New Jersey is not shy about claiming bands as their own. While this usually applies to artists born in the Garden State like Bruce and Bon Jovi; it certainly seems like the state has adopted the sweet, sweltering sounds of Sublime. Their songs have been summertime anthems for nearly 30 years, and the famed cover of their self-titled record still adorns t-shirts hanging from boardwalk shops from Asbury Park to Wildwood.
The continued adoration for the band from the LBC can be attributed to one of its greatest purveyors — Badfish: A Tribute to Sublime. For nearly 25 years, Badfish has toured the world performing the songs of Brad, Bud and Eric to adoring fans. And while the band hails from New England, New Jersey has absolutely adopted this band as one of its own. For years, their annual May performances at now defunct Joey Harrison’s Surf Club in Ortley Beach signaled the official beginning of summer time. Now, every January, Badfish sojourns to frozen tundras of Sayreville where they bring a glimmer of summer fun to the bleak and turgid post-Christmas season in Central Jersey.
We caught up with Pat Downes, the lead singer and songwriter (more on that later) of the band as they get ready to perform at Starland on Saturday January 25. In this interview Pat chops it up with us about the band’s original single ‘F You Pay Me,’ their former original band Scotty Don’t, the news of Brad Nowell’s son joining Sublime, their decision not to cover songs from Sublime with Rome, and more.
Writer’s Note: For us, this interview was a bit of a full circle moment. In the Spring of 2011, Badfish was one of the first national touring bands we interviewed. So, as we celebrate our 15-year anniversary as a site, we wanted to catch up with the band who helped launch one of our favorite aspects of the site.
The band just dropped a new, original single ‘F You Pay Me.’ So many questions about this. What was the inspiration behind the lyrical content of the song?
Pat Downes (Badfish singer/songwriter): It’s really just about life… some good, some bad, and sometimes you just need to get yours. Putting in blood sweat and tears and feeling life … if you push it enough is indeed gold.
Why decide to drop an original, especially since you are known as a premier tribute band?
As lifelong musicians we’re always exploring our creative side. We’ve toyed with the idea of working on original material over the years. Over the past two years or so or so years, things just seemed to coalesce with our musical sensibilities. The vibes were right with the demos we were producing so we decided to give it a proper go!
The song features hip-hop artists Grieves. Why select him to guest on the song?
Grieves has done some tour dates with us and became a really good friend of ours. Around a year ago when we were planning FYPM as our follow up single, we were on some dates with him out west and the idea was batted around about him making a contribution to the song. What he sent us blew us away and we’re so happy and fortunate to have his vocal stylings on this track. It really adds to the mood of the song.
Any plans to work with him in the future?
We definitely are trying to find a way to do some tours with him again, and we’d love to collaborate on a track down the line as well. Nothing planned at the moment though.
Any thoughts about doing more original tunes and potentially releasing an album or EP?
The plan is to eventually release a proper EP or LP. We have more original material in the pipeline that we’re really stoked on.
This isn’t your first foray into original music. Back in the day, Badfish had an alter ego — Scotty Don’t — that played original music. Will we ever see that band come back? And why did that project cease?
Scotty Don’t was a great learning experience for us as to what our musical identity could be as an original band. We were really still discovering that. It was great fun, and I’m really proud of a lot of those songs we released. Ultimately, we weren’t ready to settle on a musical identity and the rigors of touring with the Sublime tribute version of ourselves just took precedence.
Sublime made news last year when they announced that Jakob Nowell — son of the band’s late, original singer Bradley — would be taking over lead vocal duties for the band.
What are your thoughts on the band bringing him in? Have you had the chance to listen to his work with the band, and if so what are your thoughts?
We’ve known Jakob for a while now. We first met him in San Diego when he was probably 10-years-old and over the years we’ve played with his former band LAW several times. He’s an incredible guy, and we’re beyond excited to see him taking the mantle and filling in his dad’s footsteps. Really looking to hear what any new material they put together sounds like. We all huddled in a green room somewhere in Pennsylvania after a show to watch their debut at Coachella. We all had goosebumps. It was so surreal.
Rome was a big part of the band for years. What are your favorite cuts from his run with the band? Which of the Sublime with Rome songs are popular staples in your setlists?
We don’t perform any of the Rome material but the first couple albums were really impressive. We’ve always focused on the Bradley era and with Sublime with Rome playing so much we felt it made sense to keep it that way. Oh, we actually got a request once to do “Light On” and that was a really great song, fun to learn, and fun to perform!
Speaking of setlists — you’ve been performing the songs of Sublime for a long time. How do you keep the setlist fresh not just for the audience, but for yourselves as musicians?
We have some staple songs that we always perform, the more popular ones of course. We always leave some space in our set to rotate other songs in and out of the set, or leave ourselves room to improvise and jam out songs as well
What are your favorite deep cuts to play? What deep cuts are audience favorites?
For deep cuts, I personally like “Ebin,” “Boss DJ,” “Right Back,” and “STP.” With the audience it differs from night to night. Sometimes we’ll do a deep cut and no one seems to know it, and other nights, there will be 10 people in the front row screaming “STP!!!!” You never really know!
Badfish is a band that New Jersey seems to adore. Every year you play Starland Ballroom in Sayreville during January (including this Saturday January 25). The band kicked off seasons at the now defunct Joey Harrison’s Surf Club in Ortley Beach and Jenks Club in Point Pleasant. You also play shows around the state through the summer months. What is it about Badfish and New Jersey that goes together so well?
Well, Jersey likes and knows how to party, and I think we go pretty well with that whole vibe – it’s as simple as that!
For those who’ve never seen Badfish perform live before and might be heading to see you at Starland — what can they expect from your live shows?
Our goal is always to put on the most entertaining and energetic show as we possibly can. We’re all celebrating the music of Sublime together and we’re obviously looking to impress Sublime fans. But we feel that even if you don’t know every single song, you’ll still have a blast. That’s the goal.
What are the Top 5 things you’re most excited about for Badfish in 2025?
We’ll be hitting all our usual spots around the country which is exciting, and we’re looking forward to turning more people on to our new original material!
