BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Former Harvard University men’s water polo player and baseball pitcher Dr. Todd Forman has a unique place in the history of the sport. A standout two-sport athlete for the Crimson who also was a member of the institution’s Jazz band and participated in Hasty Pudding theatricals, the 1992 Harvard graduate was a member of the American reggae rock and ska punk Sublime.
Formed in 1988 in Long Beach, Calif., Sublime consisted of Bradley Nowell (vocals and guitar), Eric Wilson (bass), and Bud Gaugh (drums). Lou Dog, Nowell’s dalmatian, was the mascot of the band. In 1997, songs such as “What I Got”, “Santeria”, “Wrong Way”, “Doin’ Time”, and “April 29, 1992 (Miami)” were released to U.S. radio.
Sublime released three studio albums, one live album, five compilation albums (one of which also contains never-before released material), three extend play (EP) records, and one box set. Although their first two albums—40oz. to Freedom (1992) and Robbin’ the Hood (1994)—were quite popular in the United States, Sublime did not experience major commercial success until 1996 with their self-titled third album, released two months after Nowell’s death from a heroin overdose, which peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard 200, and spawned the single “What I Got”, which remains the band’s only No. 1 hit single (on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart) in their musical career. As of 2009, the band has sold over 17 million albums worldwide, including about 10 million in the U.S. alone.
A graduate of Harvard with a degree in Psychology, Forman attended Wilson High School in Long Beach where he was an All-America water polo player and the CIF Scholar-Athlete of the Year for California. He went to Harvard for undergraduate and returned home to the West Coast for medical school at the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), residency at Santa Monica UCLA Family Practice Residency Program, and a master’s in medical education at the University of Southern California (USC).
In 2000, he joined the faculty at USC School of Medicine. He received several honors from students and colleagues for his efforts in the classroom and in the community, including the prestigious AAMC Humanism in Medicine Award and the USC Community Volunteer Award.
A board-certified family physician and a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, Forman joined his mother in private practice as Forman Family Medicine in late 2005.
But what about Sublime?
A water polo-playing, straight A student at Harvard, he met the core members of Sublime during the summer of 1989. A sax player in the jazz band at Harvard, he attended a party while home and jammed with some musicians at a Long Beach party.
Soon he was playing alleyways, garages and street corners with Nowell, Wilson and Gaugh as the group fused reggae, punk, rock and ska into an eclectic mix.
Each fall, Forman returned to Cambridge – but he came back to Sublime each summer.
After his junior year, he helped record their first album, “40 Oz. for Freedom.” However, after graduating from Harvard he needed to make a tough decision – medical school or continue playing shows for 1,000 people and opening for headlining bands.
Forman chose medical school over music as the band’s fame continued to grow.
In 1996, the group called him up to help out recording their next album. However, Nowell’s death from a heroin overdose brought about the end of Sublime as Forman returned exclusively to medicine.
He returned to music on a part-time basis around his 36th birthday and continues to play.
