Remembering Bradley Nowell and the Long Beach band’s breakthrough album
On July 30, 1996, Sublime released its self-titled mainstream debut on MCA Records.
Although the Long Beach band had already put out two independent albums, “Sublime” was different. It went on to sell millions of copies worldwide, spawning hit singles including “What I Got,” “Santeria,” “Wrong Way” and “Doin’ Time.” The album was popular on radio and MTV, thanks to an eclectic sound that intertwined elements of punk, ska, reggae, funk and hip-hop, as well as samples from artists like Bob Marley, George Gershwin, The Specials and The Who.
“I vividly remember sitting with my co-workers at the radio station in Tucson, Arizona, when we first heard ‘What I Got,’ and we were like, ‘Wow, this is going to be huge,’ ” former KROQ DJ Ted Stryker said during a recent phone interview. “What did we know? We were a bunch of young idiots, but it was obvious that this band was going to be something great. That band, that album cover, these songs … they are stronger than ever and they still, 25 years later, feel so fresh. It sounds like summer. It sounds like we should be going to the beach. I don’t know if at the time they knew how timeless these songs were going to be.”
For the band and those close to it, Sublime’s breakthrough success also came at a time of great tragedy. Two months before the album was released, 28-yearold vocalist-guitarist Bradley Nowell died of a drug overdose while on tour in San Francisco, leaving behind the band; his wife, Troy Dendekker; and their 11-month old son, Jakob.
Three friends, one dream
Nowell, bassist Eric Wilson and drummer Bud Gaugh formed Sublime in 1988 and played their first show on the Fourth of July on the Peninsula in Long Beach. They quickly became known for their wild shows and attracted the masses with their genreblending sound and songs about pot, parties, crime and social injustice.
“We knew we had something special,” Wilson said during a recent phone interview, recalling that initial gig.
“We always thought we were the greatest band on Earth; we just had to convince everyone else,” Gaugh added with a laugh.
Wilson and Gaugh grew up together, and Gaugh’s dad took the boys to see bands like The Who, The Clash, The Rolling Stones and The Replacements.
“We went to those concerts and it was like, ‘Dude, we’re going to be up there someday,’ ” Gaugh said. “All of the craziness that was going on down in the pit; all of that energy; I just said to Eric, ‘Can you feel it?’ We knew then we had to do it. It was just in us.”
When the pair met Nowell several years later, he introduced them to reggae, roots, ska, two-tone and hip-hop music. Once they pooled their influences and began sampling songs on their own records, Gaugh said it was difficult to book shows because promoters couldn’t categorize the band.
“We couldn’t get a decent gig in Hollywood because you couldn’t put us in a box,” he said. “People would say, ‘What kind of music do you like?’ Well, good music! I like punk, jazz, hiphop and funk. If the music makes you feel something, it’s good music.”
Sublime eventually went on to play established venues like House of Blues Hollywood and even did a stint on the Vans Warped Tour, where the band’s beloved Dalmatian mascot, Lou Dog, bit skaters and got them in trouble. It was never difficult for Sublime to find a backyard party to play, and Gaugh said those were some of his fondest memories.
“One backyard party, there was a half-pipe and when the cops came the guys just kept on skating and we were able to keep playing because we were behind the half-pipe and the cops couldn’t unplug us,” he recalled. “They ended up having to climb over a neighbor’s back fence to shut us down. But hey, we weren’t doing anything bad; we were just having a good time.”
The band released two albums, “40 oz. to Freedom” in 1992 and “Robbin’ the Hood” in 1994, through its own Skunk Records label, founded by Nowell and longtime friend Michael Happoldt. After KROQ (106.7 FM) began spinning the single “Date Rape” in regular rotation in 1995, MCA took notice and signed the band.
In the studio
Sublime hunkered down inside country legend Willie Nelson’s Pedernales Studio in Texas with producers David Kahne and Paul Leary.
“That was the most focused I had ever seen Bradley,” Dendekker said, though Nowell’s drug addiction was steadily worsening. “It was their first grown-up experience in a legit studio that they didn’t have to sneak into or piece together. Paul Leary, he was a serious guy; he didn’t let them and they all had so much respect for him. He really did pull out the best in them. A lot of those songs Bradley wrote there in the studio. He had stuff written, notes on random pieces of paper, but he wrote those songs there.”
After spending time in Texas, the band put the finishing touches on the album at Total Access Recording in Redondo Beach. As the record neared completion, Dendekker said, Nowell was still questioning whether anybody would like his music.
“He’d be like, ‘Do you think they’ll like this song?’ and that was one of the sweetest things about him is that he was just so real,” she said. “He’d record something and then we’d drive around Long Beach in our Bronco and he had a huge system with huge speakers and he’d blast the songs over and over and mess with the buttons until it sounded right. The true test was if the bass made the car rattle; then it was OK. If anyone recognized him while we were out, he was always thrilled. He just couldn’t believe people liked his music.”
One of the reasons Wilson believes the self-titled album still sounds so raw and relevant is because it was done on tape and not digitally.
“Doing it reel-to-reel makes the musicians work harder and concentrate a little more and try not to make so many mistakes because they have to actually cut and paste,” he said. “The poor girl who ran the machine, she had the most responsibility in the whole place. She’d have to cut and paste, and if she screwed up, it was all gone and it wasn’t coming back.”
A lasting legacy
After Nowell died, Sublime effectively disbanded. Wilson, Gaugh and Happoldt went on to form Long Beach Dub All Stars, and later Gaugh and Wilson teamed up with vocalist Rome Ramirez for Sublime With Rome, which has since released three albums and continues to tour.
Though Gaugh is no longer involved in any of the projects, he still plays music for fun. He said it brings a smile when he hears a Sublime song on the radio or a younger artist covering the songs in a club or bar.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” he said. “I was taking my kids to the pool yesterday and they were playing ‘Santeria.’ It’s everywhere; always and honestly, that’s a big thank-you from us to the fans because they are the ones that drive this and give us that love. Without them, there’s no way this music would still be out here today.”
Dendekker said it blows her away to see so many Sublime tattoos and generations of fans wearing Sublime merchandise. Now, the famous Sublime sun logo, created by Long Beach artist Opie Ortiz, can be found on T-shirts being sold at Target, and Dendekker insists her late husband would be tickled by it all.
“To see the T-shirts now in Target, that proves that Sublime isn’t going away and that the legacy isn’t going away,” she said. “It’s mainstream, but it’s still cool, like cool soccer moms are wearing them and buying one for their daughter, too.”
Dendekker said she’s also a big fan of Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey’s 2019 cover of Sublime’s “Doin’ Time.”
“I think she is so sweet and talented and I know Sublime fans were rough on her, but she has been so gracious,” she said. “She’s keeping the legacy alive just by covering it and introducing it to her fan base, which is a lot of young girls. She made it her own and some people don’t get it, but she’s keeping it relevant.”
Commemorating a quarter-century
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the album, the band has several projects in the works. The guys collaborated with Ortiz on “Sublime: $5.00 at the Door,” a true-to-life graphic novel about the origins of the band, which will publish in August through Z2 Comics. Wilson and Gaugh are also working alongside Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, who is producing a range of artists who are remixing or reimagining tracks from the self-titled album for a release later this year.
In 2017, Sublime partnered with San Diego brewer AleSmith to release the Sublime Mexican Lager. The beer is sold at the brewery and in major retailers across Southern California. In honor of the anniversary, Alesmith has released a batch of limitededition cans featuring new artwork from Ortiz.
“When I hear the music or see the merchandise, it doesn’t make me sad anymore; it has become a beautiful thing,” Dendekker said. “The fans keep Bradley alive and I feel blessed in that way. I get messages all of the time from people and from kids saying how the music helped them through a tough time and that’s the coolest thing ever. We’re still affected by his love and music and for that we are really lucky he left such a beautiful body of work that we can all still share.”