her new bandāwhich includes Logan Ledger and Sean Thompson on guitars, bassist Alec Newman, Libby Weitnauer on fiddle, and Chris Gelb on drumsāin a coming out party for the Margo Price Signature Gibson J-45 at the Gibson Garage in Nashville. āIāve been with my previous band, the Price Tags, for more than 10 years, and itās definitely emotional when a band reaches the end of its life cycle,ā she says. āBut itās also really exciting, because now, having a fiddle in the band and incredible harmony singers ā¦ itās a completely different vibe. Iāve got a whole bunch of festivals coming up this year. Weāre playing Jazz Fest in New Orleans, and Iām so excited for everyone to hear this new iteration of what weāre doing.ā
With its heritage cherry sunburst finish and other appointments, the Margo Price Signature Gibson J-45 balances classic and modern guitar design.
Photo courtesy of Gibson
