Latest news with #Ensenada
Newsweek
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
'You Can't Out-Myth the Original Myth': Jakob Nowell's Time With Sublime
Famed ska-punk band Sublime, originally composed of the late Bradley Nowell, Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh, rose to prominence in the 1990s with a multi-genre approach that blended elements of punk and reggae. But, in the decades since, things have evolved a bit. Nowell's son, Jakob, met with original members Wilson and Gaugh as part of a special charity performance. The show was so well-received that it sparked the trio to reform Sublime with Jakob as frontman. Since 2024, the group has been in the studio preparing new music, including the fresh single "Ensenada." With that in the cards, Newsweek sat with the lead singer and guitarist to talk about the reunion, channeling the Sublime vibe, and the reception to the band. Jakob Nowell of Sublime performs during the 2025 BottleRock festival at Napa Valley Expo on May 23, 2025. in Napa, California. Jakob Nowell of Sublime performs during the 2025 BottleRock festival at Napa Valley Expo on May 23, 2025. in Napa, California. Jim Bennett/WireImage When it comes to music, there can be a tendency to lean on nostalgia and want things to remain the same. The renewed Sublime trio, though, has been traveling and headlining shows across stages, including their public debut at Coachella, to much praise from fans. "If people didn't like it, we wouldn't keep doing it. I do it for the fans, truly. So Sublime for me really has to be like, 'Do the fans want this kind of thing, Is this legit enough? Is this authentic enough?' Nowell said. "And for the most part, you know, 99 percent of people are on board. You know, I see families out there in the audience. I see multigenerational. I always say that is like, every single generation is like, into Sublime right now. If you just go to any of our shows, you just see it from the teenage demographic, the 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, even 60s and beyond." And, for Nowell, that reception is more than just a positive omen for the group's commercial prospects. There's something larger at play. "This is a brand of music, or a scene that just appeals to people on this unique, specific level," he said. "And my theory has always been because the music seems genuine and authentic. So we never want to put on airs or become too poppy, or change the style and sound when it comes to Sublime. Because for me, that crowd response and that reaction and people telling me how emotional it is for them and how much the music got them through their own loss, maybe their family, losing loved ones just like we have, I think we share in our trauma and our music is our song of hope and an escape too, from all of those difficult things. So for me, it feels really special to get to be a part of it." Stepping Forward Into the Spotlight Nowell joining the band seemed to be divine timing. "I was on tour with my band, Jakob's Castle, and I had this kind of cool spiritual experience at the Phoenix Theater in Petaluma, California, where my dad played his last show or Sublime played their last show. That coincided with me turning 28, the same age my dad was when he technically left the band," he said. "I had always said, 'I'll play Sublime songs when it's something for charity or when it can raise awareness for something or shed light on other things, but never for my own personal benefit.' And so my uncles wanted to play this benefit show for H.R. from Bad Brains. He's just like a hero to us, and good friends of Bud and Eric. Playing that show, we had just connected and we rehearsed, and it was so awesome getting to be in each other's lives that it all kind of coincided naturally." But even if something feels natural, there can still be challenges. Stepping into that frontman role once held by his father and as part of such an iconic band can be rattling, Nowell admitted. "Especially in the beginning, it's just so much pressure, because I want to prove myself," he said. "And I think we all have a little bit of impostor syndrome. Everybody out there, in every industry, we just want to fit in, and that would also feel like we legitimately belong. "And I think that the worst one was Coachella, for sure, because that was really like our first real show together in Sublime, and it's like, 'All right, your first one, go play Coachella.' You're kidding me," he laughed. "This is going to be the most publicized event. And I really shouldn't care what people's thoughts are of me, but I'm the only human and I care because, because I care, because I love Sublime, I love the music, and I respect it." Even out of the public eye, there's still pressure. Hitting the studio with an iconic group requires being authentic to the original sound, but Nowell is well-versed in the music. And there's an additional ace up Sublime's sleeve should any additional challenges arise. "We have a book. We call it the Skin Bible, and it has all of our notes," Nowell explained. "We check to see if things are canonical and authentic, and if someone's like, 'Well, I want to put this in there.' It's like, 'Well, prove that it was in a Sublime song. And we have to do that [to] keep us on track. But you don't want to be too rigid. But I felt like in this process, you almost did like the fun part. We can make it fun, but we kept this big Venn diagram, too, on the wall of all of the differing influences and how we wanted to stay in the middle, never on any one, two sides of this huge multi-circle Venn diagram. And so that way, if we ever want to do something that was slightly outside of it, it was very conscious and intentional." Experiences Researching and Recording To tap into the quintessence of Sublime, the frontman immersed himself in the band's catalog and emerged with a deeper reverence for the music. "There were two phases of my Sublime research," he said. "There was learning about the performance and how to portray it live, which, you know, obviously listen to all the songs in the catalog and then watch a lot of live performance videos and be like 'OK. What's the essence of this band? What is the vibe like? How am I gonna do this without just feeling like I'm copying and make it authentic?' I got really familiar with the sound of the band and their approach to playing music. "Then the second half of my training and studies was like when we decided 'Are we gonna try to write Sublime songs? How do we do that?' So we poured through all the old bootlegs, demos and unreleased material in the vaults that nobody's heard and through them, in tandem with the help of my friend Jon Joseph, who's the producer for this upcoming record, and Zane Vandevort, who was just a natural Californian fan of Sublime since birth, you know, like his favorite band. Basically, we then went to go map out what is the essence of a Sublime song, and what recurring themes, vocally, lyrically, recurring guitar parts? What's canonical? What do they do, for sure? What do they never do when it comes to instrumentation." That understanding laid the foundation for the next step: new music. Nowell described the recording process of "Ensenada" and the band's upcoming new music as "a bonding experience," saying, "I think when you're sitting in any room for eight hours, eventually it becomes sort of like a little bit of a therapy room, too. I mean, the world outside the studio doesn't stop. It's kind of like the hyperbolic time chamber. The other world slows down. You're just in there practicing our f***ing martial arts. "It's so cool when people will accept that material, too. It shows that we're doing something right and that it fits in the catalog. That's all I want. I don't think that you know. I'll knock on wood. Who knows, time will tell. I'm proud of what we did, but I don't think we were able to achieve writing like a 'Santeria' or even a 'What I Got' like, I consider those two like their big, big, just timeless rock 'n' roll classics, just without a doubt, alternative classics, and that's because those go beyond their influences. That's a riddle that we would not be able to solve without the original members. "They probably didn't know. They probably had versions of those jams 100 times, and then one recording just sort of did it time and place, bam. You know, timeless song. You can't out-legacy. You can't out-myth, the original myth. So we just wanted to create a bunch of songs that were well within the same sound genre." And, on the subject of timeless, iconic music, what is Nowell's favorite Sublime song? "Definitely the song 'All You Need.' It just is such a good example of the band's influences and capabilities," he said. "'All You Need' and Greatest Hits and 'S.T.P.,' as well." Sublime's new single "Ensenada" is available now.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
When Does Shark Week 2025 Start? Here's The Full Week-Long Schedule
ENSENADA, MEXICO - SEPTEMBER 15: Great White Sharks seasonally gather off the coast of Guadalupe ... More Island; divers dive inside cages off the boat Nautilus Explorer in order to safely swim with the sharks on September 15, 2016, 150 miles off the coast of Mexico. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Dave) Shark Week 2025 is just around the corner. Discovery Channel's annual celebration of the ocean's apex predator returns for its 37th year this weekend. Read on to find out exactly when Shark Week begins, the full release schedule and more details about the jaw-dropping event. Shark Week brought in an impressive 25 million viewers last year, according to Warner Bros. Discovery, and the thrilling footage and groundbreaking scientific discoveries are back for 2025. The week-long event will feature 20 hours of new specials, including Dancing with Sharks to kick off the week. Hosted by Emmy-winning TV personality Tom Bergeron, the special features 'an unprecedented underwater dance competition between expert divers and their shark partners,' Discovery teased. This summer also marks the 50th anniversary of Jaws, and Shark Week is honoring the milestone with special programming inspired by the blockbuster film. Surviving Jaws features marine biologist Tom 'The Blowfish' Hird and predator ecologist Michelle Jewell as they dive with great whites to answer one burning question: Does skinny-dipping really attract great white sharks? Fans can also look forward to the return of Air Jaws, where two teams travel the globe in search of the biggest breaching sharks in the world. Another special, In the Eye of the Storm, follows victims and first responders in real time as they encounter a cluster of shark attacks along Florida's Gulf Coast. Keep reading for the full Shark Week 2025 programming slate. When Does Shark Week 2025 Start? Great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), underwater with caged divers. Dangerous Reef, South ... More Australia. (Photo by Auscape/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) Discovery Channel's 'Shark Week' officially runs from Sunday, July 20, through Saturday, July 26. Programming will begin at 8 p.m. ET each night. What's The Shark Week 2025 Release Schedule? Shark Week 2025 Schedule Check out some of the closest calls on Shark Week below.
ABC News
3 days ago
- ABC News
Jake and Callum Robinson's accused killers linked to Mexican cartel, court document says
Two men charged with the murders of Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson in Mexico have been transferred to a maximum-security prison due to their alleged ties to organised crime, court documents have revealed. In the coming hours, a Mexican court is expected to hear more details about the high-profile murder case, in which the surfers from Perth and their American friend, Carter Rhoad, were killed at their campsite while on a road trip in remote northern Mexico. The men were shot dead in Baja California, a state of Mexico known for violent cartel activity that often targets innocent victims. It prompted early speculation about criminal cartel involvement. Local authorities said they believed it was a robbery gone wrong and there was no evidence of cartel links. But documents published by the court reveal for the first time that two of the accused killers have alleged links to the notoriously violent Sinaloa cartel, which earlier this year was designated a terror group by the Trump administration. According to an appeals court decision from last year, the two men — Jesús Gerardo and Irineo Francisco — were moved from a local prison in the city of Ensenada to "El Hongo" a high-security desert facility more than 100 kilometres away. The transfer was ordered last August after the court found the men "require special security measures given that penitentiary authorities have identified them as members of criminal groups affiliated with the Sinaloa Cartel". One of the defendants had "claimed within the detention centre population that he can escape confinement at any time he chooses, in addition to participating in the use of prohibited substances on behalf of the gang known as 'Los Paisas'", the documents say. Lawyers for the accused opposed the transfer, but two courts upheld the decision. The documents said both courts were satisfied that the men had connections to criminal groups operating in service of the cartel. The courts also accepted evidence from prison authorities that the men posed a significant security and governance risk at the Ensenada facility. The court of appeals noted that both men had "high criminal capacity, high aggressiveness, emotional detachment, high egocentricity, and marked emotional instability". The appeals court decision was released online through the Baja California court's transparency process. Although the names were blacked out, the ABC was able to identify the suspects in a section of the document that was not properly redacted. The men's surnames have been withheld under Mexican legal conventions. Jake Robinson, a 31-year-old doctor, was due to start a job at Geelong Hospital after visiting his brother Callum, 32, who had been living in the US for 12 years. They were reported missing in late April while travelling with Carter Rhoad, 33, after losing contact with their family in Australia and failing to check into their Airbnb. Search teams discovered their bodies several days later. Local authorities initially said there was no evidence of a cartel connection and did not publicly identify the suspects as gang members. The newly released court documents are the first to officially link two of the accused to organised crime. This supports the theory of former Ensenada police director Jesús Luna Lezama, who previously told the ABC the murders bore "the hallmarks of organised crime". Lead prosecutor Miguel Ángel Gaxiola Rodríguez maintains that the alleged killers' primary motive was to steal the tyres from the victims' vehicle. However, in a new interview ahead of today's court hearing, Mr Lezama said he continued to believe that the brutality of the crimes suggested gang involvement. "What started as a minor crime — car theft — turned into forced disappearance and the murder of three people, in a way that closely resembles the behaviour of organised crime groups," he told the ABC. Investigators said all three victims were executed with a single gunshot to the head before their bodies were dumped in a well, where the body of a local farmer was also found. The brothers' burnt-out car was dumped on a ranch, with its tyres missing. Their campsite was also burnt out. "It could have been an isolated incident, not necessarily directed by cartel leadership," Mr Lezama said. "These groups often avoid drawing attention from authorities." He suggests federal authorities should consider taking over the investigation. "Given the suspects' cartel ties, federal oversight may be warranted — not just local judges, but federal ones," he said. "That's why it's important they remain in federal detention centres." The two men, along with co-accused Ángel Jesús, face charges of aggravated homicide, aggravated robbery, violent robbery, grand theft auto, and forced disappearance. A fourth defendant, Ari Gisell, faces the same charges except for forced disappearance. A court previously heard that Jesús Gerardo, also known as "El Kekas", visited Ari Gisell, his then-girlfriend, shortly after the killings. He allegedly told her: "I f****ed up three gringos." Today, two separate hearings will be held at the Ensenada courthouse — one for the three men accused of forced disappearance, and another for all four defendants. Prosecutors are expected to present more details about the case and the sentences they're seeking. The trial date remains unclear. The US government considers the Sinaloa cartel and its rival, the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación, to be the two largest and most dangerous in Mexico. A US Drug Enforcement Administration threat assessment report last year said: "They are not just drug manufacturers and traffickers; they are organised crime groups, involved in arms trafficking, money laundering, migrant smuggling, sex trafficking, bribery, extortion, and a host of other crimes. Zulia Orozco, an organised crime researcher at Baja California State University, said the Sinaloa Cartel had expanded its influence dramatically over the past two decades using "very violent techniques". She doubts the cartel directly ordered the Australians' killings. "Organised crime usually avoids targeting foreigners to prevent media attention," she said. Still, she said, the cartel continues to terrorise local communities in what she describes as a "lawless" region: "The community is essentially on its own, without support from security forces." Mr Lezama said the killings had a lasting impact on Baja California's surfing community. "It's still a topic of conversation," he said. "Especially among surfers and frequent visitors, who now travel with greater caution — particularly to remote or isolated areas." — with ABC NEWS Verify's Matt Martino and Phoebe Hosier in Washington DC
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Yahoo
Authorities make 'historic bust' after finding concerning cargo in shipping container: 'Cartels seek to legally and illegally harvest more and more'
Authorities are working to combat wildlife trafficking across the world, and officials in Mexico have made a "historic bust." According to Mexico News Daily, the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA) and the Naval Ministry (SEMAR) confiscated 135 sacks of shark fins, totaling 2,433 kilograms (over 5,000 pounds) during an inspection of a shipping container at the Port of Ensenada, Baja California. The traffickers took the fins from various shark species, including silky sharks, hammerheads, and bull sharks, and some were from baby and juvenile sharks. While the fins found were not from sharks listed as threatened or endangered, they were from the CITES Appendix II list, which means they are at risk of being threatened if trade is not regulated. Mexico News Daily reported, "The export of such sharks to international markets is regulated by CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) and since the ship's captain did not possess the corresponding CITES certificate, the fins were seized." The ship was headed to Shanghai, China. According to the 2022 Brookings report, "Chinese actors and markets are thickly intertwined in Mexico's illegal economies, such as drug and wildlife trafficking and money laundering." Additionally, animals, including shark fins, are used to buy drug precursors. The Brookings report noted, "The increasing role of this payment method can devastate biodiversity in Mexico, as the cartels seek to legally and illegally harvest more and more of a wider and wider range of animal and plant species to pay for precursors." Biodiversity is vital for human survival. According to The Royal Society, a healthy ecosystem, comprising a diverse range of microorganisms, plants, and animals, is essential for the food humans eat and the air they breathe. Do you think America has a plastic waste problem? Definitely Only in some areas Not really I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Some forms of wildlife trafficking involve introducing foreign species into an ecosystem. While not all foreign species are invasive, the ones that are can harm the local ecosystem — invasive species can take out native species. Countries and U.S. states are working to pass laws to combat wildlife trafficking. For example, in May, the Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill was passed in Nigeria's House of Representatives. Colorado also enacted a law that toughens penalties for wildlife traffickers and strengthens enforcement. If you're concerned about wildlife trafficking, you can use your voice to speak with your representatives and advocate for similar laws to be passed near you. It will help protect your ecosystem and the animals. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
ABC News
11-07-2025
- ABC News
Prosecutors prepare case against accused killers of Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson
The Mexican prosecutor leading the case against the suspected murderers of Australian surfers Jake and Callum Robinson says there is still no evidence of cartel involvement. Instead, Miguel Ángel Gaxiola Rodríguez maintains the primary motive for the brutal slayings was to steal the tyres off the vehicle the brothers were travelling in with their American friend, Carter Rhoad. Four people have now been charged with the murders of the three men in a remote part of northern Mexico in April last year. Jesús Gerardo, known as "El Kekas", his then-girlfriend Ari Gisell, and Ángel Jesús were arrested soon after the killings. Their surnames, not reported here, are suppressed under local laws. The ABC can now also name a fourth defendant, Irineo Francisco, who was arrested later and is set to be tried alongside the trio. Speaking to the ABC ahead of court proceedings next week, Mr Gaxiola Rodríguez confirmed prosecutors would pursue the robbery-gone-wrong theory. "It appears that the perpetrators identified an opportunity for robbery when they encountered the foreigners in a highly isolated location," he said. The former director of the Ensenada Police Department, Jesús Luna Lezama, previously told the ABC the murders had the "hallmarks of organised crime". The murders took place in an area notorious for cartel activity. Investigators say all three men were killed with a single gunshot to the head before their bodies were disposed of in a well. A body unrelated to the case was also discovered in the well. The three men have been charged with aggravated homicide, aggravated robbery, violent robbery, grand theft auto, and forced disappearance. Ari Gisell faces the same charges, minus forced disappearance. Two separate court hearings are scheduled for July 17; one for the three men accused of forced disappearance, the other for all four defendants. It is likely the court will hear what sentences the prosecution is seeking. The maximum sentence for homicide is 60 years. Mr Gaxiola Rodríguez said the state had a strong case. "We have compelling evidence, including witness statements, and we have found the vehicle," he said. "The objective is to ensure that the accused are brought to trial and convicted of the homicide and robbery." Jesús Gerardo was the first suspect to be arrested and charged after the men disappeared while surfing and camping in Mexico's Baja California region. A court heard his then-girlfriend told investigators Jesús Gerardo had told her: "I f****ed up three gringos." In May, a monument composed of wooden statues was installed in Punta San José to commemorate the brothers and their friend. Two of the statues are closer together, while one stands slightly apart. The memorial was unveiled by members of the Baja California Surfers Association in the presence of Rachel Moseley, the Australian ambassador to Mexico. Antonio Otañez, president of the association, said it was created to show support for his fellow surfers from Australia and the US. The same group also organised a protest against violence in the area a year earlier.
