Eric Wilson: Sublime's Bassist

de la mocha · #1 01-09-2006, 09:57 AM

This is the man (besides listening to Bob Marley albums) that actually made me, yes, forced me to got out and buy a Bass! As a matter of fact, if it wasn't for him, I would not have bought a bass guitar and would not have ever ultimately come across this site.

I just want to dedicate a thread to the man that made me play the bass! His tone, his bass lines, his grooves on the sublime albums made me the bass player I am today by inspiring me to practice, practice, practice! Is he the best bass player of all time? No.

Is he a living legend? No. Did he single handedly change the face of music by defining a sonic era through superior inovation of the bass guitar? No.

Did he lay down sweet grooves that made you nod your head and allow you to feel the sweet island and punk rhythm deep in your soul? Yes.

So here's my tribute to the man that inspired ME.

Eric Wilson (born February 21, 1969) was the bass player for Sublime (1988-1996) and also bassist for Long Beach Dub Allstars (1997-2002). He currently is the bassist for the band Long Beach Shortbus, which is comprised of several members of Long Beach Dub Allstars and Sublime.

Wilson and Bud Gaugh met in 1979 and later started their first garage punk band,called The Juice Bros., consisting of drums, bass and vocals; they founded Sublime in 1988 along with the singer Brad Nowell.

In 1996, Sublime disbanded following the death by heroin overdose of lead singer Brad Nowell at age 28 and then Long Beach Dub Allstars formed in 1997.

Long Beach Dub Allstars' first album was released in 1999 called Right Back (Dreamworks).

d8g3jdh · #2 01-09-2006, 10:40 AM

cool bass, what is it?

Sensory_Rupture · #3 01-09-2006, 11:21 AM

Eric Wilson is also the reason I play bass.

Jmann · #4 01-09-2006, 01:08 PM

some sort of pre-EB MM bass i think... Eric does have alot of nice, groovy basslines and a pretty sweet tone. I dont think i would listen to sublime if it wasnt for him, so kudos to Eric!

sethlow3 · #5 01-09-2006, 01:31 PM

Thats a MM sabre. I love Eric Wilson! His basslines changed my life too! His stuff is great for people who want to groove and get better FAST. "Badfish" and "Santeria" are always the 1st two basslines that come to my mind.

de la mocha · #6 01-09-2006, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sethlow3

Thats a MM sabre. I love Eric Wilson! His basslines changed my life too! His stuff is great for people who want to groove and get better FAST. "Badfish" and "Santeria" are always the 1st two basslines that come to my mind.

40 ounce to freedom is the first song I ever learned! God bless that man!

Larry99 · #7 01-09-2006, 05:00 PM

yea ...been playin for 25+ years and I remember how fresh Sublime sounded when they broke onto the scene. Eric's playing really got me into the dub style.

Matt Till · #8 01-09-2006, 05:22 PM

He has been a slight inspiration on me... I love his tone/feel. Though he hasn't taught me a whole lot, he's a wonderful player.

d8g3jdh · #9 01-09-2006, 05:24 PM

smoke two joints is my fav. im such a stoner...

5intheface · #10 01-09-2006, 05:29 PM

Santeria was the first really cool bassline I learned too. Weird.

de la mocha · #11 01-11-2006, 05:53 AM

I wish Eric Wilson got more recognition though. He knows how to lay down a groove.....

rayzak · #12 01-11-2006, 06:08 AM

I agree. Badfish is the first song I learned to play all the way through. He's most certainly one of my favorites. Funny, I was just raving about him to one of my bass playing coworkers last night.

Audiophage · #13 01-11-2006, 10:20 AM

I like most of his bass work. He definitely was a good bass player. Though I think he overplayed the bassline in Sublimes version of "Smoke 2 Joints".

He played upright in some of Sublime's music, right?

de la mocha · #14 01-11-2006, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Audiophage

He played upright in some of Sublime's music, right?

Did he? Whoa, can anyone confirm this?!!!

Audiophage · #15 01-11-2006, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by de la mocha

Did he? Whoa, can anyone confirm this?!!!

I remember in one of their music videos that he played an upright, but I don't remember which one.

de la mocha · #16 01-13-2006, 06:00 AM

Was it that song "The Wrong Way"?

The Lurker · #17 01-13-2006, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by de la mocha

Did he? Whoa, can anyone confirm this?!!!

i know he did play upright, but I don't know if he ever played doghouse on sublime songs or just jammed it on his own time. I did see a couple pix of him using an electric upright of some sort, though.

Matt Till · #18 01-14-2006, 10:58 PM

The video for "What I got" shows him jammin' on an upright. Also "Date Rape" HAS to be upright.

Rids · #19 01-15-2006, 04:39 AM

Eric Wilson was the reason i wanted to play bass, he has such great rythmn and kickass groove.

The 'what i got' video has him on an upright bass, and it definetly sounds like an upright.

The video for Date Rape he plays a normal bass, and i reckon it sounds like it too.

Ebin was the first song i learned (well the intro/verse anyway)

Techmonkey · #20 01-15-2006, 07:07 AM

Sublime kick some serious ass! Date Rape was one of the first few songs I ever learnt, my brother was playing the guitar solo and I wanted to jam with him, so I learnt the song...

Sublime are a very underrated band!