Sublime With Rome frontman feeling sublime about band’s future

Rome Ramirez can scarcely believe that Saturday night at Usana Amphitheatre in West Valley City marks the end of Sublime With Rome’s touring cycle for the band’s 2015 album, “Sirens” but the calendar ain’t lying.

Once the page is turned to October, the reggae/rock trio will head back into the studio to start recording the follow-up.

“It’s crazy how time flies! I specifically remember doing that album not too long ago — it feels like it was just last summer. I can’t believe it’s been two years,” Ramirez told The Salt Lake Tribune in a phone interview. “But for us, we haven’t really thought — we’ve been on the road pretty constantly. So it’s cool to be able to sit back and reflect on how long it’s been since we were in the studio in reality, compared to what it feels like. It gives us some time to be like, ‘Oh, the music soundscape has changed.’ Our music is constantly evolving, so this time around we’ll probably play with some other different styles. I think our M.O. with music is just, ‘How can we move forward? How can we push the boundaries?’ You know?”

The frontman and guitarist said the album is slated to be produced by Rob Cavallo, who’s helmed projects by everyone from Green Day to the Goo Goo Dolls, Meat Loaf to My Chemical Romance, Linkin Park to Alanis Morissette.

He also estimated that half the material was fully composed and said that, sonically, the group would be “trying to keep it a little more live on this one — not rely so much on the samples or overdubs. We’re gonna try and really capture that kinda feel.”

One thing it won’t have is longtime drummer Josh Freese, a renowned session performer who is unavailable because he “wanted to go out and play with Mr. Sting, which is probably really [expletive] fun, I would imagine!”

As for the lyrical content, Sublime With Rome’s catalog may not naturally inspire mental images of maturity and responsibility, but Ramirez insists the new batch of songs will properly reflect the personal evolution he’s been undergoing.

“It’s just been a whole change, really, in my life. I’m married now, I have a child — so much s--- has changed. I’m about to be 30. It’s a different era of my life, lyrically,” he said. “There will be more depth to explore. I feel like I’m on the reflection side of what it’s been like, these past seven years, eight years now. In a weird way, the music has completely shaped my life. This album, lyrically, I’m just gonna be talking about that — not so much the process of it, more so, like, the results of it.”

In the meantime, there’s still this last “Sirens”-era show to go. And as far as he’s concerned, no concert is ever an afterthought.

After joining the group formerly simply known as Sublime back in 2008 following the death of band founder Brad Nowell, Ramirez acknowledged that each night out is an exercise in striking the right balance between playing the original Sublime material that first made fans love the band and the new material that he naturally has a more personal connection with.

“I think it’s kind of the rule of thirds. We’ll do a third [of a set] as hits, then a third as the not-so-famous hits, like crowd favorites, and then we’ll do like a third [as] Sublime With Rome material. That’s been kind of the ratio,” he said. “As I’m sure you know, with everything, there’s no pleasing everybody. You just kinda gotta go with it and use your best judgment. You can pretty much tell when you’ve got a good setlist. People stop coming back when you don’t!”

That’s unlikely to occur Saturday night, anyway.

Between Sublime With Rome and the openers, newer-school Cali punk band The Offspring, there won’t be any shortage of devotees at Usana.

“I think both the bands have, very much, an iconic history. I think that’s what makes the whole experience fun for everybody. It’s not just one band that’s holding it down,” he said. “Offspring have a million hits. And they’ve been holding it down, going on fat tours and playing mad shows for so long now. So they have a legacy that they’ve built up. And the combination of us, I think that pairs for just a badass show. And the songs aren’t too far off from each other. We’re not necessarily the same fans, but I think we come home with new Offspring fans, and Offspring goes home with new Sublime fans.”