Long live the spirit of Sublime

The impact of the band Sublime has been, well, subliminal.

The Long Beach group isn’t generally included in discussions about the most important bands of the ‘90s. But nine years after the heroin overdose death of singer-guitarist Bradley Nowell spelled the group’s end, it remains an impressive and growing presence.

The trio’s catalog of albums sells at a clip of about a million a year. Songs such as “What I Got,” with their mix of breezy beach vibes, punk aesthetic and hip-hop touches, remain staples of alternative-rock radio, and supporters still talk about the band’s potential to reach major star status had Nowell lived.

With that in mind, friends and followers of the group have teamed for a tribute album, designed to raise both the Sublime profile and money for a couple of causes. No Doubt and Pennywise -- whose members were close friends with Sublime as they rose on the SoCal circuit in the early ‘90s -- are joined by punk progenitor Mike Watt, Philadelphia neo-bluesman G Love, California beachcomber Jack Johnson, Latin-rock eclecticists Ozomatli and progressive hip-hop figures Michael Franti and Gift of Gab on “Look at All the Love We Found: A Tribute to Sublime,” due June 21. Proceeds will go to the Milagro Foundation, a child-oriented charity founded by Carlos Santana, and the Musicians Assistance Program, which helps artists with substance abuse problems.

“Sublime became the soundtrack and musical identity for Southern California kids in a way that no one else has since been able to match,” No Doubt guitarist Tony Kanal says. “We played shows with Sublime all the time in the Orange County and L.A. scene back in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. They made a sound that somehow fused rock, reggae, punk and hip-hop in a way that was seamless and credible, bound together by the undeniable soul of Brad Nowell’s voice.”

The tribute project was put together by Cornerstone RAS (home of the band’s original label, Skunk Records) and Sublime’s co-manager Jason Westfall. Cornerstone partner Zach Fischel started making calls to artists early last year and says he was stunned by how readily acts signed on to participate.

“The whole idea was to start with bands Sublime grew up with: No Doubt and Pennywise,” he says. “Then we started reaching back to bands that influenced Sublime, like Camper Van Beethoven and Avail and Half Pint, the reggae artist, and then with people Sublime influenced, like Jack Johnson and G Love. And it was amazing to see the response we got from people like Ozomatli and Michael Franti, to hear what big fans they are.”

Pennywise guitarist Fletcher Dragge is understandably bittersweet about this project.

“It seems kind of early to do one, actually,” says Dragge, whose band was supposed to tour Europe with Sublime when Nowell died. “But I guess it has been a while. And today when I hear Sublime on the radio or at a party, it sounds so current. Whatever era, whether nu-metal or emo or whatever, it fits in. It’s really cool to be part of it.”

Like many others, G Love wasn’t even a fan until after Nowell’s death, when he was approached by surviving Sublime members Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh about collaborating on a song for the group they started next, the Long Beach Dub All Stars.

“I kind of caught on to it later,” he says. “But when I first heard them it was, ‘That’s like my stuff.’ And not too many kids in my generation have made classic rock, but they were one of those few bands that succeeded in making songs that will stay as classics -- ‘Santeria,’ ‘What I Got,’ ‘Summertime’ are timeless hits that will be here forever. If Bradley was around today, they’d be as big as Dave Matthews, a stadium band with huge hits.”

Haley’s Comets still have spark

The members of Bill Haley’s Comets aren’t bitter about being largely overlooked in all the hubbub about the 50th anniversary of rock ‘n’ roll, which happened in 2004. After all, last year marked the 52nd anniversary of their first rock ‘n’ roll recordings.

But they are part of an upcoming half-century celebration of a keystone event in rock history: The release of the movie “Blackboard Jungle,” which launched their “Rock Around the Clock” to its status as the first rock ‘n’ roll song to hit No. 1 on the pop charts, was 50 years ago today.

That anniversary will be marked with a series of events first in New York and then in Los Angeles, with a March 27 showing of the film by American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre and a special performance by the Comets (all five surviving members, ages 70 to 83) at the Viper Room on March 29.

The Comets also will participate in a discussion panel after the film screening, along with Paul Mazursky and Jamie Farr (who played teenage hoods in the movie) and Peter Ford (who, as a 9-year-old, was responsible for the song being in the movie, which starred his father, Glenn Ford). Rock historian Martin Lewis, who is coordinating the events, will moderate.

Comets bass player Marshall Lytle, 72, says he’d love for the band to get more recognition in the rock history discussions of late, but in general he has no complaints about the way things have gone for the band, which reunited in 1987 and has been a successful touring attraction ever since, especially in Europe.

“I’m not bitter about anything,” he says. “I’m so ... thrilled to have such a wonderful ‘retirement’ plan. We’re the senior citizens that are envied by a lot of people. We get to travel to beautiful, exotic places, play before young audiences and old audiences and everything in between.”

On a side note, the Comets will become the oldest rock band to play the Viper Room. The previous record holder: the sexagenarian Rolling Stones, who did a “surprise” warm-up show there a few years ago.

For information about events, go to www.rockisfifty.com.

Small faces

* Motown gets a makeover on an upcoming album for which top remixers were set loose on the classic Detroit label’s catalog. Among the tracks on “Motown Remixed,” due May 24, are Gladys Knight & the Pips’ “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” tweaked by the Roots’ Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson and producer James Poyser; the Temptations’ “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” by DJ Jazzy Jeff; and the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” by DJ Z-Trip. A related tour will feature DJ Smash (who remixed Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours”)....

* After the success of the Jay-Z/Linkin Park “mash-up” collaboration, there are discussions of a similar project teaming rapper Ludacris with Canadian punkers Sum 41, following up a joint appearance on a recent “Saturday Night Live.” ...

* Don’t look for the Who to join fellow classic rockers Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones on the road this fall as had been rumored. Surviving founders Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey are still working on the “Who2” album, and while isolated shows are possible this year, it’s looking like 2006 before there’s a full tour. Daltrey, meanwhile, has signed on as an actor in a pilot for an as-yet-untitled WB Network series about a mermaid....

* The annual Glastonbury Festival in England will sport a veteran air in late June, with Van Morrison, Elvis Costello and reunited Irish punkers the Undertones joining a lineup that already included Brian Wilson.