Bradley James Nowell February 22, 1968 - May 25, 1996
The death of Bradley Nowell was a painful reality for Sublime fans everywhere. We lost a dear friend, an immensely gifted musician and an incredible performer. The memory of Brad and Sublime will forever stand strong and smile upon all who embrace it. He leaves behind his wife Troy, his bandmates Bud and Eric, and his baby boy Jakob.

If you want to help, please send a donation of any amount to: Jakob James Nowell Scholarship Fund 275 Redondo Ave. Long Beach, CA 90803

"Sublime is a hodgepodge of all types of bands I have been into since I was a kid. Not like I mix it all up on purpose but more like its a subconscious type of thing. As a young kid I was heavily into hard core punk, like the Circle Jerks and Black Flag, then I first heard the ska sound from bands like The Selector and The Specials. I thought this was the best music I had ever heard. Then came the rub a dub style of dance hall reggae music which I've never been able get out of my head since! A little later I was into Run DMC and the whole NWA sound. I was blown away when I heard groups like BDP and KRS-One mixing rap and reggae. It was devastating. Without really trying I now seem to put a dance hall style lyric melody over much of my attempts at writing other types of music.
The bottom line is I love good music and I try to shy away from all these labels that people think are so necessary to slap on music. It seems like people get afraid of a certain music if they can't pigeonhole it to their satisfaction. They will be up all night trying to slap a label on Sublime. Good music is good music, and that should be enough for anybody."

Brad's words capture the essence of the band, which has grown to cult-like status worldwide.

"He was going to do things his way or no way. That's why no band will ever sound like Sublime."