|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
And God may find a reason
Well I'm sure you'll find a rhyme
Because it takes up nearly all my time
He who stands for freedom
God knows I've got the number
But maybe I just use too much
"New Song" - Submlime (1991)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bradley James Nowell was born on February
22, 1968, in Long Beach California. Brad was born with
attention deficit disorder, a term used for kids like Brad
who didn't live up to their potential. But Brad was very
smart. He got good grades as a kid, and was smart enough to
get his younger sister, Kellie, to do his homework for him
when he didn't feel like doing it. His parents divorced when
he was ten years old, and like many children he blamed
himself. He lived with his mother, Nancy Nowell, in Orange
county for four years.
In 1981, Brad moved in with his Dad, Jim Nowell. When Brad
was eleven years old he took a trip to the Virgin Islands
with his dad and heard reggae music for the first time. This
music would change his life. He loved the style and sound of
music. When Brad came back from the Virgin Islands he
started teaching himself to play the guitar. He would
practice every day, trying to perfect his reggae style. On
his tewlfth birthday he got his first guitar. Living in Long
Beach he got a healthy dose of many diverse genres of music.
He got into other styles of music like punk rock. This
started a brand new genre of music. From the time Brad got
his first guitar, he started writing his own songs. At age
thirteen he started his first band called Hogans Heroes but
the band didn't last very long
In 1986, Brad graduated from high school and went to college
at U.C. Santa Cruz. He went to school there for three years,
but he dropped out to focus on music. At about this time
Brad found another musical love, hip hop. His mix of hip
hop, reggae, punk, ska, dub, funk, and heavy metal seemed to
be a product of the Long Beach youth. His college friend
Eric Wilson, the bass player, and Brad decided to form a
side band. Along with Bud Gaugh, the drummer and Lou Brad's
Dalmatian, they formed a band called Sublime .
Sublime was known as "The Garage Punk Band that Nobody
Liked, but Everybody Wanted to Have Play at Their Party,"
playing at local clubs, college campuses, and backyards,
Sublime quickly became the most popular band in the Southern
California area. They would play in exchange for free beer.
The money they made was also spent on beer and pot.
Brad and his friend Michael "Miguel" Happoldt, who was at
the time in his own band named Ziggens, started a record
label called records. Occasionally Brad would let the
Ziggens open for Sublime. The two first released some demo
tapes from the Ziggens. Each band's demo tapes were
distributed at shows and local record stores. The most
popular of these demo songs was "Jah Won't Pay the Bills."
Brad wanted to go out and tour with all of his new material,
but drummer Bud Gaugh decided to go into drug
rehabilitation. Two years later SUBLIME started recording
their first album. "40.oz of Freedom" was Sublime's first
CD. Kelly Vargas sat in on the drums for the absent Gaugh.
Sublime would sell the record out of the trunk of their car.
They sold 60,000 copies this way. They were absolutely
enormous in Southen California by now. Despite the recent
success of Sublime , the band still hadn't landed a record
deal. A desperate Brad Nowell went to find a record deal,
and was rejected the first time. Brad didn't know what to
do. He looked to all the greatest rock stars of the past.
The only difference between himself and them was one that
would destroy his life: They all did heroin. Brad started a
two year "experiment," where he would shoot heroin to boost
his creativity.
In 1994 Sublime came out with their second album entitled "Robbin'
the 'Hood." A local radio station bought a copy of Sublime's
original CD, "40.oz to Freedom," and played the song "Date
Rape." The song was a huge hit, and MCA records asked the
band to come in for a meeting and possible record deal. This
was the break Brad had been waiting for. Sublime arrived at
MCA records, along with their drummer Bud Gaugh, back from
rehab. The band came to the record company, drunk. They
waited three hours for their meeting. In that time they were
rude and obnoxious, and Lou, the Dalmation, defecated on the
floor. They also came out with a new record deal.
Brad's dream had come true. During one of his tours he met a
girl named Troy Dendekker. He and Troy started dating. When
Troy was around, Brad would just glow. He would always call
Troy up to the stage, to show off what he had. In June of
1995 their son, Jakob James Nowell, was born. It seemed that
his life was going wonderfully.
In early 1996 Sublime went to record their self-entitled
album, but the pressure of making the album was too much.
Brad's heroin problem was getting out of control. He put
himself into rehab to clean up his life for Troy and Jakob.
After six months, Brad came back home clean. He was once
again in control of his life, and he was ready to finish his
album.
With Brad's life finally back in check, and his engagement
to Troy, Brad was very happy. As the new year rolled in,
Brad celebrated with the band and his friends. He brought in
the new year by shooting up heroin. Once again back with his
family, and on May 18, 1996 Brad was married to Troy. Two
days after the marriage, Sublime went on tour. On May 24th
Sublime had just played a show in Petaluma, CA. He called
Troy and told her how well the show had gone, and how happy
he was. That was the last time Troy ever spoke to Brad.
The next day, on May 25, 1996 Sublime was ready to leave for
the next tour city. They went to Brad's hotel room and
knocked. No answer. The door was opened.(Whether it was
locked or not has not yet been disclosed.) Brad's Dalmation,
Lou, ran over to where Brad was lying on the floor, and
licked his face. Brad had died of a heroin overdose, just
hours after speaking with his wife
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
