R.I.P. Bradley Nowell R.I.P.

Many rock stars have come and gone. Many had to work to become what
they had dreamed of being when they were just young children. All their
journeys are inspirational but one man has always stood out in my mind
when I think of hard work, dedicaton, and inspiration for all aspiring
musicians, the late Brad Nowell.
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.
The self-entitled album, Sublime, which was released after the death of Brad
Nowell, sold 3.5 million albums, and made the band millions of dollars, which
was all Brad had wanted. Now the remaining members of the original group
have started a new group called THE LONG BEACH DUB ALL-STARS.