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| The Mourning After |
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There are varied accounts of how it happened, but pretty much everybody agrees that it was supposed to be a one-time thing. The facts were that the amount of heroin that Bradley took that night, contrary to popular belief, was probably the same, or even less than a normal amount, and that Bud was with him when it happened. Other than that, it is hard to know exactly what happened.
There is a joke that has been going around that if Bradley had been a member of Motley Crue or any other less talented hair band from the 80�s, he would still be alive. What�s both funny and sad about this joke, is that it is probably true. But since Bradley was much more talented, and much more intelligent, he repeatedly tried to stay off of heroin, which might have been what killed him in the end. In the event of a relapse, the more time in between hits, the less heroin a person can handle. Bradley�s normal amount of heroin would not have been fatal if taken by a regular user, but since he had been clean for over two months, his body couldn�t take it.
Bradley�s father said that he was content that his son was "now at peace." His friends didn�t take it as well. There were several press releases by Bradley�s friends and fellow Southern California musicians. Miguel said that he had heard Bradley say that he just "didn�t feel good" several times, without elaborating. Tom Dumont from No Doubt released a statement on AOL three days after hearing of Bradley�s death:
"Bradley's death Friday night is shocking and devastating for me. Despite Sublime's reputation for partying, I always felt that his talent for singing and writing songs shined through it all. He was one of those guys whose natural talent was on a higher level than just about anyone I've ever known.Despite the local outcry over Bradley's death, many of Sublime's newer fans were not aware of his death around the time of the self-titled album's Summer release, which sold over 3 million copies without the benefit of a band to back it up.
"I remember one night a few years ago when Tony's parents threw him a surprise birthday party at home, and I brought some amps and guitars and drums over, and we invited a bunch of our musician friends. Brad and the rest of the Sublime guys came over and the various bands did little improvised sets of thier stuff. So there in the middle of the Kanal families living room Bradley, Eric and Bud played the most amazing, emotionally heart wrenching performance, holding absolutely nothing back, blowing away everyone there.
"It's the thing I always thought could happen but I never believed it would. When somebody you know dies its hard to fathom. I'm kind of devastated. Gwen dedicated a song to him today and it was probably a shocking downer for those who knew them. It was a sad set. All the lyrics in Don't Speak seemed to be about Brad. He'll be missed. He knew what he was up against, but heroin will enslave the strongest of men." - Tom Dumont of No Doubt
The album was praised by critics and fans alike from the start, with Heckler Magazine labeling it a masterpiece, and Time naming it the "Rock Release of the Year" beating out the other critically acclaimed rock album released that same Summer, "Odelay" by Beck. The album and certain singles were nominated for several awards, including the MTV Video Music Awards, the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, and the Grammy Awards.
Over time, numerous Sublime websites cropped up, many of them made by people who were just made aware of Brad's death, years after it happened.
After Bradley's death, and the initial shock to everybody in the band let up, Bud and Eric joined the Juice Bros. again, and turned in a demo to MCA, which passed on it. Eventually, the tributes and benefit concerts came around, and the remaining members of Sublime, including Opie, Miguel, RAS 1, and Tim Wu formed the Sublime tribute band, the Long Beach Dub Allstars. Originally intended only as a live act, in order to perform at benefit concerts, LBDA soon blossomed into a full-time band, and recorded Right Back, an album performed in the Sublime spirit, with tight grooves and dance hall melodies spliced together with ska and reggae rhythms. While it was not up to par with Sublime's work, it showed the promise of a young band with talent.
More Sublime albums continued to be released, until the early 2000 release of Greatest Hits, which fulfilled Sublime's contract with MCA.
In the Summer of 2000, the Long Beach Dub Allstars set out in Sublime's footsteps, co-headlining the Warped Tour along with The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Green Day.
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