Brad Nowell played his last show with his band Sublime on May 24, 1996 at the Phoenix Theatre in Petaluma, California. Sublime had just kicked off a quick five day tour a month before the release of their self-titled major label album debut “Sublime“. Here are some photos from his final show.
Brad who just a week earlier had married the mother of his child, Troy Dendekkerand in Las Vegas, had been clean for 5 months but shot up before the show and played the show high.
The Phoenix Theatre is located at 201 Washington St, Petaluma, CA 94952. Here is what the venue looks like…
After the show Brad partied into the night in San Francisco where Sublime was to play the following night. After checking into the Oceanview Motel, Brad trailed off with someone to score dope and wasn’t seen the rest of the night.
Oceanview Motel – 4340 Judah Street San Francisco, CA 94122
Brad arose early to the sound of crashing waves. He tried to rouse his bandmates to come and watch the surf with him but they were all hungover and told him no. Brad then called his wife and told her he loved her and played her thier song on guitar “Santa Monica” by Everclear. He then took his dog “Lou Dog” for a walk on the beach before coming back to the motel room he was sharing with drummer Bud Gaugh. Brad then shot up for the last time.
Gaugh woke up to find Nowell lying half way across a bed, with his knees and feet on the floor. At first, he assumed he had been too intoxicated to get into bed but upon further inspection he noticed a green film around his mouth. It quickly became obvious that Brad had overdosed on the heroin that he bought in Chico, California. Gaugh tried CPR…then flushed all the drugs down the toilet and called 911. It was to late, Bradley Nowell was pronounced dead on the scene at the age of 28 with “Lou Dog” at his side.
R.I.P. Bradley Nowell (February 22, 1968 – May 25, 1996)
Which room # did Bradley die in?