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Bradley James Nowell, born on February 28, 1968, seemed bred to be a success in music. His father, James, was a folk guitarist
(along with Brad's uncle and grandfather)who first taught Brad to play at age 7. This allowed young Bradley to play along
with his family at outings. Brad's mother Nancy was said to have a great voice and "perfect pitch." Throughout Brad's
musical career, with styles ranging from punk, thrash, reggae, rock, and everything else, he never strayed too far from his
folk beginnings and is evident in even some late recordings.
Growing up Brad listened to a wide variety of music and implemented it into his own music. Originally Brad got into punk
by listening to bands such as Black Flag, Minor Threat, and the Clash. Later on however, he began listening to ska, with bands
such as The Specials, UB40, and the originators of ska- The Skatalites. Even later he listened to the sounds of Southern California,
such as the rap of N.W.A. and Public Enemy. However, the sound of reggae probably had the most influence on Brad.
Before Brad was even 10, his parents split up and he was under joint-custody. Eventually he was sent to live with his
father James in Long Beach. At 11 Brad went on a trip to Jamaica with his father, where he first heard what he called "sweet
reggae music." After a while, a local musician in Jamaica taught Brad to strum a reggae rhythm on his guitar. Brad fell
in love with this music, and it greatly influenced Sublime.
Perhaps the cause of Brad's interest in so many types of music was the fact he couldn't keep his attention on one thing
for too long. Eventually diagnosed with an attention disorder by school counselors, Brad was given Ritalin to handle the problem.
It is said that the Ritalin may have led to his later drug habit. Brad was a smart boy and incredibly talented. At Wilson
High School he had an A average and played in two reggae bands he started (Hogan's Heroes and Sloppy Seconds). He also met
Eric in high school, who also happened to know Bud (there is Sublime right there, but those 3 didn't play together until later).
In 1986, Brad started college at CSULB where he finally became serious about music and began playing with Sublime after
Eric introduced Brad to Bud. From there, we know about Sublime and the troubles with drugs that Bradley suffered.
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