Sublime spinoff Long Beach Dub Allstars kick off the new year in style with a $5 show at the Novo, so we spoke with vocalist Opie Ortiz about what we can expect.

L.A. WEEKLY: How has the band’s sound evolved, particularly since re-forming in 2012?
OPIE ORTIZ: Obviously we have some different players, so with everyone there’s a different dynamic to their playing. Now, we’re playing with some guys that we’ve been playing with for a while now: Ed Kampwirth, Roger Rivas, and now we have Devin [Morrison] from The Expanders on guitar. If you’re a musician, an artist, you tend to work a certain way, evolve to a certain way, and then it’s like you’ll work with different musicians throughout your life but you’ll have a core group that you’ll work with. Right now, we’re working with these guys and it’s a different dynamic. There’s not a hard-rock or punk-rock dynamic to it. It’s more of a reggae vibe.

It's been 18 years since the Wonders of the World album. Is there any new material coming?
We’ve been recording tracks, and we’re getting ready to go back in and work on another set that we have. We’ve recorded five songs as of now, and we’re going to go in and do another five to seven and we’ll go from there.

What do you think of the current Long Beach music scene?
When I was younger, there was no live music except for just a few live venues. Long Beach for a long time has been inactive with the live music scene, but now it’s being pushed to the forefront. There’s a lot of music being played in Long Beach now. A lot more venues and a lot more live music.

What can we expect from the set at Novo?
Some new music. Hopefully we’ll play two new songs, and some other songs that are fairly new. Hopefully just play a good show. They have a good sound there and it’s a real nice venue.

What's next from the band in 2019?
In 2019 we have the launch of our new album. Touring Japan and Europe, and hopefully the East Coast. Hopefully we’ll be working with some other artists.

Long Beach Dub Allstars play at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 12, at the Novo.

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