Rome Ramirez first rose to fame in 2009 when he became singer and guitarist with Sublime with Rome, a group that featured Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson of Sublime, with Ramirez taking the place of the late Bradley Nowell, the founder and frontman of Sublime who died in 1996 as the band's first major-label album was awaiting release. Roman Rene Ramirez was born in Fremont, California on June 11, 1988, and he began playing guitar at the age of 11. In his teens, Ramirez began working with local bands, and Sublime became one of Ramirez's favorite acts (as well as Muse, Nirvana, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and the Bad Brains). Ramirez was well familiar with Sublime's body of work when a friend who worked at a recording studio introduced him to Eric Wilson, the group's bassist. Wilson invited Ramirez to jam with him on some Sublime songs, and then organized another session with Ramirez and Wilson joined by drummer Bud Gaugh. Wilson and Gaugh were impressed enough with Ramirez that they invited him to join them in a new edition of the group, and Sublime with Rome made its debut in 2009 at Cypress Hill's Smokeout Festival in San Bernardino, California. Ramirez was soon touring steadily with Sublime with Rome, and in 2010 he co-wrote and sang the song "Lay Me Down" with the band the Dirty Heads, which rose to the top of Billboard's Alternative Songs chart. In 2011, Sublime with Rome headed into the studio and released an album of new material, Yours Truly, which was released by indie punk label Fueled by Ramen; later that same year, Bud Gaugh retired from the group, with Josh Freese signing on as the trio's new drummer. The following year, Rome released his first solo EP, Dedication (also released by Fueled by Ramen), and he also guested on the 2012 album by the Dirty Heads, Cabin by the Sea. The year 2013 proved to be a busy one for Ramirez; he contributed songwriting and guitar work on Selena Gomez's album Stars Dance, collaborated with Enrique Iglesias on a pair of singles, and dropped the first single from his next solo album, a tune called "Terrorista." ~ Mark Deming, Rovi