Q&A: Badfish's Joel Hanks

GOOD FORTUNE OR BAD, they say you make your own luck. Well, yes and no. Brad Nowell made his, ODing on smack before he could see Sublime, the Long Beach-based, Caribbean-crazed pop-punk outfit he fronted, become one of the biggest modern-rock successes of the late '90s and a cult fave among subsequent crops of stoner kids. But he also made the luck of a band from Rhode Island. Although there are many Sublime tribute bands, Badfish — not to be confused with the dubby SoCal outfit of the same name — is the biggest, having turned pro with the songs of a group never seen live by most of its fans. Bassist Joel Hanks tells us what keeps Badfish hooked.

» EXPRESS: You guys keepin' it real? Pot? Heroin? Dalmatians?
» HANKS: In a lot of ways, we're not living the Sublime life. People every night are, like, "Awww, come get stoned with me. C'mon," and we're, like, "Dude, I'm 28. I used to do that when I was 18. Twenty-eight — I'm married, I'm goin' back to the hotel room, I'm exhausted." In a way, it's almost a letdown for our fans to say that.

» EXPRESS: At the same time, they must know what the consequences can be.
» HANKS: Exactly, but the reality is that our show, it really is like a big party. People are comin', everyone's gettin' messed up, and there's sex goin' on, everybody's makin' out. ... We're just like the leaders of that party, playin' the sing-alongs for people to have fun to.

» EXPRESS: It's true that a lot of Sublime songs are simply good-time party music, but some of their biggest hits — "Date Rape," "Wrong Way," even "Badfish" — are far more serious.
» HANKS: I would say almost every other night, right, we're standing around, we're playing "Date Rape," and you see all these young girls screamin' the words and singin' along — and it's just sorta weird.

» EXPRESS: Why is it that Sublime has sustained such a following? It seems equally likely that they would go platinum and then go away, like so many other modern-rock acts. Is it Nowell's writing?
» HANKS: The one thing that's crazy is that Sublime didn't even write most of their songs. Almost every song has pieces of another song [in it], and most of the fans have no idea.

» EXPRESS: So perhaps it makes sense that a tribute to such a band would become successful.
» HANKS: A lot of promoters tease us: "Oh, you're a cover band of a cover band. Way to go!"

» EXPRESS: So what's the mystique?
» HANKS: Don't you think it's more about the scene, almost like a Grateful Dead thing?

» EXPRESS: Gotta ask: Do you practice Santeria?
» HANKS: No.

» Rams Head Live, 20 Market Place, Baltimore, Md.; with SOJA, Pasadena, Shoreline, Fri., 7 p.m. (doors), $18, $16 in advance; 410-244-1131.

Written by Express contributor Glenn Dixon
Photo courtesy Michael J Media Group