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Bradley Nowell

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Bradley Nowell

Bradley James Nowell (February 22 1968 – May 25 1996) was an American musician who served as lead singer and guitarist of the popular ska-punk band Sublime. He died at the age of twenty-eight from a heroin overdose shortly before the release of Sublime's self-titled major label debut.

Biography

Early life

A young Bradley Nowell performs with his band.

Music was an integral part of Nowell's upbringing. Nowell's mother, Nancy Nowell-Watilo, is a musician who has perfect pitch, and Nowell's father, James Nowell, was fond of folk music and often played guitar during family gatherings. On holidays, Bradley Nowell often played guitar and sang with his father and uncles for hours. Brad was often able to play a song on the guitar after hearing the song only once.

Nowell was ten years old when his parents divorced. After the divorce, Nowell lived with his mother in Orange County for four years. In 1981, he took up residence in Long Beach, California with his father. In contrast to the wealthier and largely white suburbs of Orange County, Long Beach had an ethnically diverse population. Because Long Beach offered lower rent than Hollywood, by the 1980s the city had cultivated a thriving underground art community, including a music scene that nurtured punk, surf, and hip-hop music — three genres Nowell would later incorporate into his musical repertoire.

Though Bradley was by many accounts an intelligent person, he did not enjoy school. It has been reported that Nowell often convinced his sister, Kellie, to do the homework that didn't interest him. "He was probably twice as intelligent as I am", Kellie recalls, "but he just wasn't real school-minded". Eventually, Nowell was diagnosed with ADD and prescribed Ritalin.

When Nowell was eleven, he accompanied his father on a trip to the Virgin Islands. This trip was significant in the life and career of Nowell because it was his introduction to reggae music, elements of which are often heard in Nowell's recordings. Nowell received his first guitar shortly after returning from the Virgin Islands.

Shortly after becoming interested in reggae music, Nowell became involved in hip hop and punk rock, which he later combined with reggae to create a distinctive sound. At the age of thirteen, Nowell founded his first, albeit short-lived, band: "Hogan's Heroes".

Despite his initial apathy towards schoolwork, in 1986 Nowell became an honor-roll student at Wilson High School in Long Beach, California. After graduating Wilson High School, Nowell enrolled at University of California, Santa Cruz, then at California State University, Long Beach where he pursued a degree in finance. One semester short of obtaining his Bachelor's degree, Nowell decided to leave college in pursuit of a professional music career.

Career with Sublime

Bradley Nowell in publicity photo with fellow Sublime members.

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 exchange for alcohol.

1989: Nowell and Michael "Miguel" Happoldt created Skunk Records, the label for which Sublime's early recordings were produced and distributed. Skunk Records was named for Sublime's combination Ska and Punk genre, and the names of the two were fused into "Skunk". (Skunk is also a reference to a certain marijuana strain, due to its smell). 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 and released it in 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. Drummers Marshall Goodman and Kelly Vargas temporarily covered for Gaugh. Sixty-thousand copies were distributed and sold from the trunk of Nowell's car. Despite growing popularity in Southern California, Sublime still had not landed a record deal with a major label. (Around this same timeframe, 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.)

Frustrated by rejection of the major record companies, Nowell descended into a two-year heroin "experiment". Nowell claimed that his heroin use was justified, claiming it aided with 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.

Attention from a major label did not curb Nowell's drug use. His use of heroin increased. He had been known to sometimes pawn his guitars to support his habit. Miguel would have to go find the pawn shop and buy the guitars back. His song Pawn Shop was written about these incidents. Nowell's struggles with addiction were occasionally reflected in his artistic work. The song Pool Shark is one of the most obvious examples of Nowell's drug dependency being referred to in his music: "Take it away but I want more and more, One day I'm gonna lose the war".

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. At this time, Nowell's addiction was about as bad as it had ever been. He spent about four thousand dollars on heroin that month while recording the tracks. Leary often feared that by putting out this record he would be exploiting a junkie. Nowell was flown home early from the sessions due to the extent of his drug use.

Death

File:Bradleynowellheadstone.jpg
Bradley Nowell's headstone.

Three days after Nowell's marriage to Troy Dendekker, Sublime embarked on a five-day tour through California cities in preparation for a summer tour of Europe. The European tour was intended as a means of promotion of their upcoming major label debut album. On May 25, 1996, before checking out of San Francisco's Ocean View Motel, Sublime's drummer Gaugh, who was sharing a room with him at the time, found Nowell's body lying on the bed with his feet still on the floor. Nowell had died of a heroin overdose. Nowell's last performance took place at the Phoenix Theater in Petaluma, California. This performance became known as the "Play Nice In the Pit" show.

Nowell was cremated and his ashes were distributed over the water of his favorite surf spot, Surfside. A headstone was placed at Westminster Memorial in Westminster, California in his memory. At the memorial service on June 1, 1996, Bradley Nowell's father, Jim Nowell, said:

"Brad will always live for me in his son, Jake, and we can all seek relief from our grief by loving and nurturing the son he gave to us. Brad touched many people with his caring personality and musical genius and we are all lucky to have had him in our lives. Men who have lived longer have achieved less and I am content that he is now at peace".

Troy Nowell, Bradley's widow, has said that she believes he achieved all he hoped to achieve in his life. She said that Bradley Nowell had wanted to be a father, reconnect with his family, to have a band that achieved "glory", and record a wonderful album [1]. According to Troy, Bradley Nowell did indeed achieve all of these things in his 28 years.

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 year-old son, Jakob.

In a 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 passed away-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 blase 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". [2]

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. [3]

Posthumous career

File:Sublimecoverbradleyback.jpg
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 hip hop-influenced "What I Got", soon became the number one song on the Modern Rock chart. Throughout 1997, the album produced three more radio hits: the ska ballad "Santeria", the anti-prostitution anthem song called "Wrong Way" and the George Gershwin-inspired dance song "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.

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.

Relationships

Marriage and fatherhood

File:Bradleyandjakobnowell.jpg
Bradley Nowell holding his son Jakob.

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 also said that 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 that when he wasn't under the influence Nowell could be very difficult. 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."

In September 1994, Nowell and Dendekker conceived a child. On June 25, 1995, Dendekker gave birth to their son, Jakob James Nowell. In an attempt to better fulfill his compounding responsibilities as both husband and father, Nowell again attempted to overcome his drug dependency, but was unsuccessful.

Lou Dog

Lou Dog on the cover of a Sublime box set compilation.

Named after Nowell's grandfather[citation needed], Louie, or "Lou Dog" as he was often called, was Bradley 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 often 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". And in Sublime's most successful radio track, What I Got, Nowell sings, "Livin' with Louie Dog's the only way to stay sane." Lou Dog was named in tribute to Bradley's grandfather, Louie Nowell. He also mentions his Dalmatian in What I Got 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 "Me and Louie run to the party."

In the early 1990s, Lou Dog disappeared for a week. In the video 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" [6] [7]. While Lou was missing Nowell also recorded this song to his home answering machine as a sort of audio lost dog poster.

In many retail and grocery stores throughout America there exists a brand of hard (alcoholic) lemonade called "Sublime Hard Lemonade". On every bottle, regardless of flavor etc there is a paw print and a quote saying "Louie Approved". [citation needed]

Following Nowell's 1996 death, Lou Dog was cared for by Skunk Records co-founder Michael "Miguel" Happoldt. Lou Dog died on September 172001.

Comparisons with Kurt Cobain

Despite the fact that he died before his band Sublime became famous, Nowell has become a pop culture icon in the tradition of Kurt Cobain, to whom Nowell is sometimes compared.[4] In the August 12, 1996, Time Magazine article "When the Music's Over," Christopher John Farley wrote, "Nowell might have been to ska what Kurt Cobain was to grunge a big, blazing talent who introduces the mainstream to a new musical world. Nowell, however, played the Cobain role a bit too well, and Sublime, like Nirvana, will be best remembered as a band with history-making potential that perished before its full potential or, in Sublime's case, before most Americans had even heard of it."

The comparison of Nowell to Cobain might be more substantial than it would at first appear. Nowell had stated that Kurt Cobain was an inspiration whom he aspired to emulate. Nowell occasionally justified his heroin use by reminding family and friends that Kurt Cobain achieved critical acclaim and commercial success despite his drug use. Further, Nowell is said to have believed heroin use was a key ingredient in Cobain's creativity and success. As justification for his own heroin use, Nowell occasionally indicated that he believed drug use would aid him in his musical creativity as well.

Troy Nowell, Bradley Nowell's widow, would later blame Ritalin use for predisposing Bradley Nowell to heroin dependency in his adulthood. Years previous, Courtney Love, widow of Kurt Cobain, made the same comment with regard to the addiction of her own husband. As a child, Kurt Cobain was placed on Ritalin for the same reason as Bradley Nowell: both men were diagnosed with ADD, for which Ritalin was deemed suitable treatment. [5]

Both Nowell's and Cobain's parents divorced during Nowell's and Cobain's respective childhoods, and both seem to have been greatly impacted by the breakdown of their parents' marriages. There has been speculation that both men suffered a lifelong guilt about the divorce of their parents.

On Vh1's Behind the Music: Sublime music journalist Heidi Siegmund Cuda, author of Bradley Nowell: Crazy Fool, predicted future critical praise for Bradley Nowell, stating, "People critically don't think of Brad in terms of the Jim Morrisons and the Kurt Cobains, but they will."

Bradley is referenced in a line from the NOFX song "Doornails". "And this fix is for Bradley", sings Fat Mike. The song is from their album "Wolves in Wolves' Clothing" which is primarily concerned with, and is a tribute to, deceased drug-using punk rock musicians.

Bradley is also the main subject of a song by French Canadian rock band Subb, that mentions Sublime, their musical style, and also Brad's dalmatian, Lou Dog. This song was composed mixing Sublime's lines and thoughts.

See also

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ [2]
  3. ^ [3]
  4. ^ [4]
  5. ^ [5]
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