As one of the biggest influences for the revitalization of ska in the late 80’s and 90’s, the legacy of Sublime remains strong despite its break-up over ten years ago.
The band’s life philosophy holds that everyone, no matter what they want to do, should be able to have a good time.
From the beginning, Sublime has had a specific kind of imagery associated with it. The sun symbol was designed by a close friend of the band, a tattoo artist named Opie Ortiz, which is probably why the sun symbol translates into such a cool and wearable tattoo. The sun itself represents the band’s name; it represents the sublime, or the highest point of someone’s life. On the face of the sun, however, there is the Devil, a switch blade, and several skeletons, representing that even the best thing in life is not what it seems to be.
Other elements of the Sublime aesthetic is the focus on Old English font, which comes from Bradley Nowell’s own tattoo (also the work of Ortiz), featured on the cover of the band’s namesake album. To incorporate the Sublime style into your own tattoo, consider using at least some Old English lettering to reference this album cover.
Above all, a Sublime tattoo should not be too philosophical. The Southern California party vibe is the driving force for the band’s original work, and it continues to be an important aspect of their revival band, Sublime with Rome.
