Jakob James Nowell is known for being the son of the late lead vocalist of American reggae-rock and ska-punk band, Sublime, Bradley Nowell. He is also a singer for the band, LAW.
Nowell was born as the only child to his parents, Bradley and Troy Dendekker Nowell on June 25, 1995, in Long Beach, California. His father passed away due to a heroin overdose in 1996. He has three stepsiblings, Erica Angel, Mary Jane, and Rudi Holmes from his mom’s second marriage with Keith Holmes AKA Kiki Holmes.
Let’s get to know more about Jakob!
Jakob’s Engaged to Ashlyn Zeda
The son of Bradley Nowell is currently in a relationship. He is engaged to his fiancee, Ashlyn Zeda since September 22, 2019. They got engaged after Jakob went down on one knee in front of an audience on stage. The pair had started dating soon after they first met in 2014.
Jakob and his partner took to their socials to share the big news. While he wrote, “Yay!” with a ring emoji, his fiancee wrote, “The craziest thing happened today, We are engaged!!!!”
Source: Instagram
Nowell’s mom is also supportive of their relationship, it seems! On March 5, his mother shared a photo of him with his partner on her socials with the caption, “LOVE WINS My Jake & his Ashlyn. #losnoviosporvida.”
Parents’ Marriage Lasted for Only a Week
Jakob James Nowell’s parents, Bradley Nowell and Troy Dendekker were unfortunately married for only a week. They tied the knot on May 18, 1996, in a Hawaiian-themed wedding in Las Vegas, but they couldn’t continue their relationship for more than a week. (More on this later!)
Source: Instagram
The duo first met in 1994 and started dating soon after. After several months, Troy became pregnant and welcomed their first and only child, Jakob in 1995. They got married almost a year after his birth but Bradley’s untimely demise put an end to their marriage.
Untimely Demise of Bradley Nowell
Jakob lost his father on May 25, 1996, when he was just 11 months old. He was only 28. Nowell passed away due to a heroin overdose at the Ocean View Motel in San Francisco.
Source: Instagram
One of his band members, Bud Gaugh woke up to see him unconscious. When he called the paramedics, it was too late. He had already been dead for several hours. Bradley was cremated and his ashes were scattered around his favorite surfing spot in Surfside, California.
Jakob’s Battle with Drug and Alcohol Addiction
Jakob James Nowell, like his late father, was addicted to alcohol and drugs. He started drinking at the age of 12 and that habit stuck with him for around a decade.
His struggle with addiction was shown in the documentary movie, The Long Way Back: The Story of Todd “Z-Man” Zalkins. One of his father’s closest friends and band members, Todd Zalkins helped him overcome his drug and alcohol addiction. Zalkins was also addicted to opioids but he was able to free himself thanks to prescription pain killers. After learning to become sober, he had dedicated his life to helping others suffering from addiction.
Jakob spoke with Billboard about his drug addiction and revealed how it was fun at first and problematic when it ended.
Life is very different, and it’s so much f***ing better. But for the longest time, it was a struggle. It was fun. A lot of people say this — it was fun, and then it was fun with problems, then it was just problems.
Jakob talks about drug addiction.
The Nowell Family Foundation
After Troy Dendekker lost her partner and Jakob James Nowell lost his dad to drug overdose, they were always working towards eliminating drug addiction problems from the world. Due to this very reason, in 2017, they founded the Nowell Family Foundation to help musicians seeking treatment for addiction. Jakob’s aunt, Kellie Nowell is currently working as the executive director of the foundation.
The organization is raising funds to open a six-bed recovery facility to provide proper treatment to people struggling with addiction and lacking help. While talking to Billboard in December 2018, Jakob told them how they were putting on benefit shows to raise donations and awareness against drug-related problems.
Right now, we’re putting on benefit shows, and I’m trying to raise awareness. The Sublime cover band Burritos is playing a benefit show on the 22nd of this month at the Tiki Bar in Costa Mesa [Calif.]. There’s a lot of stuff going on right now, where we’re trying to raise awareness for the organization.
Nowell talks about his plan for the Nowell Family Foundation.
The foundation has its own YouTube Channel, The Nowell Family Foundation with 129 subscribers and 2.9k views.
Jakob’s Also a Musician
Jakob Nowell has followed the footsteps of his late father, Bradley Nowell. He, who learned guitar from his maternal grandfather, is currently the lead singer of the band, LAW.
This band was founded in 2013 in Long Beach, California, and is based out of Los Angeles Country. Other members of the band include Nick Aguilar (Drums), Aidan Palacios (Guitar), and Logun Spellacy (Bass). The band released their very first full-length album, There and Back Again on November 23, 2018. LAW has five concerts lined up from June 10 till October 10.
| June 10 | Smash Magazine Presents LAW, Pacific Roots, High Frequency & The Easy Las Vegas, NV |
| June 11 | So Many Roads Museum and Brewery Denver, CO |
| June 12 | The East Coast Bar Fort Collins, CO |
| September 12 | BeachLife Festival 2021 Redondo Beach, CA |
| October 10 | Aftershock 2021 Sacramento, CA |
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