Sublime Legend Eric Wilson Plays His Favorite Bass Riffs

Sublime With Rome‘s Eric Wilson is the latest to join Loudwire for an edition of Gear Factor. Hanging at home, Wilson took us a trip down memory lane with some of the music that got him started on his musical path, before sharing some of his favorite pieces of music from Sublime over the years.

The episode opens with Wilson laying down the very familiar riffs of The Kingsmen’s “Louie Louie,” a track that was the first one he ever learned, adding that it’s “a lot of people’s first song.”

Another favorite from his early days is the Clash‘s “Police & Thieves,” though Wilson admitted he wasn’t all on board at first. “I didn’t really like it,” says Wilson. “Brad [Nowell], the singer of Sublime, drilled it in my head and finally I ended up loving it, but at first I didn’t like it that much.”

From his initial love of punk rock, Wilson began to expand his horizons. He displays a bit of ska favorites the Specials and their song “Gangsters” as well as Black Sabbath‘s “Paranoid,” showing his broad range of influences.

Speaking of Sabbath’s bass legend Geezer Butler, Wilson recalls, “He was one of the few bass players that he did the gallop with four fingers. The Iron Maiden bass player also does the gallop like that.”

Wilson also displays one of his early songs and then digs into Sublime’s early catalog, performing bits of “Ebennz Change” and “Date Rape” among others.

“The way that I listen to stuff and make up stuff, like I’m a high school dropout and couldn’t stand school but I think out of the box, so I listen to the singer when I’m writing a song. I write the lyrics and melody. Brad allowed me to do that, but if I was with some guitar hero guy, he probably wouldn’t have given me the time,” says Wilson.

The bassist also reflects on the loss of Nowell, right as the band enjoyed their breakthrough. “When our [self-titled] album came out… Brad passed away. That’s when we got international recognition,” recalls the bassist. “It was bittersweet because we weren’t a band anymore and Brad was my best friend, business associate, band member and all that, so it was pretty sad. It took me most of the years, up until now, to get over it.”

He also details the band’s introduction to current vocalist Rome Ramirez and showcases his custom Celinder bass. “It’s a handmade version of a Fender P-bass, but this one has an upside down headstock, so it looks like I’m playing upside down. Fender never made a handmade bass. Everything comes factory,” says Wilson. “I would definitely recommend this, but it’s like a $5,000 bass. It plays like $5,000, though.”

Sublime With Rome released their Blessings album in 2019. You can pick it up via the platform of your choosing here. Check out Eric Wilson’s full Gear Factor episode below.