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When
Bradley Nowell of Sublime killed himself with chemicals he was
on the verge of realizing his lifelong dream of worldwide recognition
of his music and his talent. He had a new bride, a beautiful
baby boy, a great band and huge financial rewards ahead. As with
all who die young, Brad Nowell left far too little of himself
behind. That's why we're sharing with you the following letter
Mawg got from Brad. It is handwritten on both sides of two sheets
of ruled white paper torn from a spiral notebook. The spelling,
etc. are exactly as Brad wrote:
Sept
12 1995
Dear Maug -
Thanx for your letter of Aug 30. It's been over a decade since
I first heard your song "Smoke 2 Joints" on K-ROQ in
L.A. I dug the tune but then they stoped playin' it so I've only
heard it once or twice since then. We jammed the tune when Sublime
hooked up in 88. I had to fake it cuz I barely remembered how
it went. In the studio, we fucked w/ it and dropped some turntables
on there & just generally faked it! I've heard the original
since then and I was trippin' cuz the drums are all roots (one
drop) style & ours is "strait forward" with the
emphasis on the snair drum! I think ours might be a tad faster
too. Whatever. It's a trip, our "Smoke 2" version was
the first Sublime recording I ever heard on the radio. It was
on a Sunday afternoon reggae program on KPFK (college station).
I thought we were the shit after that, full rock stars! I think
the guy played it a couple of times; then I never heard Sublime
on the radio untill Date Rape five years later. Anyways, thanx
for being cool about the tune, use any Sublime songs you guys
want to, no worries!! By the way, when KROQ first put "Smoke
2" in rotation, they always said: "That was the Toyes
from Hawaii". What's up w/that? Thanx for writing and clearing
up the confusion about the song. I was wondering if you and your
brother still play live or if you are in other bands and if you
still jam "reggae". Mabey we could rock out together
next time we are up in Oregan (which will be the middle of next
month - October). I'm looking forward to sharing some of that
super Oregan green w/y'all. Sorry this letter got so long, I'm
stoned to the bone at the moment. The main thing I wanted to
say was thanx for being cool too about the "were only gonna
die" (I always thought it was called "EARLY MAN"!)
cover we did on 40 oz. Everybody else that we covered, or in
some instances sampled, demanded mass cash or, as w/"RAW
HIDE", said we strait up can't use their shit and must take
it off the album or else face some funky law suit. I get the
feeling that most of this publishing shit is handled by some
fucker in a suit and air conditioned office. I doubt the musicians
ever even know what's up. Kinda makes ya wanna just go burn the
fern, eh vern? Got any? Musicians gotta stick togeather and stick
it to the corporate pig useless shitbag fucks who can all suck
my ass. Sorry, just has to get that off my chest! Anywho, I hope
to hook up in the future; if you feel like it call me/leave message
at 310 *** ****/310 *** **** or fax me at 310 *** ****.
Peace
(heart drawing) Bradley singer/songwriter/guitarist "Sublime"
(address)
This
is Mawg now...
Brad & I never did get to jam together. Brad's music speaks
for itself, as does his death. My only comment; If you truly
feel the need to medicate yourself, please put down the chemicals
& stick to the herb.
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