On Friday, February 22, 2008, a musician, free spirit and genius would have celebrated his 40th birthday.
This talent is none other than Bradley Nowell, the acclaimed front man of Sublime.
According to Rolling Stone Magazine, Bradley fell in love with music at a young age. Both his parents were musicians in some form, while the sounds of guitar seemed to come easy to Brad’s young ears.
With his parents divorce in 1978, Brad ending up residing with his father in Long Beach , CA . The ethnic atmosphere and diverse population of the city would eventually be recognized as the source for Bradley’s punk/hip-hop roots. A trip to the Virgin Islands with his father also played a roll in Bradley’s love for reggae music.
Although he eventually was only a semester short of getting his bachelor’s degree, Nowell spent most of his life disliking school and its responsibilities.
Instead he picked up a guitar, and soon enough, Sublime was formed.
With the help of bassist Eric Wilson and drummer Bud Gaugh, Sublime eventually was considered one of the most prominent bands of California State Long Beach.
In 1989 Skunk Records was formed, and by 1992 the notorious 40 Oz. to Freedom was released. Although the album did well in the Southern California scene, the band still yearned to land a record deal with a bigger company, as written in Time magazine.
Eventually the track “Date Rape” was added to the play list of an LA radio station, and 40 Oz. was released for nationwide distribution, along with its entry into the Billboard charts.
Unfortunately, it was during this time when Nowell formed an increasingly-dangerous addiction to heroin.
By 1996, his habit reached an all-time high during the creation of Sublime’s self-titled album. According to VH1.com, band mates reported that Nowell spent four grand in that one month alone in order to support his addiction.
This seemed to be a far cry from the former Bradley who, not so long ago, used to play at parties for free in exchange for alcohol. Instead, he began selling his guitars in exchange for dope money. This concept can be seen within “Pawn Shop” off of their self-titled album.
Bradley himself had even reflected upon his problem within “Pool Shark” off of 1994’s Robbin’ the Hood. This track was perhaps the most vivid and honest reflection of Nowell’s addiction, with the lyrics “now I’ve got the needle…take it away and I want more and more, one day I’m gonna lose the war.”
By this point, even his producer, Paul Leary, was worried how the addiction would affect his music, let alone his life.
As if the songs had tragically foreshadowed his fate, Nowell died of a heroin overdose on May 25th of that year. He was 28 years old.
Bradley passed just before the release of Sublime’s fourth studio album. Sardonically, it was this album that put Sublime on the musical map.
In 1997, the song “What I Got” hit #1 on the modern rock charts, while “Santeria,” “Wrong Way” and “Doin Time” received generous airplay. The album itself entered Billboard’s Top 20 that same year, while selling over 5 million copies since its release.
Plenty of bands and musicians have since tried to emulate Sublime’s eclectic style and combination of punk, ska, reggae and hip-hop. Perhaps the only band to successfully do so thus far, is ironically a Sublime cover band.
Badfish formed in 2001, and still today continue to play shows to celebrate Bradley’s legacy, while also giving fans a chance to witness the spirit of Sublime, in case they didn’t get to before Nowell’s unfortunate death.
In an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, Bradley’s wife Troy stated that Nowell had achieved everything he wanted in life: “to be a father, reconnect with his family, have a band that achieved glory and record a wonderful album.”
Indeed, Bradley Nowell had a huge impact on everyone around him. Whether you remember him for his carefree personality, his beloved dalmatian Lou Dog or for his honest and soulful melodies, it’s evident that the music world lost a greatly underrated talent.
Sources:
Rolling Stone
http://punkskamusic.suite101.com/article.cfm/why_did_bradley_nowell_use_drugs
http://www.nndb.com/people/823/000089556/
http://sublimespot.com/sublime/
