BRADLEY NOWELL TRIBUTE

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drumboyringo94
February 22, 2009

Bradley James Nowell (February 22, 1968 May 25, 1996) was an American musician who served as lead singer and guitarist of the popular genre transcendent band Sublime. He died at 28 from a heroin o...

Bradley James Nowell (February 22, 1968 May 25, 1996) was an American musician who served as lead singer and guitarist of the popular genre transcendent band Sublime. He died at 28 from a heroin overdose shortly before the release of Sublime's self-titled major label debut.

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.

In 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". 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 his artistic creativity, thereby increasing the likelihood that his material would attract the attention of a major label.

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SUBLIME BRADLEY NOWELL BUD GAUGH ERIC WILSON 40 OZ. TO FREEDOM SECOND HAND SMOKE TWO JOINTS SCARLET BEGOINIAS CHICA ME TIPO LET'S GO GET STONED NEW THRASH SANTERIA SEED GUITAR HERO WORLD TOUR TONY HAWK'S UNDERGROUND JAH WONT PAY THE BILLS ROBBIN HOOD STAND BY YOUR VAN LONGBEACH STORIES TALES AND EXAGGERATIONS SAW RED

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BRADLEY NOWELL TRIBUTE

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