About Me
Bradley James Nowell was born on February 22, 1968. Long Beach California. Bradley was born with ADD, But he was very smart.
His parents divorced when he was 10 years old, and like many children he blamed himself. He lived with his mother, Nancy Nowell, in Orange county for 4 years. In 1981 Brad moved in with his Dad, Jim Nowell.
When Brad was 11 years old he took a trip to the Virgin Islands with his dad, and heard reggae music for the first time. This is when the reggea music impact would change his life. He loved the style and sound of the 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 12th birthday he got his first guitar. Living in Long Beach he got a healthy dose of many diverse genres of music.
From the time Brad got his first guitar, he started writing his own songs. At age 13 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 3 years, but he dropped out to focus on music. At around 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.
Bradley's college friend Eric Wilson and him decided to form a side band project; Along with Bud Gaugh, the drummer. (and Lou Brad's Dalmatian) They formed a band called SUBLIME.
Sublime was known as "The Party Band that Everybody Wanted to Have Play at Their Parties," 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 called the Ziggens, started a record label called Skunk records. (Occasionally Brad would let the Ziggens open for Sublime.) Brad wanted to go out and tour with all of his new material, but drummer Bud Gaugh decided to go into drug rehab. 2 years later SUBLIME started recording their first album. -"40.oz of Freedom" .
Kelly Vargas sat in on the drums for the absent Gaugh. Sublime would sell this record out of their trunk of their car. They sold 60,000 copies. 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. 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, sublime sublime. 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. 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 Saddest Moment in Music History"").
Music is a WAY OF LIFE. - Rest In Peace
MR. Bradley James Nowell
~"Remember Everything".~
"""He Lived The Life He Loved, & He Loved The Life He Lived."""
