Anton Newcombe
Overview
 
Anton Alfred Newcombe is a singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

, multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...

 and leader of the music group, The Brian Jonestown Massacre
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
The Brian Jonestown Massacre is an American eclectic musical group led by Anton Newcombe, whose music spans multiple genres including psychedelia, electronica, folk music, blues, experimental music, and many others....

.
Besides his own group, Newcombe has worked with a number of bands, most notably The Dandy Warhols
The Dandy Warhols
The Dandy Warhols are an American alternative rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1994. The band was founded by singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and guitarist Peter Holmström, with keyboardist Zia McCabe and drummer Eric Hedford later joining. Hedford left in 1998 and was replaced by...

, The High Dials
The High Dials
The High Dials are an indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada formed in 2003. They evolved out of an earlier band known as The Datsons .-History:...

, The Manvils
The Manvils
The Manvils are a Canadian rock band from Vancouver. The band, consists of singer, songwriter and guitarist Mikey Manville, bassist Greg Buhr and drummer Jay Koenderman....

, Innaway
Innaway
Innaway is an American psychedelic rock band from Southern California formed in 2001. In 2002, their demo was pressed in limited quantities by German label Audiolith Records but there wasn't a US release until 2005 when Some Records released a self-titled album by the band...

, and The Quarter After. He recorded and produced Dead Meadow
Dead Meadow
Dead Meadow is an American hard rock band that formed in Washington, D.C. in 1998. Currently comprising vocalist and guitarist Jason Simon, bassist Steve Kille and drummer Mark Laughlin, the band has released five studio albums and one live album.-Biography:...

's album Got Live if You Want It
Got Live If You Want It (Dead Meadow album)
Got Live If You Want It is the third album of Washington, D.C. based band Dead Meadow. It was recorded live at Maxwell's Hoboken, New Jersey, on February 17, 2002 and released seven months later on CD and orange vinyl LP by Anton Newcombe's label, The Committee to Keep Music Evil.- Track listing :#...

, and has recorded a cover of Ewan MacColl
Ewan MacColl
Ewan MacColl was an English folk singer, songwriter, socialist, actor, poet, playwright, and record producer. He was married to theatre director Joan Littlewood, and later to American folksinger Peggy Seeger. He collaborated with Littlewood in the theatre and with Seeger in folk music...

's song 'Dirty Old Town
Dirty Old Town
"Dirty Old Town" is a song written by Ewan MacColl in 1949 that was made popular by The Dubliners and has been recorded by many others since.-History:...

' with Lorraine Leckie
Lorraine Leckie
Lorraine Leckie is a NYC based singer/songwriter. She performs solo and with her band, Lorraine Leckie and her Demons.-Biography:Leckie was born and raised in Whitby, Ontario, near Toronto With sister Brenda Turansky and brother Paul Turansky...

 on her 2008 album Four Cold Angels.
Newcombe founded The Brian Jonestown Massacre
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
The Brian Jonestown Massacre is an American eclectic musical group led by Anton Newcombe, whose music spans multiple genres including psychedelia, electronica, folk music, blues, experimental music, and many others....

 in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

, in 1990. Core members in the early years included Matt Hollywood
Matt Hollywood
Matt Hollywood is an American indie rock guitarist and singer. He was a founding member and leader of the Portland-based indie rock band The Out Crowd, as well as a founding member of the neo-psychedelic rock band The Brian Jonestown Massacre. He currently fronts the drone rock band The Rebel...

, Jeffrey Davies
Jeffrey Davies
Jeffrey Davies in Washington D.C. is a guitarist best known for his contributions to the neo-psychedelic rock group The Brian Jonestown Massacre. He played in the band from 1992 to 1999. He rejoined the band in 2001 only to quit again in 2003. Spending a good deal of his early years in Washington...

, Joel Gion
Joel Gion
Joel Gion is an American indie rock percussionist. He is a member of the neo-psychedelic rock band, The Brian Jonestown Massacre. He was a guest star on the U.S...

, Travis Threlkel, Patrick Straczek, Ricky Maymi
Ricky Maymi
Ricky Rene Maymi is a multi-instrumentalist from San Francisco, California. Born September 15, 1972. He is most famous for his work with the neo-psychedelic rock band, The Brian Jonestown Massacre .-The Brian Jonestown Massacre:...

, Brian Glaze, Elise Dye and Dean Taylor
Dean Taylor (musician)
Dean Taylor is an American indie rock guitarist.-The Brian Jonestown Massacre:Taylor is most famous for his work with the neo-psychedelic rock band, The Brian Jonestown Massacre. He was an original member and contributed as a guitarist throughout the band's early career.Taylor was featured in the...

, though the line up was subject to frequent changes.
Quotations

God knows I do the best I can, so fuck everything.

I, Anton A. Newcombe, do solemnly swear that the ghost of Brian Jones came to me in the studio and asked me to make this record. P.S. he also asked that I should kick the shit out of old Mick & Keith for ripping off his band, girl and money, having him murdered, being glad he's dead, and not being very nice people.

I don't want a fuckin' hooligan as my governor, I don't care if he's a billionaire. And he says things like, ‘I want the children of California to have a wonderful upbringing like I had.' Dude, your dad was in the fucking SS! What, was he dragging people to the fuckin' gas chamber? That's a valid point.

If you're so tired we can order an ice cream cake, we can have it delived to the stage.

Addressing his drummer

People talk about Eric Clapton. What has he ever done except throw his baby off a fuckin' ledge and write a song about it?

What I want to do is enter the popular lexicon. Like Jimi Hendrix. That's my goal. Not to sell soap. Not to say, 'Look like me, dress like me, sound like me.' Not to get a supermodel girlfriend. None of that shit. I want people to come away from what I'm doing and look at it as a gift.

What am I drinking? The sweat off fucking baby Jesus' loins for all you know.

Yeah, we're going to play a great song for you. As soon as Jon Bon Jovi over there shuts the fuck up.

You know why Guns n' Roses|Guns n' Roses aren't a good band? Because no black people listen to them.

Interviewer: Is it important for you to be understood?Anton: That would depend on the context of your question. If I was speaking to a doctor, for instance, and describing a medical condition, I would surely want to be understood. On the other hand, if I was creating a secret code, depending on the situation, then I would hope that certain people would not understand anything.

 
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