Bradley Nowell

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Bradley Nowell | Brad --------------------------------- Bradley James Nowell February 22 1968 – May 25 1996 Was An American Musician Who Served As Lead Singer And Guitarist Of The Californian Band Sublime . He Died At 28 From A Heroin Overdose Shortly Before The Release Of Sublime's Self-Titled Major Label Debut. Early Life Nowell Performs With His Band.Music Was An Integral Part Of Nowell's Upbringing. Nowell's Father Jim Nowell Was Fond Of Jimmy Buffett And Played Guitar During Family Gatherings. On Holidays Nowell Played Guitar And Sang With His Father And Uncles For Hours. He Developed A Love For Reggae Music When His Father Took Him On A Trip To Jamaica. His Combination Of Reggae And Punk Was A Hit. He Started A New Era In Reggae Music. Career With Second Sight
In 1982 9th Grader Brad Nowell Joined A Band Of Belmont Shore/Long Beach Neighborhood Kids Called Second Sight For About One Week. The Band Included Bassist Dave Hegstrom Guitarist Aaron Wilson Drummer Andrew Troy Who Originally Named The Band And Soon-To-Be Singer Roger Topp. The Band Members All Decided To Kick Nowell Out Of The Band After His First Practice At Hegstrom's House Because He Had Not Learned To Really Play Yet. Hegstrom Showed Nowell His First Barre Chords And Was Responsible For Turning Brad Onto The Records And Music Of Punk Rock Acts Secret Hate Falling Idols Circle Jerks And Bad Religion. Aside From Being Long Beach's Only Kid Punk Band At The Time Second Sight's Only Real Claim To Fame Was Getting 3rd Place In The Talent Show At Will Rogers Jr. High School In Long Beach California Where They Shocked All The Teachers And Parents While Performing Their Own Renditions Of Flipper Christian Death Sex Pistols And The Ventures. Soon After Troy Moved Away From The Area And Bud Gaugh Then Joined The Band As Drummer For About 6 Months Before They Recruited Young Drummer Greg O'Dell. Soon After Nowell Took Guitar And Singing Lessons And Began To Hone His Craft. Three Years Later Eric Wilson Brad Nowell And Bud Gaugh Formed Sublime. Career With Hogan's Heroes A.K.A. Sloppy Seconds In The 1980's Nowell Played In A Punk Band Called Hogan's Heroes Which Was Started In 1982 By Eric Wilson Later The Bassist Of Sublime. The Band Later Changed Their Name To Sloppy Seconds Which Went On To Release Several Albums On The Label "Triple X". In 1988 Nowell Met Bud Gaugh A Long Time Friend Of Eric Wilson. The Three Of Them Began To Play Together And Decided To Form Their Own Band Sublime. Career With Sublime
In 1988 Nowell Founded Sublime With Bassist Eric Wilson And Drummer Bud Gaugh Whom He Had Met While Attending Cal State Long Beach. Sublime Eventually Became One Of The Most Popular Bands In Southern California. Specifically They Were The Most Popular Band On The Campus Of Cal State Long Beach Where They Often Played At Parties And Bars. In 1989 Nowell And Michael "Miguel" Happoldt Created Skunk Records Which Produced And Distributed Sublime's Early Recordings. The Band's Demo Tapes Were Later Sold At Shows And Local Record Stores. A Few Years Later Sublime Produced Its First Studio Recording Which Resulted In The Popular Cassette Tape Called Jah Won't Pay The Bills 1991 . As Nowell Prepared To Tour With The New Material He Found That Gaugh Was Battling A Drug Problem. Gaugh Soon Decided To Check Himself Into A Drug Rehabilitation Center. Rather Than Tour Without Gaugh The Trio Decided To Focus On Recording Their Music In The Studio. In 1992 40 Oz. To Freedom Was Released. Drummer Marshall Goodman Temporarily Covered For Gaugh But Drummer Kelly Vargas Ended Up Taking Gaugh's Place For A Long Period Of Time. Gaugh Briefly Joined Old Friend Andy Troy Who Had Recently Resurfaced After Ten Years With His Brother Chris In Their Group Candida But As Gaugh's Drug Problem Began To Worsen Gaugh Went Further Into Seclusion And He Eventually Ceased Playing During That Time Period. Sixty-Thousand Copies Of 40 Oz. Were Distributed And Sold From The Trunk Of Nowell's Car After Each Show. Despite Growing Popularity In Southern California Sublime Still Had Not Landed A Record Deal With A Major Label. Around This Same Time Nowell Teamed Up With Longtime Friend Gwen Stefani Of Fellow Southern California Ska Band No Doubt To Record The Single "Saw Red". The Single Was Eventually Released On Sublime's Robbin' The Hood Album. Sublime Performed Quite A Few Local Shows With Local LBC Bands One Hit Wonder Candida The Cadilac Tramps And Dos But Brad's Hopes Of Finding A Label To Support Them Began To Fade. Frustrated By Rejection Of The Major Record Companies Nowell Descended Into A Two-Year Heroin "experiment". Nowell Claimed Citation Needed That His Heroin Use Was Justified And That It Aided His Artistic Creativity Thereby Increasing The Likelihood That His Material Would Attract The Attention Of A Major Label. About A Year Later Tazy Phillipz Took A Copy Of 40 Oz. To Freedom To Los Angeles Radio Station KROQ Requesting That Sublime's "Date Rape" Be Added To The Playlist. Soon After MCA Records Picked Up 40 Oz. To Freedom For Nationwide Distribution. The Album Soon Entered The Billboard Charts. Citation Needed Attention From A Major Label Did Not Curb Nowell's Drug Use Which Sometimes Led Him To Pawn His Instruments As Reflected In His Song "Pawn Shop." The Song "Pool Shark" Is Another Song Which Reflects His Struggle With Addiction. 3 In February 1996 Sublime Returned To The Studio To Record The Bulk Of Their Self-Titled Major Label Debut Album. Production Was Done By Paul Leary Producer Of Marcy Playground And Meat Puppets Of The Butthole Surfers At Willie Nelson's Pedernales Studio In Austin Texas. Nowell's Addiction However Became Increasingly Unmanageable And He Was Flown Home Early From The Sessions. Death Bradley Nowell's Headstone.Seven Days After Nowell's Marriage To Troy Dendekker Sublime Embarked On A Five-Day Tour Through California Cities In Phoenix Theater In Petaluma The Band Was Scheduled To Head Up North. The Following Morning Drummer Bud Gaugh Woke Up To Find Nowell Lying Half Way Across A Bed With His Knees And Feet On The Floor. At First Gaugh Assumed He Had Been Too Intoxicated To Get Into Bed However Further Inspection Allowed Him To Notice A Green Film Around His Mouth And It Became Obvious That He Had Overdosed On Heroin. Gaugh Called For Paramedics But Nowell Had Died Several Hours Earlier And Was Pronounced Dead At The Scene. Nowell Was Cremated And His Ashes Were Spread Over His Favorite Surfing Spot In Surfside California. A Headstone Was Placed At Westminster Memorial In Westminster California In His Memory. A Few Weeks After Nowell's Death Fellow Southern California Band No Doubt Headlined A "cautionary" Benefit Concert In Tribute To Nowell. Nowell's Widow And The Various Bands Who Performed Wanted To Make It Clear That They Were Not Glamorizing The Way That Nowell Died But That They Wanted To Celebrate His Life As Well As Establish A College Fund For His Son Jakob. On January 11 1997 Los Angeles Times Article Titled "Cautionary Concert In Rocker's Memory" Writer Jerry Crowe Quoted No Doubt Bassist Tony Kanal As Saying "Obviously It's Going To Be Very Emotional Because You're There Playing A Show To Commemorate A Good Friend Who Died And Died For Very Wrong Reasons. But You're Also There To Change Things For The Future And Prevent Stuff Like That From Ever Happening Again. A Lot Of Times We Hear About Musicians Using Drugs And It's So Blasé And Cliched. You Just Kind Of Say 'Oh He'll Be Fine. Somebody Will Take Care Of Him.' But That's Not True. It's Important For Every Single One Of Us To Stand Up And Say 'Enough Of This Shit.' It's Time To Make A Difference". 4 Jason Westfall One Of Sublime's Managers Was Quoted As Saying That The Surviving Members Of Sublime Had No Interest In Continuing To Perform And Record Under The "Sublime" Name. "Just Like Nirvana Sublime Died When Brad Died" Westfall Said. However In 2009 Sublime Reformed At The Cypress Hill Smokeout Festival Joined By Singer Rome Ramirez. Although This Was A Controversial Move Many Friends Of The Band Agreed With The Idea Of Paying Tribute To A Legend. They Are On Tour In Spring 2010 As Sublime With Rome. Post-Death
The Cover Of Sublime's Major Label Debut Album.In Light Of Nowell's Death Record Executives Considered Not Releasing Sublime's Major Label Debut Album. After Some Debate The Album Was Eventually Released Though The Album's Original Title Killin It Was Substituted With An Eponymous Title. Sublime's Major Label Debut Album Sublime Was Released On July 30 1996. By 1997 The Album Entered Billboard's Top 20 And Its First Single The Largely Acoustic "What I Got" Soon Became The Number One Song On The Modern Rock Chart. Throughout 1997 The Album Produced Three More Radio Hits The "Santeria" "Wrong Way" And "Doin' Time". The Accompanying Music Videos From Sublime For Radio Hits Including "Santeria" "What I Got" And "Wrong Way" Received Heavy Rotation On MTV With Previously Filmed Footage Of Nowell Performing Live Interspersed Into The Video. The Footage Used Came Mostly From Shows In 1996. To The Surprise Of Many Sublime Became Arguably The Most Successful American Rock Act Of 1997. The Album Sublime Has Since Sold Over 5 Million Copies. Danin Says Of Nowell "he Will Live Inside All Of Us And Will Influence The Music Careers Of Many." Equipment
Amps Marshall JCM-800 Combo / 2x12
Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus Combo / 2x12
Mesa/Boogie {Dual Rectifier} Head/4X12 Cabinet
Guitars Dan MacDonald Custom Electric Guitar - Body Based On A Mix Of A 1960s Vox Hurricane And A G&L 100 Guitar - Ebony Fretboard - Fitted With A Floyd Rose Vibrato System
Ibanez S-470 Electric Guitar - Smoke Black - Flame Top
Ibanez S-540
Bradley Borrowed Guitars Many Times From Other Bands. Pedals Boss DD-3 Digital Delay
Boss OS-2 Overdrive Distortion
Whirlwind A/B Selector
Relationships
Marriage And Fatherhood
While On Tour In The Mid-1990s Nowell Met Troy Dendekker. Dendekker Grew Up In Southern California In A Home With A Drug Addicted Mother And A Father Who Was Also A Drug User And A Member Of A Motorcycle Gang. In An Interview Dendekker Who Has Considered A Career As A Drug And Alcohol Counselor Stated That She Loves Addicts Because They Are Ultimately Kind People. Dendekker Has Also Said She Does Not Have Anger Towards Her Parents Regarding The Way She Was Brought Up Because As She Phrased It Her Parents Were "real". In An Interview With Rolling Stone Magazine Dendekker Said That Nowell Was Very Happy And Pleasant To Be Around When He Was Under The Influence Of Substances But Added That He Could Be Very Difficult When Not Under The Influence. The Goal Dendekker Said Was To Try To Have Nowell Be As Happy Sober As He Was When He Was High. To That End Nowell Attempted Detoxification And Drug Rehabilitation Several Times But Such Treatments Usually Had Short-Lived Success Which Usually Disappointed Nowell's Family And Friends. Bandmate Bud Gaugh Tried To Be Supportive Of Nowell In His Recovery And Occasionally In His Usage. Gaugh Has Said He Tried To Be Nowell's "conscience" And In Some Cases Gaugh Tried To Be Nowell's "drug Buddy." On June 25 1995 Dendekker Gave Birth To Their Son Jakob James Nowell. Lou Dog Lou Dog On The Cover Of A Sublime Box Set Compilation.Named After Nowell's Grandfather Louie Nowell Nowell's King Louie Or "Lou Dog" As He Was Called Was Nowell's Pet Dalmatian Who Became Something Of A Mascot For The Band Sublime. Lou Dog Was Often Allowed To Wander The Stage During Live Sublime Concert Performances. Louie Was Also Often Featured On The Cover Of Sublime Albums And Was Referred To In The Lyrics Of Sublime Songs. The First Lyrics Nowell Sings On Sublime's Major Label Debut Album Are "We Took This Trip To Garden Grove/It Smelled Like Lou Dog Inside The Van". In Sublime's Most Successful Radio Track "What I Got" Nowell Sings "Livin' With Louie Dog's The Only Way To Stay Sane." He Also Mentions His Dalmatian In The Song Other Times Like In The Lyric "I Got A Dalmatian And I Can Still Get High" As Well As "I Don't Cry When My Dog Runs Away." The Song "Doin' Time" Also Refers To Lou Dog In The Line "L.B.C. G Me And Louie Run To The Party...". Nowell Would Also Begin Live Songs By Referencing Lou Dog And Can Be Heard On The Live Version Of "Caress Me Down" From Stand By Your Van Yelling "Everybody Say Louie - 1 2 3 LOUIE LOUIE LOUIE LOUIE LOUIE!" In The Early 1990s Lou Dog Disappeared For A Week. In A Video Directed By Josh Fishel Of Bargain Music Sublime — Stories Tales Lies & Exaggerations Troy Nowell Bradley Nowell's Widow Says That For The Week During Which Lou Dog Was Lost Nowell Spent A Great Deal Of Time Lying On The Couch Crying In Response To The Loss Of His Dog. Lou Dog Was Eventually Returned To Nowell Who In Response To The Situation Later Covered The Camper Van Beethoven Song "The Day That Lassie Went To The Moon" And Changed It To "Lou Dog Went To The Moon" This Song Is Available On The Nowell Bootleg "Firecracker Lounge" 1 . While Lou Was Missing Nowell Also Recorded This Song To His Home Answering Machine As A Sort Of Audio Lost Dog Poster. Following Nowell's 1996 Death Lou Dog Was Cared For By Miguel. Lou Dog Died On September 17 2001. In Popular Culture
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Please Help Improve This Article By Adding Citations To Reliable Sources. Unsourced Material May Be Challenged And Removed. September 2009 Bradley Is Also The Main Subject Of A Song By French Canadian Ska Punk Band Subb That Mentions Sublime Their Musical Style And Also Brad's Dalmatian Lou Dog. G. Love & Special Sauce Have Dedicated Two Songs To Nowell A Remake Of The Sublime Song "Greatest Hits " And A Song Called "Dreamin' " Which Begins "This Song Is Dedicated In Loving Memory Of Brad From Long Beach California." Fellow California Punk Rockers NOFX Refer To Nowell In Their Song "Door Nails" The Lyric Is "and This Fix Is For Bradley". The Song Centers Around Rockstars That Have Died From Overdoses. American Hip Hop Artist Murs Has Often Integrated Cuts Of "Santeria" And Other Sublime Tracks In His Live Performances And States That Sublime Is One Of His Major Influences. Citation Needed German Band Beatsteaks Has Covered Sublime Songs In Their Live Performances. In The Movie Grind The Main Characters Walk Into A Skate Shop And Tom Green Is Behind The Counter With A Couple Of Turn Tables Trying To Remix "Smoke Two Joints" Unsuccessfully. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LINK Http //en.Wikipedia.Org/wiki/Bradley_Nowell ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- read less