1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:14,560 Speaker 1: Disgraceland as a production of Double Elvis. The stories about 2 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:19,239 Speaker 1: Sublime are insane. At their first show, they incited a 3 00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:23,160 Speaker 1: riot so massive that forty cops and a police helicopter 4 00:00:23,239 --> 00:00:26,639 Speaker 1: were needed to break it up. They've vanalyzed their record 5 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:30,720 Speaker 1: label's headquarters and managed to land the sixth album deal regardless. 6 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:35,280 Speaker 1: They once did unspeakable deeds to a Denny's kitchen using 7 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: their mobile home septic tank. Their lead singer, Bradley Knowell, 8 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:42,640 Speaker 1: racked up a rehab tab of nearly half a million 9 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:48,639 Speaker 1: dollars thanks to his gripping heroin habit. Sublime's musical legacy 10 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:53,479 Speaker 1: is inseparable from their reputation as hoodlums and heatonists, in 11 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:58,040 Speaker 1: part because those are precisely the people's Sublime wrote songs about. 12 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:01,760 Speaker 1: With their new fangled sky ah punk, they preached the 13 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 1: gospel of Long Beach's CD shores. Unlike any band before them, 14 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:12,200 Speaker 1: Sublime was born in California, raised in California, and before 15 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:17,080 Speaker 1: they could get much farther, Sublime died in California. Two 16 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:22,880 Speaker 1: but before their untimely end, Sublime made great music. That 17 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:24,840 Speaker 1: loop I played for you at the top of the 18 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:29,120 Speaker 1: show that wasn't great music. That was a preset loop 19 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:32,960 Speaker 1: from my melotron called Panni Raid Parade MK. 20 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:34,000 Speaker 2: One. 21 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:37,600 Speaker 1: I played you that loop because I can't afford the 22 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:42,480 Speaker 1: rights to the Crossroads by Bone Thugs and Harmony. And 23 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:46,319 Speaker 1: why would I play you that specific slice of translucent 24 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:50,680 Speaker 1: ghost Cheese? Could I afford it? Because that was the 25 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:55,080 Speaker 1: number one song in America on May fifth, nineteen ninety six, 26 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:58,760 Speaker 1: And that was the day that Sublime singer Bradley knowl 27 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:05,680 Speaker 1: unknowingly formed for the final time. In this episode, massive Riots, 28 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:10,799 Speaker 1: police Helicopters, Unspeakable Deeds, rehab in the Preachers of Long 29 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:15,959 Speaker 1: Beach Sublime, I'm Jake Brennan in This. 30 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:17,400 Speaker 2: Is Disgrace Landing. 31 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:43,520 Speaker 1: If Bradley Noel's face had hit the sand any harder, 32 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 1: it would have left Mark. A sprinting body slammed into 33 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:50,919 Speaker 1: him from behind. He flew face first into the beach, 34 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 1: gobbling a mouthful of sand. His vision went black for 35 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:57,800 Speaker 1: a moment, but his well trained ears told him the 36 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:03,560 Speaker 1: rest scream shrieking teenage girls, shrieking frat boys fleeing Fourth 37 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:07,919 Speaker 1: of July picnics, college kids sprinting while spilling their precious beer, 38 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 1: Looters trying not to spill their bounty, bodies colliding, broken bottles, 39 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:17,160 Speaker 1: slicing open bare feet. Firecrackers lit before the chaos snapped 40 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:20,440 Speaker 1: in the background. Those pissed the cops off the most. 41 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 1: One fell to the ground next to Brad and popped 42 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:24,400 Speaker 1: directly in his ear. 43 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:26,840 Speaker 2: Fuck that was loud. 44 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:31,040 Speaker 1: He couldn't see Long Beach's finest, but he could hear them. 45 00:03:31,639 --> 00:03:35,680 Speaker 1: Beach goers knocking into helmets and chest protectors, clinking handcuffs 46 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:36,800 Speaker 1: For the unlucky. 47 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:38,280 Speaker 2: Ones who couldn't run fast enough. 48 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:41,880 Speaker 1: The cops were trying to herd or riot to where. 49 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: Brad had no clue. The cops didn't seem to know either. 50 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 1: They were on the Long Beach Peninsula, for Christ's sake. 51 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:51,800 Speaker 1: There weren't many places to put four hundred people, so 52 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:58,880 Speaker 1: they suited up and started making arrests instead. Half of 53 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:02,080 Speaker 1: these people hadn't done anything wrong. Half of these people 54 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:04,480 Speaker 1: had just been on the peninsula to sea Brad's new 55 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:08,040 Speaker 1: bands Sublime perform. To throw back a few beers on 56 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:12,760 Speaker 1: a paid holiday didn't matter to the cops. Anyone present 57 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:14,720 Speaker 1: could have been one of the rabble rousing moters who 58 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:17,920 Speaker 1: had torn apart the center of town. Something about the 59 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:21,160 Speaker 1: rugged reggae rock Sublime had dished out that evening gave 60 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:24,960 Speaker 1: onlookers an itch to act out. In itch, they scratched 61 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:28,120 Speaker 1: by smashing the windows of nearby stores in between smashing 62 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:32,040 Speaker 1: empty beer bottles on the street. First there were ten 63 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:36,080 Speaker 1: cops staying cool, trying to keep everyone cool, and then 64 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:39,839 Speaker 1: that one fucker lighting off fireworks ruined it for everybody. 65 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:44,520 Speaker 1: Around nine pm, forty more officers arrived and they were 66 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:48,120 Speaker 1: itching to bring some new faces downtown. Anyone who didn't 67 00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:50,840 Speaker 1: vacate the peninsula in the next ten minutes. 68 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:52,440 Speaker 2: Was leaving in the back of a cruiser. 69 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 1: As people scrambled across the beach, the remaining troublemakers retaliated 70 00:04:57,520 --> 00:05:01,320 Speaker 1: with a slew of carefully aided roaming candles, and Brad's 71 00:05:01,400 --> 00:05:05,680 Speaker 1: band Sublime, had been the soundtrack to the chaos up 72 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:09,680 Speaker 1: until a few minutes ago. At least the melee swarmed 73 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:13,040 Speaker 1: around him. It hummed like an agitated drunken bee hive 74 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:16,359 Speaker 1: in a wait. That was the police chopper descending from overhead. 75 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:17,920 Speaker 2: Time to get the hell out of here. 76 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:22,640 Speaker 1: Brad dragged himself to his knees, squinting through the sudden 77 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:27,640 Speaker 1: sandstorm grains of sand stung his eyes, chopped his lips. Then, 78 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:31,359 Speaker 1: from behind another body, a hand gripped his shoulder. This 79 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:35,920 Speaker 1: time Bud goal his drummer, vans loaded. Let's go, he 80 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:38,799 Speaker 1: shouted over the date of the chopper. He pulled Brad 81 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:41,640 Speaker 1: to his feet. They sprinted across the sand, forced a 82 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:45,680 Speaker 1: path through the throng of bodies. Then Brad spotted him. 83 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:47,920 Speaker 1: Their van pulled over on the side of the road 84 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:51,599 Speaker 1: a few blocks ahead their new north Star. He and 85 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:55,560 Speaker 1: Bud scampered past broken store windows, skipped over forties broken 86 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:59,080 Speaker 1: in the street, over coolers and solo cups. It was 87 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:02,040 Speaker 1: a game of fourth of Live Frogger. Some dumbass who 88 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:04,720 Speaker 1: hadn't learned their lesson was still rocketing fireworks from a 89 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:09,680 Speaker 1: nearby rooftop. As Brad and Bud approached. Eric Wilson, their 90 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:13,359 Speaker 1: bassist in today's Getaway, driver, threw open the backseat door 91 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:17,240 Speaker 1: with expert timing. Brad and Bud stuck the landing, crashed 92 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:20,640 Speaker 1: into the back seat, slammed the door immediately, and for 93 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:24,960 Speaker 1: a moment it was silent. Bud and Brad panted, Fuck, 94 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:29,479 Speaker 1: you're waiting for drive, Bud said between breaths. Eric was unfazed, 95 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:34,320 Speaker 1: he twisted around from the driver's seat to face his bandmates. 96 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:39,000 Speaker 1: Pretty good for a first show, right. Not every Sublime 97 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:42,480 Speaker 1: show erupted into chaos like the first one. That one 98 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:46,640 Speaker 1: earned its own nickname, the infamous Peninsular Riot of nineteen 99 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:50,680 Speaker 1: eighty eight. Seven arrests in the books, multiple articles in 100 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:54,040 Speaker 1: the local papers, none of which mentioned the band's involvement. 101 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:55,080 Speaker 2: If you could call it. 102 00:06:55,080 --> 00:07:01,720 Speaker 1: That, most of their early show were like today, in 103 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:05,119 Speaker 1: a neighborhood far from the Long Beach Peninsula. The house 104 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:09,080 Speaker 1: has changed, but the environment was always the same. Moldy 105 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:13,200 Speaker 1: basements with no breathing room, sweaty bodies packed to fire 106 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:16,960 Speaker 1: hazard levels, condensation on the walls thick enough to make 107 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:17,640 Speaker 1: you queasy. 108 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:20,400 Speaker 2: It would be no rock club club today. 109 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:24,200 Speaker 1: Sublime was in the seatier section of town, nestled far 110 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:27,880 Speaker 1: away from the watchful eyes of the police. Brad liked 111 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:31,239 Speaker 1: it better around here, anyways, where everyone was on equal 112 00:07:31,280 --> 00:07:36,320 Speaker 1: footing street parks, surfers, skaters, gangsters, all pressed shouldered to 113 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:41,520 Speaker 1: shoulder in basements, in backyards inhanalling the same secondhand smoke, 114 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:45,440 Speaker 1: pissing in the same clogged toilets, drinking from the same 115 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:48,520 Speaker 1: keg of cheap beer in some cases. 116 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:49,800 Speaker 2: Shooting up with the same needles. 117 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:55,520 Speaker 1: Brad watched it all unfold with solemn arm, smoking a 118 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:56,520 Speaker 1: couple of joints. 119 00:07:56,640 --> 00:07:57,960 Speaker 2: That was one thing. 120 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:00,880 Speaker 1: You could smoke two joints before you smoked another two 121 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:01,560 Speaker 1: joints and what. 122 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:04,360 Speaker 2: Made you giggle? He munched on a few too many. 123 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:08,480 Speaker 1: Potato chips before passing out on the sofa heroin. Though 124 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:13,760 Speaker 1: heroin was a straight up life ruinner, Brad respected that 125 00:08:13,880 --> 00:08:15,960 Speaker 1: kind of power more accurately. 126 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:18,120 Speaker 2: He feared it. Hell. 127 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:20,119 Speaker 1: Even the riddle and he had taken as a kid 128 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:23,400 Speaker 1: changed the way he saw drugs. He was popping those 129 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:26,400 Speaker 1: every day at only ten years old, for add and 130 00:08:26,480 --> 00:08:31,120 Speaker 1: he knew how dependencies worked. So when the needles came out, 131 00:08:31,520 --> 00:08:35,880 Speaker 1: sometimes Brad averted his gaze, but more often he watched 132 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:39,559 Speaker 1: took mental notes. He was bad at hiding his fascination. 133 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:43,480 Speaker 1: The partygoer studied him back, and they noted the way 134 00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:45,559 Speaker 1: his left hand was cocked at an awkward angle and 135 00:08:45,679 --> 00:08:48,560 Speaker 1: he played guitar. A careless fall from a tree as 136 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:52,040 Speaker 1: a teenager had damaged his wrist, which never healed properly. 137 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:54,880 Speaker 2: It had literally altered his bone structure. 138 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:57,800 Speaker 1: He could have had it corrected by a doctor if 139 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:00,880 Speaker 1: you wanted break it again, and said it early this time, 140 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:05,000 Speaker 1: but he didn't want to. When an audience listened to Sublime, 141 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:09,240 Speaker 1: they heard themselves. They heard neurly stories, sweetened by Brad's 142 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:13,360 Speaker 1: smooth like honey voice. Sublime didn't pedal that some kissed 143 00:09:13,400 --> 00:09:16,720 Speaker 1: candy coated bullshit about California the way the television did. 144 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:21,200 Speaker 1: Sublime dressed down tinsel Town with trash tails, wrapped it 145 00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:23,480 Speaker 1: all up in a style that was too fast to 146 00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:26,600 Speaker 1: be true reggae, but too tropical to be true punk. 147 00:09:27,559 --> 00:09:30,719 Speaker 1: People heard pages torn from their own diaries, taken right 148 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:35,720 Speaker 1: from the streets because Sublime paid attention. Brad paid attention. 149 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:42,400 Speaker 1: One of the band's earliest tunes, Date Rape, got their 150 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:46,560 Speaker 1: crowds all kinds of worked up. It was vulgar skanky, 151 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 1: a cautionary tale for the creeps. Its stomping baseline obliterated 152 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:54,120 Speaker 1: the unpleasant subject matter and jolted awake. Even the most 153 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:58,200 Speaker 1: stoned and stupefied crowds in inevitably got the neighbors banging 154 00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:02,320 Speaker 1: on the front door, bitching about the no Either way, 155 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:06,120 Speaker 1: people were talking about Sublime. People told their friends, who 156 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:09,240 Speaker 1: told their classmates who told their friends a new party 157 00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:11,600 Speaker 1: would be booked before Sublime could even encore at the 158 00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:15,679 Speaker 1: current one. After a year or two, it was official. 159 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:19,400 Speaker 1: It wasn't a party in Long Beach if Sublime wasn't playing, 160 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:21,880 Speaker 1: and if the cops didn't break the party up, and 161 00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:24,520 Speaker 1: they often did, Sublime would usually leave with two hundred 162 00:10:24,559 --> 00:10:27,040 Speaker 1: dollars in cash in their pockets and three bellies full 163 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:30,000 Speaker 1: of beer. But Brad got something more out of it. 164 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:35,760 Speaker 1: He got stories, real stories, the hookers, the dealers that 165 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:39,360 Speaker 1: depressed the drug he cataloged at all he saw the 166 00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:42,320 Speaker 1: same things as the kids he performed for saw they 167 00:10:42,360 --> 00:10:46,599 Speaker 1: had a mutual understanding. But Brad needed more from Sublime. 168 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:49,720 Speaker 1: He didn't want to be a star in California. He 169 00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:53,680 Speaker 1: wanted to be a star from California, out preaching the 170 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:56,800 Speaker 1: gospel of the fiend's friends and fuck ups he surrounded 171 00:10:56,840 --> 00:11:01,080 Speaker 1: himself with. When he looked inside himself, envisioned to prophet, 172 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:06,319 Speaker 1: he'd be their underdog, their champion, the most qualified. 173 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:07,599 Speaker 2: Man in the LBCNE. 174 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:37,840 Speaker 1: Brad's bed frame rattled as he kicked the sheets off. 175 00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:41,840 Speaker 1: Sweat coated every part of his body, his forehead, his 176 00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:45,880 Speaker 1: chest pooled on his stomach. Beads formed around his brows 177 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:48,480 Speaker 1: and then dripped into his eyes with a salty sting. 178 00:11:49,559 --> 00:11:53,600 Speaker 1: If he wasn't crying already, he was now. The sheets 179 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:57,240 Speaker 1: were still sticking to him. He thrashed around more, which 180 00:11:57,280 --> 00:11:59,480 Speaker 1: spurred on a muscle spasm in his left leg. 181 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:00,400 Speaker 2: Fuck. 182 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:02,959 Speaker 1: He gripped the edge of the bed while he wrote 183 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:07,760 Speaker 1: it out, knuckles white teeth gnashing. The spasm hurt like 184 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:12,440 Speaker 1: a motherfucker. It hurt almost as bad as the heroin withdraws. 185 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:15,959 Speaker 1: Somewhere along the line, his morbid fascination with the drug 186 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:19,240 Speaker 1: had gotten the best of him. When Brad shot up 187 00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:22,560 Speaker 1: for the first time, he hadn't pictured this. He hadn't 188 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:24,280 Speaker 1: pictured much of anything. 189 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:24,720 Speaker 2: Really. 190 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:29,320 Speaker 1: He just wanted more, more from himself, more from his band. 191 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:32,719 Speaker 1: He knew better music was in there, buried inside of him. 192 00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:35,680 Speaker 1: He just needed to draw it out, so he drew 193 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:41,439 Speaker 1: it out by injecting himself with dope. Brad's concerns about 194 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:44,520 Speaker 1: not reaching his full potential as a musician had tipped 195 00:12:44,559 --> 00:12:48,320 Speaker 1: the scales. He no longer feared heroin. He feared what 196 00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:53,320 Speaker 1: his career would be without heroin. It was nineteen ninety three. 197 00:12:53,880 --> 00:12:58,440 Speaker 1: Time to make real moves. Those first recordings, they were good, 198 00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:01,840 Speaker 1: but they didn't dig deep. In jo Won't Pay the 199 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:05,520 Speaker 1: Bills was admirably scrappy, but the album wasn't about to 200 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:08,840 Speaker 1: pay any of his bills either. Forty Ounces to Freedom 201 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:11,400 Speaker 1: had been his most recent project, but even that record 202 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:14,920 Speaker 1: hadn't left the West Coast. They nailed the style, sky 203 00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:17,480 Speaker 1: punker or whatever their fans were calling it these days, 204 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:22,480 Speaker 1: but the storytelling needed a lift. Sublime had real skin 205 00:13:22,559 --> 00:13:25,679 Speaker 1: in the game now. John Phillips and an our intern 206 00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:28,400 Speaker 1: from Gasoline, ally in no relation to anyone in the 207 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:31,720 Speaker 1: Mamas and the Papas, had taken serious interest in the band, 208 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:34,839 Speaker 1: such an interest that he casually invited the band to 209 00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:39,400 Speaker 1: his house in Los Angeles to perform. Sublime had graduated 210 00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:43,160 Speaker 1: from Long Beach basements to Hollywood Hills living rooms. They 211 00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:46,920 Speaker 1: were so close. The knowledge made Brad lean into his 212 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:50,960 Speaker 1: lopsided relationship with heroin even harder. He leaned in so 213 00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:53,800 Speaker 1: hard that he couldn't tell where the benefits ended and 214 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:58,160 Speaker 1: where the drawbacks began. Heroin makes you more creative, or 215 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:01,280 Speaker 1: so with the attic logic, so of course you take 216 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:05,240 Speaker 1: more heroin. But the heroin also makes you nod off, drowsy, dumb, 217 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:07,400 Speaker 1: so you lay off it for a while. But the 218 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:10,280 Speaker 1: withdrawals make you itch, make you sweat, make you puke, 219 00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:13,560 Speaker 1: make you crazy, so you score more, shoot up, you 220 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:15,720 Speaker 1: write some of the best songs of your life, and 221 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:19,120 Speaker 1: then you can't even stay awake long enough to record them. 222 00:14:19,320 --> 00:14:21,360 Speaker 1: But whether or not it made sense to quit Heroin 223 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:23,680 Speaker 1: dependent on the day, dependent on the hour, depended on 224 00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:28,720 Speaker 1: what Brad ate for breakfast. A few hours ago, kicking 225 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:31,760 Speaker 1: seemed like a good idea, and now, lying in a 226 00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:36,400 Speaker 1: veritable swamp of sweat, skull throbbing, muscles twitching not so much. 227 00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:39,840 Speaker 1: Stepping outside to score on the streets of Long Beach 228 00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:44,120 Speaker 1: would be so easy. Brad tried to relax his muscles 229 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:48,440 Speaker 1: for a moment, unclenched, his jaw exiled, no use. The 230 00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:52,160 Speaker 1: needles kept drilling into his skull. His body felt locked 231 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:55,280 Speaker 1: in a tremor. Why was he doing this to himself? 232 00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:59,040 Speaker 1: It wasn't going to change anything. Rehab hadn't even changed anything. 233 00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 1: He knew that from experience. He had already gone once 234 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:05,200 Speaker 1: in nineteen ninety two and left after a few days unsuccessful, 235 00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:08,640 Speaker 1: and relapsed too many times to count. Why couldn't he 236 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:14,040 Speaker 1: get his shit together? Budd had he had stepped away 237 00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:16,560 Speaker 1: from the band for a while, did his time in rehab. 238 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:19,400 Speaker 1: Sure it was taken a couple tries, but he was 239 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:21,840 Speaker 1: in the best shape of his life. And Eric, he 240 00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:24,560 Speaker 1: never even touched her when to begin with Smart Kid. 241 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:27,280 Speaker 1: They still got into trouble. That was their brand, after all, 242 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:29,680 Speaker 1: that was their band, but not the kind of trouble 243 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:33,600 Speaker 1: Bradley was dabbling in. There were little patterns the band 244 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:37,000 Speaker 1: began to notice. Their gear had started to grow legs 245 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:41,000 Speaker 1: before shows and show up in local pawn shops. Miguel's 246 00:15:41,040 --> 00:15:44,000 Speaker 1: Sublime's manager would have to track down amps and instruments 247 00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:47,040 Speaker 1: before curtain call and buy them back on his own dime. 248 00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:51,960 Speaker 1: Bradley's father had noticed, too, trinkets disappearing from his house 249 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:55,120 Speaker 1: when Brad visited, antiques that no one would even notice 250 00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:58,880 Speaker 1: were missing until long after they were gone. The guilt 251 00:15:59,040 --> 00:16:01,640 Speaker 1: nod at Brad's stomach while he pot at the air. 252 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:05,360 Speaker 1: Remorse smacked him harder when he was this delirious, When 253 00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:07,960 Speaker 1: he was quote unquote doing time, as he called it, 254 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:11,840 Speaker 1: Blue Dog, his beloved dalmatian, hopped under the bed next 255 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:15,480 Speaker 1: to him and watched with concern. There was another thing. 256 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:19,280 Speaker 1: Brad had started getting virgins high, people who had never 257 00:16:19,320 --> 00:16:23,200 Speaker 1: tried heroin before. It was an unspoken rule and sublime 258 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:26,440 Speaker 1: circle that he didn't shoot up newbies, and there was 259 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:29,880 Speaker 1: even a term for people who did what Brad was doing, badfish. 260 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:33,560 Speaker 1: But Brad couldn't contain himself. He wanted to share the 261 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:36,960 Speaker 1: forbidden ritual that made him so giddy that dizzy ascent 262 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:43,920 Speaker 1: to euphoria brutal. But there was no euphoria now. He 263 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:47,600 Speaker 1: felt his body was crashing, like being dropped on cement 264 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:51,000 Speaker 1: over and over again, like being bowled over on the 265 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:53,440 Speaker 1: beach that day of their first show, Christ that felt 266 00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:56,280 Speaker 1: like a lifetime ago. And for every ounce of certainty 267 00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:58,760 Speaker 1: he had about becoming a star, he had two ounces 268 00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:00,960 Speaker 1: of doubt that he'd never be able to get truly clean, 269 00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:03,760 Speaker 1: and that he was destined to be a junkie forever. 270 00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:07,239 Speaker 1: Speaking of ances, he could really go for one right 271 00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:12,080 Speaker 1: about now. Stepping outside would be so easy. He sat 272 00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:14,720 Speaker 1: up in bed and waited until the room stopped spinning 273 00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:20,200 Speaker 1: to speak, Come on, Louis, let's go for a walk. 274 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:26,919 Speaker 1: October nineteen ninety three. John Phillips stood outside of the 275 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:30,199 Speaker 1: door of his uncle's office at Gasolene Alley for the 276 00:17:30,280 --> 00:17:33,000 Speaker 1: third time that day. He raised a trembling fist and 277 00:17:33,119 --> 00:17:36,920 Speaker 1: knocked on his uncle's store. Randy Phillips the store, the 278 00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:40,960 Speaker 1: president of gasoline Alley's store, as John let himself in 279 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:44,280 Speaker 1: a gaggle of suits, turned back to look at him wordlessly. 280 00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:48,240 Speaker 1: We have to make time for Sublime. They're restless, John said. 281 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:50,280 Speaker 1: He tried to find a way to put it nicely. 282 00:17:51,119 --> 00:17:53,159 Speaker 1: Randy shook his head without even looking out from the 283 00:17:53,160 --> 00:17:55,840 Speaker 1: paperwork in front of him. The R and B group 284 00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:58,480 Speaker 1: Shy was currently in the building, and at that very 285 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:02,280 Speaker 1: moment in pop culture was the cash cow. Young women 286 00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:04,840 Speaker 1: were flocking to the vocal group with fistfuls of cash 287 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:08,119 Speaker 1: in the early nineteen nineties, and as such, Shy was 288 00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:12,199 Speaker 1: the priority. Besides, Randy Phillips didn't rearrange his day for 289 00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:16,560 Speaker 1: filthy skate punks. John Phillips's uncle didn't get it. None 290 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:19,720 Speaker 1: of the suits staring at him got it either. John 291 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:22,920 Speaker 1: bet the farm on this band. He hand picked Sublime 292 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:26,359 Speaker 1: to be the first band he himself ever signed. He 293 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:29,439 Speaker 1: had heard, the potential, seen, the potential. Forty ounces to 294 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:33,240 Speaker 1: Freedom was unreal the next Nirvana, John thought that or 295 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:37,040 Speaker 1: a scussy kunt of beach boys. They packaged California in 296 00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:40,320 Speaker 1: an honest way that made locals proud and outsiders jealous. 297 00:18:41,280 --> 00:18:43,720 Speaker 1: These white collar basterds just didn't get it, which was 298 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:46,000 Speaker 1: the bad news for them, missing out on a chance 299 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:49,440 Speaker 1: to sign a band like this. But it was also 300 00:18:49,560 --> 00:18:52,520 Speaker 1: bad news considering that a few floors below them. At 301 00:18:52,560 --> 00:18:57,000 Speaker 1: that very moment, Sublime was shall we say, redecorating John's 302 00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:01,640 Speaker 1: office again louder this time, Bradley said, flicking the cap 303 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:04,359 Speaker 1: off another beer, gesturing for Eric to hit play on 304 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:07,880 Speaker 1: Robin the Hood for the upteenth time that day. They 305 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:10,440 Speaker 1: had come prepared with their newest effort and had promptly 306 00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:14,160 Speaker 1: popped it into John CD player. What they hadn't considered 307 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:18,040 Speaker 1: is that they had showed up unannounced. Suits don't do 308 00:19:18,280 --> 00:19:21,960 Speaker 1: spontaneous They don't do same day deals either, but that 309 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:24,960 Speaker 1: had been the expectation when Sublime, lou Dog, and a 310 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:28,920 Speaker 1: handful of other confidants strolled into Gasoline Alley headquarters that day, 311 00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:32,520 Speaker 1: ready to ink some contracts and cash some hefty checks. 312 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:36,440 Speaker 1: Brad in particular wanted that hefty check he already knew 313 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:37,000 Speaker 1: what he'd. 314 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:37,320 Speaker 2: Spend it on. 315 00:19:38,840 --> 00:19:41,520 Speaker 1: In the hours since they arrived, the band made themselves 316 00:19:41,560 --> 00:19:45,800 Speaker 1: a little too comfortable in John Phillips's office. Furniture had 317 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:50,720 Speaker 1: been rearranged, Bottles cluttered every open surface, Popcorn crumbs, cigarette 318 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:53,600 Speaker 1: butts and ashes littered the carpet. Serve them right for 319 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:56,760 Speaker 1: not having a proper ash train. But as their stash 320 00:19:56,800 --> 00:19:59,880 Speaker 1: of liquor and weed ran low, so did Sublime's pace. 321 00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:02,920 Speaker 1: Where's the bathroom in this place? I got a piss, 322 00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:06,560 Speaker 1: Eric said, setting down an empty looks like Ludog does too, 323 00:20:06,600 --> 00:20:09,359 Speaker 1: he said, gesturing to the Dalmatian, who had started to 324 00:20:09,359 --> 00:20:13,040 Speaker 1: shift around uncomfortably doing the I gotta go a squirm. 325 00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:15,480 Speaker 1: He'll be fine, Brad said, with a twinkle in his 326 00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:19,080 Speaker 1: eye that insinuated that it would not be fine. Rather, 327 00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:22,800 Speaker 1: the carpet would not be fine. As Eric returned from 328 00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:25,640 Speaker 1: the bathroom, he could smell the pot from down the hallway, 329 00:20:26,119 --> 00:20:28,159 Speaker 1: and then he smelled the dog shit, and then he 330 00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:32,040 Speaker 1: saw the dog shit. Time to bounce all the way 331 00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:34,679 Speaker 1: out of the parking lot. Something caught Brad's eye, the 332 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:37,760 Speaker 1: glimmer of a classic BMW that just so happened to 333 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:41,639 Speaker 1: be parked in Randy Phillips's reserve spot. He slapped a 334 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:45,399 Speaker 1: homemade Sublime bumper sticker on his pristine rear rim, a 335 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:48,600 Speaker 1: second subtle insult to pair with the dog shit reeking 336 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:51,920 Speaker 1: in the office. John faced the wrath of his uncle 337 00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:57,520 Speaker 1: later that day. Finally, someone say incredibly. Nine months later, 338 00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:02,159 Speaker 1: John miraculously secured a six record deal for Sublime. The 339 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:05,040 Speaker 1: suits looked past the incidents for the sake of shutting 340 00:21:05,119 --> 00:21:08,840 Speaker 1: them up. John didn't care. Neither it Sublime. This was 341 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:11,959 Speaker 1: the big win they had been waiting for. John stopped 342 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:14,119 Speaker 1: by his uncle's desk one afternoon as he drew up 343 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:16,760 Speaker 1: the contracts. They're worth it, but I have to warn 344 00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:19,199 Speaker 1: you they do have some issues. They can be a 345 00:21:19,200 --> 00:21:22,760 Speaker 1: bit of a handful. John's uncle, Randy Phillips, looked up 346 00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:24,000 Speaker 1: from his desks this time. 347 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:30,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, no shit, We'll be right back after this word 348 00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:31,840 Speaker 2: word word. 349 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:42,080 Speaker 1: November two, nineteen ninety five, Portland, Oregon, Sublime pulled into 350 00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:44,440 Speaker 1: the parking lot of a deserted Denny's, just a few 351 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:47,719 Speaker 1: miles from Roseland Hill, where they had just crushed their 352 00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:50,960 Speaker 1: most recent show with Lords of Brooklyn and Wesley Willis 353 00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:57,240 Speaker 1: The Green LCD Clock on their dashboard read two two am. 354 00:21:57,440 --> 00:22:00,320 Speaker 1: It was time to indulge in a great American touring tree, addition, 355 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:03,719 Speaker 1: eating diner slob in the wee hours of the morning. 356 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:08,920 Speaker 1: But one particular Denny's was denying Sublime that rite of passage, 357 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:12,200 Speaker 1: This sad excuse of a Denny's had closed an hour 358 00:22:12,320 --> 00:22:17,400 Speaker 1: prior a waiter reluctantly let them inside. Anyways, what kind 359 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:20,840 Speaker 1: of horseshit is this Denny's closed? Wasn't that the whole 360 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:24,440 Speaker 1: point that they were never closed? No one chooses a Denny's. 361 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:26,520 Speaker 1: You were forced to go to a Denny's because nothing 362 00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:29,600 Speaker 1: else is open. They had a twist of waitress's arm 363 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:33,000 Speaker 1: to even seat them. In hindsight, they should have high 364 00:22:33,040 --> 00:22:37,320 Speaker 1: tailed it. Then, the late night breakfast they received was inedible, 365 00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:42,399 Speaker 1: even by touring band standards. Soggy pancakes, merely hash browns, 366 00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:44,840 Speaker 1: overcooked bacon that resembled well worn leather. 367 00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:49,600 Speaker 2: Wardo, one of Sublime's faithful roadies, ordered chicken fried steak. 368 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:52,480 Speaker 1: It arrived looking like it had just been retrieved from 369 00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:53,480 Speaker 1: the trash. 370 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:54,680 Speaker 2: He swore there were. 371 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:58,600 Speaker 1: Already bites missing, and that was it. Half the food 372 00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:02,040 Speaker 1: returned to the kitchen untouched. The band started hatching their 373 00:23:02,040 --> 00:23:05,720 Speaker 1: plan for a swift departure, but a new waiter interrupted 374 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:09,240 Speaker 1: the grumbling, is that your motorhome up back? Or having 375 00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:11,320 Speaker 1: it towed? Oh? 376 00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:12,160 Speaker 2: Hell no. 377 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:17,080 Speaker 1: Bud and Wardo rushed into the parking lot before the 378 00:23:17,119 --> 00:23:20,320 Speaker 1: tow truck could arrive. As they ripped open the motorhome's door, 379 00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:23,399 Speaker 1: Wardo got an idea. Wardo had caught a whiff of 380 00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:27,040 Speaker 1: the motor home septic tank. The overflowing basin dribbled a 381 00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:30,800 Speaker 1: mix of shit, pissed puke, and gnarly blue disinfectant. Every 382 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:33,960 Speaker 1: time they turned a corner too fast. You could smell 383 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:37,040 Speaker 1: it even if it hadn't spilled earlier that day, and 384 00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:39,280 Speaker 1: that if it had, well, let's hope you had a 385 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:43,119 Speaker 1: military grade air freshener. The fucker was full, but not 386 00:23:43,359 --> 00:23:47,679 Speaker 1: for long. Put the sing in reverse, the pair backed 387 00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:49,760 Speaker 1: the motor home up to the back doors of the 388 00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:53,800 Speaker 1: Denny's kitchen. The motorhome septic tank pomp lined up perfectly 389 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:56,520 Speaker 1: with the air vents at the bottom of the restaurant's doors. 390 00:23:57,359 --> 00:24:00,440 Speaker 1: Wardo stepped outside and removed the septic tank cap. 391 00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:02,439 Speaker 2: He tugged and the plunger and. 392 00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:05,600 Speaker 1: A steady stream of sewage spewed from the tank and 393 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:09,320 Speaker 1: sloshed through the restaurant's kitchen doors. The remnants of one 394 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:12,320 Speaker 1: hundred parties and hangovers painted the tiles of that Denny's 395 00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:16,199 Speaker 1: a nauseating shade of electric blue. When the tank was empty, 396 00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:19,560 Speaker 1: an inch of excrement coated the floor of the back entrance. 397 00:24:20,359 --> 00:24:22,680 Speaker 1: The band loaded into the mobile home and skid it 398 00:24:22,720 --> 00:24:26,040 Speaker 1: out of the parking lot. Between the tire marks, they 399 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:32,160 Speaker 1: left a trail of bright blue goom. Nothing ever came 400 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:35,840 Speaker 1: of it, no arrest, no mugshots, no mobile home car chases. 401 00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:40,920 Speaker 1: The police couldn't dust for fingerprints and raw sewage. Bad 402 00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:44,840 Speaker 1: behavior had always been Sublime's hallmark, but a pattern had formed. 403 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:48,480 Speaker 1: Their stunts were getting dumber, and they were getting grosser, 404 00:24:48,880 --> 00:24:52,959 Speaker 1: and the consequences were nearly non existent. The more people 405 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:54,800 Speaker 1: liked them, the more they felt like they had a 406 00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:57,800 Speaker 1: reputation to uphold, and the more they made good on 407 00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:01,240 Speaker 1: that reputation, the more people expect and ate it up. 408 00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:04,679 Speaker 1: And the haters ate it up too, nearly choked on it, 409 00:25:04,880 --> 00:25:07,840 Speaker 1: and that tickled the band the most. A bad reaction 410 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:11,000 Speaker 1: was better than no reaction. Sublime knew that much to 411 00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:18,760 Speaker 1: be true. They had Kroq to thank for their newfound notoriety. 412 00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:22,040 Speaker 1: Earlier that year, a ballsy intern of the Los Angeles 413 00:25:22,160 --> 00:25:26,000 Speaker 1: Radio Giant had come forth with date rape. Despite being 414 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:28,920 Speaker 1: seven years old at that point and despite the gruesome 415 00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:33,479 Speaker 1: subject matter, the song took off, first at KROQ and 416 00:25:33,520 --> 00:25:34,800 Speaker 1: then across the country. 417 00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:36,840 Speaker 2: People couldn't believe their ears. 418 00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:40,399 Speaker 1: This is a song about an incarcerated eight rapist who's 419 00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:44,000 Speaker 1: then raped in prison. On FM radio, had they heard 420 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:47,199 Speaker 1: that right? They dialed in to hear it again. The 421 00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:50,960 Speaker 1: airplay moved the needle for Sublime. Overnight promoters blew up 422 00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:53,520 Speaker 1: their phones the way listeners were blowing up radio station 423 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:56,240 Speaker 1: phone lines, eager to book Sublime for any show they'd 424 00:25:56,200 --> 00:25:59,280 Speaker 1: agreed to. In fact, the band was so grateful to 425 00:25:59,359 --> 00:26:01,960 Speaker 1: kro Q that when they were offered an on air 426 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:05,439 Speaker 1: interview with Djjed the Fish, they spent the segment passing 427 00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:07,280 Speaker 1: around joints and cups of tequila. 428 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:09,280 Speaker 2: Kroq may have. 429 00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:11,959 Speaker 1: Played songs about smoking joints and drinking tequila, but it 430 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:14,359 Speaker 1: was understood that you didn't do either of those things 431 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:19,639 Speaker 1: in the radio station. Furious at the disrespect, Kroq pulled 432 00:26:19,640 --> 00:26:23,239 Speaker 1: the song from rotation and djjed the fish was no 433 00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:26,960 Speaker 1: longer a fan, but it was too late. The acerbic 434 00:26:27,040 --> 00:26:30,639 Speaker 1: irony of date rape had already swept the nation. Warped 435 00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:32,000 Speaker 1: Tour had been the same way. 436 00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:33,000 Speaker 2: Sublime. 437 00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:36,280 Speaker 1: Sheeneigans quickly wore out their welcome and they were temporarily 438 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:40,040 Speaker 1: removed from the lineup, all because lou Dog had bitten 439 00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:42,640 Speaker 1: a few people. Then the Band of Moon in the audience, 440 00:26:42,720 --> 00:26:45,160 Speaker 1: and they showed up to their sets and drunken stupors 441 00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:47,000 Speaker 1: and broke a table on the bus they shared with 442 00:26:47,080 --> 00:26:51,720 Speaker 1: Orange nine millimeter, and they missed only four dates. One 443 00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:55,000 Speaker 1: of their manager's smooth talked Warped tourist primary investor, who 444 00:26:55,040 --> 00:26:57,880 Speaker 1: realized that fans were demanding that Sublime be re added 445 00:26:57,960 --> 00:27:01,359 Speaker 1: to the bill. The massive way of popularity they were 446 00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:05,439 Speaker 1: writing drowned out all those pesky, petty repercussions. And if 447 00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:07,359 Speaker 1: anyone knew how to ride a wave while the tides 448 00:27:07,359 --> 00:27:13,320 Speaker 1: were in their favor, it was Sublime. Brad felt his 449 00:27:13,359 --> 00:27:17,760 Speaker 1: own destiny propelling him forward. He didn't realize the undertow 450 00:27:17,880 --> 00:27:24,440 Speaker 1: was yanking him backwards too Early nineteen ninety six, Peternale's 451 00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:31,240 Speaker 1: studio Austin, Texas, lyrics man lyrics are hard. Brad repeated 452 00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:33,439 Speaker 1: it like a mantra. If it was supposed to be 453 00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:37,440 Speaker 1: centering his mind, it wasn't working. Sublime was locked down 454 00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:40,320 Speaker 1: trying to record a full length album that barely existed. 455 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:43,200 Speaker 1: He could blame the lack of new material on one 456 00:27:43,200 --> 00:27:47,000 Speaker 1: of two things. One, Brad was a family man, now 457 00:27:47,560 --> 00:27:52,600 Speaker 1: seemingly overnight, a bigger priority than music arrived. His longtime sweetheart, Troy, 458 00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:55,760 Speaker 1: gave birth to his son the previous year, a beautiful 459 00:27:55,760 --> 00:27:59,880 Speaker 1: baby boy named Jacob. Brad finally had his iron clad 460 00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:04,400 Speaker 1: reason to quit Heroin, so he had, or you could blame. 461 00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:05,240 Speaker 2: It on number two. 462 00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:08,240 Speaker 1: Bradley needed to be larger than life now more than ever. 463 00:28:08,880 --> 00:28:11,919 Speaker 1: Bradley the man, the musician, the scussy so coal singer 464 00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:15,400 Speaker 1: had become Brad the caricature in hell if he wasn't 465 00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:19,400 Speaker 1: going to deliver. Brad finally had his reason to continue 466 00:28:19,440 --> 00:28:23,240 Speaker 1: with Heroin, so he did that too. He made like 467 00:28:23,280 --> 00:28:26,240 Speaker 1: Sublime's mobile home and had put his hard earned progress 468 00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:30,160 Speaker 1: in reverse, and liked the mobile home. Shit went everywhere. 469 00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:35,159 Speaker 1: He dove right back into his old habits hard. But 470 00:28:35,240 --> 00:28:38,040 Speaker 1: when the needles came back out, Eric and Bud retreated. 471 00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:41,719 Speaker 1: Their contributions to the record became rope. They came in, 472 00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:44,400 Speaker 1: performed their parts, and steered clear of Brad, who was 473 00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:47,560 Speaker 1: nearly too high to handle, or worse, too high to 474 00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:51,200 Speaker 1: be remotely productive. They were well aware that the album 475 00:28:51,280 --> 00:28:55,720 Speaker 1: was currently in shambles at best. More importantly, Gasoline Alley 476 00:28:55,800 --> 00:29:00,480 Speaker 1: recognized it too. After five weeks at Pedernale Studio, the 477 00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:03,280 Speaker 1: label sent Brad home to clean up his act, clear 478 00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:08,440 Speaker 1: his head, and reclaim his writing chops. When Brad touched 479 00:29:08,440 --> 00:29:11,960 Speaker 1: down in California, Troy and Jacob weren't waiting there, for 480 00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:15,560 Speaker 1: Troy had packed her things and split until Bradley could 481 00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:17,560 Speaker 1: look her in the eyes and say he was clean again. 482 00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:22,600 Speaker 1: His up teeth relapse was her proverbial final straw. It 483 00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:29,800 Speaker 1: was Brad's too, for the final time. Brad kicked for 484 00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:32,920 Speaker 1: one moment in time. The entire band was clean, and 485 00:29:33,040 --> 00:29:36,320 Speaker 1: they finished the album clean, played it, sold out shows clean. 486 00:29:37,120 --> 00:29:40,640 Speaker 1: Months past. Brad's resolved didn't break. The label took notice 487 00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:43,280 Speaker 1: of that too. Tours of the East Coast in Europe 488 00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:46,520 Speaker 1: were arranged, and their slice of California was going global. 489 00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:50,440 Speaker 1: Brad bought travel books to pour over in preparation. He 490 00:29:50,480 --> 00:29:54,000 Speaker 1: bought something else too, a shiny new ring for Troy. 491 00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:58,720 Speaker 1: On May eighteenth, nineteen ninety six, they wed in Las Vegas. 492 00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:02,560 Speaker 1: He had been clean for three months. Brad did not 493 00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:05,720 Speaker 1: say it, It was written on his face, practically bursting 494 00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:08,239 Speaker 1: out of him. This was the happiest he'd ever been 495 00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:08,880 Speaker 1: in his life. 496 00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:11,360 Speaker 2: It was sticking. It was really sticking. 497 00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:14,120 Speaker 1: He had struck down one half of his destiny and 498 00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:17,800 Speaker 1: resuscitated the other. In this moment, he had more reasons 499 00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:21,480 Speaker 1: to celebrate than he ever had in his life. Sublime 500 00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:23,800 Speaker 1: had one tour left before it was wheels up for 501 00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:27,280 Speaker 1: the East Coast and then overseas a small slow of 502 00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:31,600 Speaker 1: shows up the California coast Child's Play. He kissed Troy 503 00:30:31,680 --> 00:30:33,760 Speaker 1: on their wedding day and again a few days later 504 00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:36,760 Speaker 1: before the band embarked on the tour. It was the 505 00:30:36,840 --> 00:31:02,920 Speaker 1: last time they had never seen each other. On May 506 00:31:02,960 --> 00:31:06,600 Speaker 1: twenty fourth, nineteen ninety six, Bradley Knowles smoked a crack 507 00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:10,640 Speaker 1: for breakfast. He was in a stranger's home in Chico, California. 508 00:31:11,080 --> 00:31:14,840 Speaker 1: A strange promoter offered him drugs. He accepted, and he 509 00:31:14,840 --> 00:31:19,000 Speaker 1: wouldn't stop again for the rest of his life. The 510 00:31:19,040 --> 00:31:20,600 Speaker 1: band watched with trepidation. 511 00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:24,120 Speaker 2: Was he doing He had a new son, a new wife, 512 00:31:24,120 --> 00:31:25,840 Speaker 2: and a new lease on life that he had. 513 00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:30,680 Speaker 1: Fought so hard for. Brad offered a flimsy counterpoint. Exactly, 514 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:33,480 Speaker 1: it was so much to celebrate. He needed to diffuse 515 00:31:33,520 --> 00:31:37,320 Speaker 1: his excitement with that dizzy ascent again. And besides, Sublime 516 00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:40,560 Speaker 1: owed it to themselves to quote unquote party one last time. 517 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:45,760 Speaker 1: They had earned this. But and Eric vehemently disagreed. The 518 00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:49,320 Speaker 1: Clean Sublime had earned this. The Clean Sublime was the 519 00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:51,880 Speaker 1: reason the album was done, the reason that they had 520 00:31:51,880 --> 00:31:55,640 Speaker 1: two major tours on the horizon. But Brad had already 521 00:31:55,640 --> 00:31:59,440 Speaker 1: buckled over breakfast. He scored again that afternoon before their 522 00:31:59,440 --> 00:32:02,840 Speaker 1: show and a luma at the Phoenix Theater. Within a 523 00:32:02,880 --> 00:32:07,600 Speaker 1: few hours, everything had changed. Brad wasn't outside before the 524 00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:10,760 Speaker 1: show skating with fans. He wasn't letting them come inside 525 00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:13,560 Speaker 1: the motor Home to hang out like usual either. The 526 00:32:13,600 --> 00:32:17,120 Speaker 1: performance that night was tepid, The fans could feel a 527 00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:21,880 Speaker 1: shift in the energy. Hours passed, Brad kept going, kept scoring. 528 00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:25,480 Speaker 1: Eric and Bud wanted no part of it. They wrangled 529 00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:28,160 Speaker 1: Bradley into the Motorhome after the show and prayed that 530 00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:31,040 Speaker 1: he'd cool off by the time they reached their next destination. 531 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:35,720 Speaker 1: When they parked at the Ocean Front Motel in San Francisco, 532 00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:40,280 Speaker 1: Eric and Sublime's manager Miguel parked themselves in bed. 533 00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:42,320 Speaker 2: No parties, no dope. 534 00:32:42,560 --> 00:32:45,160 Speaker 1: Bud passed out in the adjacent room he was sharing 535 00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:48,000 Speaker 1: with Bradley, a room that he currently had to himself, 536 00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:50,480 Speaker 1: since brad had been quick to vanish into the night 537 00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:52,760 Speaker 1: when he saw that his bandmates were too lame to 538 00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:56,680 Speaker 1: join him in some after show antics. The band didn't 539 00:32:56,720 --> 00:32:59,040 Speaker 1: see him again until ten am the next morning, when 540 00:32:59,080 --> 00:33:01,600 Speaker 1: he came rapping on the door. There were ten foot 541 00:33:01,640 --> 00:33:04,920 Speaker 1: waves today, he cleaned, with a childlike exuberance to put 542 00:33:04,920 --> 00:33:06,480 Speaker 1: down to the shore or take lou Dog. 543 00:33:06,360 --> 00:33:06,959 Speaker 2: For a walk. 544 00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:10,680 Speaker 1: Eric rolled over and flipped him off. Miguel ignored the 545 00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:14,600 Speaker 1: invitation too. Next door, Bud was passed out even harder. 546 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:17,080 Speaker 1: If he had been invited along for the walk, he 547 00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:20,240 Speaker 1: hadn't heard it. He saw logs for a few more hours, 548 00:33:20,240 --> 00:33:24,800 Speaker 1: pleasantly undisturbed. It was afternoon now and the California's sun 549 00:33:24,840 --> 00:33:28,040 Speaker 1: peeked through the windows and nudged but awake. He opened 550 00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:29,000 Speaker 1: his bleary eyes and. 551 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:30,160 Speaker 2: Chuckled at what he saw. 552 00:33:30,680 --> 00:33:34,680 Speaker 1: Brad, half undressed, bent over the bed, feet firmly planted 553 00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:37,440 Speaker 1: on the ground, ass out face smushed. 554 00:33:37,080 --> 00:33:37,880 Speaker 2: Into the mattress. 555 00:33:38,160 --> 00:33:40,280 Speaker 1: The poor bastard was too fucked up to even make 556 00:33:40,320 --> 00:33:43,760 Speaker 1: it under the covers. He stopped laughing when his eyes 557 00:33:43,840 --> 00:33:46,880 Speaker 1: wandered to the yellow phone coating his lips. A crust 558 00:33:46,880 --> 00:33:49,680 Speaker 1: had already formed at the corners of his mouth. Lou 559 00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:52,080 Speaker 1: dog whine curled up in a ball at the corner 560 00:33:52,080 --> 00:33:55,280 Speaker 1: of the bed. Bud frantically dialed nine one one, but 561 00:33:55,320 --> 00:33:58,640 Speaker 1: he knew it was too late. At twenty eight, Bradley 562 00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:04,640 Speaker 1: Noel was dead. Sublime's success, on the other hand, had 563 00:34:04,680 --> 00:34:08,480 Speaker 1: suddenly never been more alive. The press coverage poured in 564 00:34:08,960 --> 00:34:11,839 Speaker 1: every major news outlet ran a story on Brad's near 565 00:34:11,880 --> 00:34:16,080 Speaker 1: twenty seven club faith, while Bud, Eric and Troy mourned 566 00:34:16,080 --> 00:34:20,200 Speaker 1: their best friend, Sublime fans grieved by lighting up phone lines. 567 00:34:21,200 --> 00:34:24,640 Speaker 1: Just two weeks after Brad's passing, the band's second single, 568 00:34:24,719 --> 00:34:27,439 Speaker 1: What I Got, became the most requested. 569 00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:28,080 Speaker 2: Song on KROQ. 570 00:34:29,400 --> 00:34:33,399 Speaker 1: The sudden surge and popularity fueled Gasoline Alley's next move. 571 00:34:34,160 --> 00:34:37,240 Speaker 1: Eric and Bud had decided to disband, but the label 572 00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:40,560 Speaker 1: demanded a return on their massive investment. They had sunk 573 00:34:40,680 --> 00:34:44,080 Speaker 1: nearly half a million dollars into Brad's recovery alone. Never 574 00:34:44,120 --> 00:34:47,480 Speaker 1: mind the studio time budgeting on the release schedule for 575 00:34:47,520 --> 00:34:50,680 Speaker 1: the new Sublime, The album meant torpedoing their budget altogether. 576 00:34:51,640 --> 00:34:55,360 Speaker 1: Sublime released their self titled album as planned on July thirtieth, 577 00:34:55,440 --> 00:34:58,880 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety six, and for almost three and a half years, 578 00:34:58,920 --> 00:35:00,480 Speaker 1: no one could forget about it. 579 00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:01,560 Speaker 2: It was impossible. 580 00:35:02,040 --> 00:35:04,520 Speaker 1: The album spent one hundred and seventy nine weeks on 581 00:35:04,560 --> 00:35:07,960 Speaker 1: the Billboard one hundred. The new hits, now known as 582 00:35:08,040 --> 00:35:12,120 Speaker 1: the Sublime Hits, made sure that the incessant airplay of 583 00:35:12,160 --> 00:35:15,480 Speaker 1: Santa Ria, Wrong Way and Doing Time were still moving 584 00:35:15,600 --> 00:35:18,600 Speaker 1: forty thousand albums a week. In the fall of nineteen 585 00:35:18,719 --> 00:35:23,200 Speaker 1: ninety seven, people across the country, in New England, in 586 00:35:23,239 --> 00:35:26,680 Speaker 1: the Deep South, in Nowhere Nebraska all fell in love. 587 00:35:26,480 --> 00:35:27,400 Speaker 2: With new songs. 588 00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:30,400 Speaker 1: They'd never be able to hear Brad sing live, but 589 00:35:30,520 --> 00:35:38,000 Speaker 1: his gospel has spread. Tragedy had that effect. Tragedy spreads 590 00:35:38,040 --> 00:35:42,319 Speaker 1: the word around just a hair too late. California had 591 00:35:42,360 --> 00:35:46,520 Speaker 1: known about Brad since nineteen eighty eight, but the world 592 00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:51,680 Speaker 1: learned Bradley Knowle's name from his obituary and that this 593 00:35:51,719 --> 00:36:08,719 Speaker 1: is a disgrace. I'm Jake Brennan and this this Disgraceland. 594 00:36:09,360 --> 00:36:12,120 Speaker 1: Disgraceland was created by Yours Truly and is produced in 595 00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:15,600 Speaker 1: partnership with Double Elvis. Credits for this episode can be 596 00:36:15,600 --> 00:36:19,040 Speaker 1: found on the show notes page at disgracelampod dot com. 597 00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:22,399 Speaker 1: If you're listening as a Disgraceland All Access member, thank 598 00:36:22,440 --> 00:36:23,479 Speaker 1: you for supporting the show. 599 00:36:23,520 --> 00:36:24,759 Speaker 2: We really appreciate it. 600 00:36:25,040 --> 00:36:27,279 Speaker 1: And if not, you can become a member right now 601 00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:31,839 Speaker 1: by going to disgracelampod dot com Slash Membership. Members can 602 00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:35,759 Speaker 1: listen to every episode of Disgraceland ad free, Plus you'll 603 00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:40,080 Speaker 1: get one brand new exclusive episode every month, weekly unscripted 604 00:36:40,120 --> 00:36:44,080 Speaker 1: bonus episode, special audio collections, and early access to merchandise 605 00:36:44,200 --> 00:36:49,120 Speaker 1: and events. Visit disgracelampod dot com slash Membership for details, 606 00:36:49,440 --> 00:36:52,000 Speaker 1: rate and review the show, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, 607 00:36:52,040 --> 00:36:56,080 Speaker 1: Twitter and Facebook at disgracelampod and on YouTube at YouTube 608 00:36:56,120 --> 00:36:58,560 Speaker 1: dot com slash at disgracelampod. 609 00:36:59,520 --> 00:37:04,280 Speaker 2: Rock a Row. He's a bad, bad man.