{"id":6050,"date":"2015-07-23T06:14:36","date_gmt":"2015-07-23T14:14:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/?p=6050"},"modified":"2015-07-23T06:14:36","modified_gmt":"2015-07-23T14:14:36","slug":"sublime-with-rome-sirens-album-cover-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/sublime-with-rome-sirens-album-cover-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Sublime with Rome SIRENS Album Cover Art"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Sublime-with-Rome-Album-Sirens-cd-cover-art-by-Drew-Brophy-2015\"<\/a>Photo: Sublime with Rome Sirens Album Cover Art<\/em><\/p>\n

In 1996 Sublime’s music was a big part of my life. \u00a0That was the\u00a0year when\u00a0my life \u00a0as an artist changed dramatically; I had just moved to California from Hawaii and was painting surfboards for Lost. \u00a0It’s also the year that I met Maria.<\/p>\n

At that time, Bradley Nowell\u2019s lyrics and music impacted all of us; at our parties Maria\u00a0would play Sublime’s self titled CD over and over again.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why we were so stoked when Maria\u00a0got a call from Sublime with Rome\u2019s<\/a> record company in May. \u00a0They asked if I would want to create the art for their\u00a0new album. \u00a0 She\u00a0said \u201cHell Yeah!\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always been a fan of Opie Ortiz<\/a>, the artist who created\u00a0art for Sublime\u2019s albums, including his iconic burning sun for the 40 oz. to Freedom album. \u00a0 That\u00a0art will live on forever.<\/p>\n

It felt good to know that my work\u00a0has progressed enough to be in the same company and to be able to work with talented people like SWR\u2019s Eric Wilson, Josh Freese and Rome Ramirez.<\/p>\n

We had a super tight deadline, I had only\u00a010 days to get it done. \u00a0Sometimes deadlines force you to do your best work.<\/p>\n

\"SublimeI wanted the art to be authentic. \u00a0\u00a0I spent a lot of time on the phone with Rome, feeling him out, picking up the vibe and listening.\u00a0 One of the things I\u2019m really good at is soaking up someone\u2019s energy and then putting it into the art.\u00a0 \u00a0Rome\u2019s whole spin-off was about sirens going off; the world\u2019s a crazy place. \u00a0I had to put that into the art somehow.<\/p>\n

I listened to the new album for inspiration.\u00a0 It helped me come up with ideas for the art.\u00a0 No doubt we\u2019ll be listening to these songs for years to come, they are so good. \u00a0One fan of SWR\u00a0said it best about Rome continuing the music that inspired so many – read that at the bottom of this post.<\/p>\n

After gathering my ideas, I drew my first concept sketch and sent it to the band for feedback.\u00a0 Rome e-mailed me back with \u201cWTF! You\u2019re killing it!\u201d\"Sublime<\/p>\n

We nailed it on the first sketch<\/strong>.\u00a0 It\u2019s cool when projects go down like that; it just kind of happens, no dragging on.\u00a0 I started the painting right away.<\/p>\n

I painted two 36\u201d x 36\u201d paintings on canvas; one with the art and one with the hand-drawn lettering.\u00a0 That way I could use the artwork, without the lettering, for limited edition art prints.\u00a0 The band agreed to sign 100 of the art prints for me, which is awesome.<\/p>\n

THE ARTWORK: \u00a0(Click here to see in-progress photos of the work<\/a>\u00a0or watch the video of it being painted here)<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot of elements in the art and each piece has meaning to it. \u00a0Here’s just a few:<\/p>\n

The little skeleton guy<\/strong>; I pictured the old WWII air raids when they had to crank the siren.<\/p>\n

The mushroom<\/strong> is a spin-off of Opie\u2019s mushroom from the original Sublime art.<\/p>\n

The heart<\/strong> represents Rome singing his heart and soul out on the stage.<\/p>\n

The depiction of Long Beach<\/strong> is the pile of rubble they\u2019re sitting on.\u00a0 It\u2019s getting ready to be hammered by a giant wave.\u00a0 There\u2019s an off-ramp to the 710 freeway to LA, which is shaking as a big earthquake comes through.\u00a0 The cop car in pieces is all that\u2019s left of the cops.<\/p>\n

The sexy siren<\/strong> is an omen, a ghostly premonition.<\/p>\n

The psycho garibaldi<\/strong> fish is a throw-back to the Bad Fish lyrics.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been drawing this fish forever and wanted to include it.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a tribute to Bradley<\/strong> in there, I\u2019ll leave that up to the viewer to figure out what it is.\u00a0 (Share in the comments what you think it is.)<\/p>\n

This painting came together quick and easy, it just flowed.\u00a0 I\u2019m happy with how it turned out, I hope everyone else is, too.<\/p>\n

The new album is called SIRENS, it released on July 17th<\/sup>.\u00a0 You can buy it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Josh<\/a>

Rome Ramirez and Josh Freese, signing 100 art prints<\/p><\/div>\n

Also, there are limited edition prints of the artwork available; 100 of them are signed by the band members.\u00a0 You can order them here <\/a>while they last!<\/p>\n

Life is Good,<\/p>\n

Drew<\/p>\n

\"Sublime

Sublime with Rome’s Rome Ramirez, Eric Wilson and Josh Freese Photo by Jonie Millhouse<\/p><\/div>\n

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Sublime and SWR fan\u00a0Fan Manny Gonzales said it best (on a Facebook comment on Rome’s FB Page<\/a>):<\/p>\n

“Sublime is my all time favorite band. All the music that Brad created with Bud and Eric will forever be entwined with my soul. I know every word to every song that they made. If it wasn’t for Sublime, I would be lost in a dark abyss of depression self <\/span><\/span><\/em>loathing. <\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Thanks to Brad I know what it’s like to be waiting for my ruca, I know that loving is what I got and for motherf**kers to remember that, and if I’m drunk by noon it’s ok, cuz I’ll be president someday. But sadly I was never able to see Brad perform live. \u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And I never dreamed I would be able to hear his music come to life on stage. Until you (Rome) came along. <\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I have had the privilege of attending two of the Sublime with Rome concerts in El Paso. And they were both amazing! <\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span>
Now I’m glad to say that thanks to you if been able to tell a girl to take it or leave it, I understand that lovers change like the seasons, and my world is a little bit safer. I can’t wait for the new album to drop, I already pre-ordered it. I just hope you know, Bradley would be proud. Keep up the good work man. Much love from the biggest Sublime fan I know.<\/span><\/em>
P.S. I know every word to your songs too<\/em> “<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Video below shows the drawing and painting of the artwork:<\/p>\n