Bradley Nowell Memorial.
Bradley Nowell Musicians of different styles come and go; some for the money; some for the fame; some for other reasons, but never for the music itself. On very rare occasions, however, you will stumble upon a person who just loves to sing, write, and play music. The most interesting thing about Bradley Nowell was that unlike most musicians, Bradley cared for the fans, for his friends, for his family, and he also had morals. On the Sublime Acoustic album “Bradley Nowell and Friends” Bradley states “I never claimed to be a musician; I always wanted to be a ship builder. [...] No, no. A ship builder, build ships. Wanted to sail around the world just cause it’s round ya know?”. It was this attitude combined with a love for music and for life, that helped make Sublime the band it was, and also made Bradley’s death a tragic event for Sublime fans, Bradley’s family, and for the music world. Bradley James Nowell was born on February 22nd, 1968. He went to college at California State University in Long Beach. There he, along with Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson, formed the band Sublime, a band that would spark three records between the years of 1992 and 1996, and produce an acoustic demo album that was released after Brad’s death. In 1996 Bradley married Troy Dendekker, and together they had a son, Jakob James Nowell. To his fans, Bradley exemplified his music. He was a man who loved what he sang and lived it as well. Musicians like this are few and far between. To his family and friends, Bradley was the epitome of love. Bradley’s father states that “Brad was a loving son, [...] He was very open with his emotions and told me that his wife, Troy, and eleven month old son, Jake, were his special joys in life. [...]He loved his Grandpa Louie and Grandma Mackie, in fact so much that he named his dogs after them. He and his dog Louie were inseparable. Wherever Brad lived or traveled, Lou Dog [Bradley’s nickname for Louie] was there, even sharing his last moments with him” It is evident in the song “Date Rape” that Bradley stood behind certain beliefs. The final verse “The moral of the date rape story, it does not pay to be drunk and horny. But that’s the way, it had to be, they locked him up and threw away the key, But I can’t take pity on men of his kind, even though he now takes it in the behind." This song shows that Bradley felt that rape was a wrong thing, and though these men who commit the crime get raped in prison, that, in the end, they get what they deserve. Bradley had one major contradiction to his love for everyone and his morals. This contradiction came in the narcotic heroin. Bradley’s addiction to heroin would cause him to lie, cheat, and steal; hurt his family and friends; and eventually lead to his death in 1996. Sublime drummer Bud Gaugh said that he “used to hug, sweat, and cry with Bradley during his fight with heroin” Bradley’s wife, Troy Nowell, says in the VH1 documentary on Bradley that “obviously the drug was bigger than the both of us.” According to Troy, Bradley hated what he was doing, and tried to stop numerous times, but the world is ignorant to the fact that this drug, heroin, is extremely physically addictive. “If it were his choice, Bradley would’ve stopped using it, but heroin took ahold of his nerves and entire body." Perhaps the most interesting thing about Bradley Nowell’s addiction to heroin lies in the song “Pool Shark.” The lyrics to the song are “Lyin in my plastic bed, thinking how things weren’t so cool to me, my baby likes to shoot pool. I like lyin naked in my bedroom, tyin on the dinosaur tonight, used to be so cool. But now I’ve got the needle, and I can bleed, but I can’t breathe, take it away but I want more and more, one day I’m gonna lose the war”. The song speaks of “tyin on the dinosaur,” dinosaur being slang for a tourniquet, and is literally about shooting up heroin. “If you ever fall upon video footage of him singing “Pool Shark,” you can easily see the hurt in his face from singing the lyrics” It was as though Bradley really knew that “one day [he] was going to lose the war.” One week after Bradley and Troy married, Bradley Nowell was found dead in his San Francisco motel room; he had overdosed on heroin. At 28 years old, Bradley Nowell died on May 25th, 1996.
