Brad Nowell Years 1986-1988 - MC Naitch

Brad Nowell Years 1986-1988

Words by MC Naitch (Andy Hill)

One way to look at the 1986 to 1988 period was that Brad had few collaborators or musical co-conspirators. It was a solo period when he didn't perform that much in public. He probably played with Eric and others when he returned to Long Beach for the summer of 1987. Sloppy Seconds had ceased to exist when I met Brad in 1986 but the way Brad talked about this group, it never seemed serious or organized. The members were mostly high-schoolers who wanted to party, get laid and play music. The only certain member that I knew of was Eric. Bud might have played drums for them occasionally but I don't think that he was a core member. When Brad ever referred to this band, the main emphasis was on the name of the band as a big joke. I don't think he would ever mentioned it to me if he didn't think that the name was hilarious. I'm pretty sure that Brad occasionally played with a horn section but in which band, I have no frickin' idea. (This is so random and trivial but I think that he played with a girl named Ruth who played the sax.) As for Hogan's Heroes, I can't really trust my memory too much. Maybe he mentioned it to me or I could have just read about them in Crazy Fool. Recordings? I doubt it.

I would be pretty surprised if there were any recordings of Sloppy Seconds or of Hogan's Heroes. You never know but if any one is going to find them then it definitely is Guitar Josh. They would probably be a recording with horrendous quality.

My memories of the 1986-1988 were of Brad listening to tons of music, playing his guitar and singing almost every day, recording the occasional song and writing down songs and other ideas. He was pretty well prepared once Sublime finally formed. I can only remember 1 real show from the Santa Cruz era. It was a solo acoustic show in one of the on-campus coffee shops. I don't think he advertised at all. He just showed up, played a few X covers and other songs that I can't remember and that was it. Not too many people were there. There was also a note-worthy (pun intended) party at which a few guys were playing a gig and Brad just took the mic and blew everyone away. He did some sort of a spontaneous rap (no guitar) and that was it. There were countless private shows in our dorm room and later at our crappy apartment which we dubbed the Pink Palace. Kelly Nowell mentioned this place in Crazy Fool. During the week Brad would play whenever he wanted. It didn't matter if anyone was around or if others were trying to study. This is cliché but it was like it was just another basic human need like eating or sleeping. He had to play and sing. There wasn't that much more to it.

The weekend "private shows" would invariably involve an attractive young female who had a very hard time resisting the aphrodisiac effects of his music. We joked that normal morons like myself would make sure that the mini fridge was stocked with beer before going out on the weekend but Brad only tuned his guitars. I think that Brad recorded some of his music from this period. The best example being the song Ebin. Right before Brad departed Santa Cruz, a few friends came over to the Pink Palace and by hand wrote down many of the songs that Brad had been playing. They copied them from the notebook or notebooks that Brad had been keeping. I remember thinking, "What are they doing?" Obviously they had a lot more foresight than I did but I probably never would have done that anyway. I'm kind of surprised that they have never surfaced. Hopefully Troy has at least the original. (Just don't let G-man get a hold of them. I heard that he would charge a fortune. Just kidding, I'm totally f'ing with you.)

I don't think Brad played any house parties during this time unless he did a few with Eric during the summer of 1987 when he was back in Long Beach and I was back with my parents.

The hair? Oh yes, the hair was very special. Before I met Brad, I don't think I had met a dude with bleached hair before. He generally had long bangs and it was short in the back like it should be. No mullets!!

The second year, he came back to school in the fall and he looked a little different. Maybe his hair was a little longer or something (and he had some new duds). I don't know if he had more of a surfer tan or something or his hair was whiter but the best way to describe him was that he was prettier. (Don't worry, I'm not going Sublime Brokeback Mountain on you). I can't even describe it. He was the same Brad but he just looked a little different. His personality didn't change a bit though. He was the same intelligent thrasher that I knew. His wild and reckless streak was still there with the same passion for music.