Compare and Contrast : Brad Vs. Kurt

In this essay I will be comparing the life of two valuable musicians of the entertainment industry, Brad Nowell and Kurt Cobain. Bradley James Nowell was born to Nancy and James Nowell on February 22, 1968. The family resided in Long Beach California. Growing up, Brad was a bright and intelligent boy, but disliked school. In fact, he hated it so much that he would have his younger sister do his homework for him. His parents had concluded that it was just a lack of attention toward one subject at a time. At the age of nine, Brad was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder and was prescribed Ritalin to gain control over it. Kurt Donald Cobain was also diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and was prescribed Ritalin. Kurt was born to Donald and Wendy Cobain on February 20, 1967 in Seattle, Washington. Kurt was also a smart boy with high hopes but also with a dislike towards school. Kurt’s parents went through a divorce when he was six years old. His mother had taken him and moved a few towns away from Seattle. He had a hard time dealing with the divorce, going back and forth between parents and aunts and uncles. Kurt eventually started becoming rebellious, unlike Brad, who actually enjoyed the time spent with each parent alone after their divorce. When Brad was eleven, his father took him on a trip to the Virgin Islands where Brad was exposed to the reggae culture of music. This is where most of his influences were developed. He began to teach himself to play the guitar and practice reggae and punk-rock music all day everyday, which had later made him famous. Kurt, on the other hand, had come upon his influences in a different way. Growing up near Seattle, the Pacific Northwest had more of a hardcore punk-rock scene. He started smoking marijuana and taking other drugs like LSD and pain killers. He, like Brad, had begun teaching himself chords on the guitar and creating local bands across Seattle. Kurt had also spend a lot of time reading at the local library to gain more information that he knew he wouldn’t learn in school. For instance, he would read books on society and cultures around the states, which influenced many of his songs he had written that had led to his fame.

In 1988, Brad Nowell and bassist Eric Wilson founded the band Sublime. Brad’s talents led him to be the lead singer and lead guitar of his new band. Brad had dropped out of the University of California with only one semester away from getting his Bachelor’s Degree in Finance to pursue his career in music. In the early years of Sublime, Brad would book parties along the campus of California State Long Beach for them to play their music. Instead of playing for cash, they would play in exchange for booze. Kurt had created his band Nirvana in 1987 with Krist Novoselic. They never played local venues or parties, the band just practiced all day and everyday to be able to send their tape to a major record label. Kurt had believed that they would lose focus playing for crowds too early on in their career. In 1991, Nirvana was signed to Sub Pop records. After they became famous, Kurt had fallen hard onto drugs when becoming depressed on tour. Brad and his band Sublime had a very difficult time getting signed to a major record