Anton Alfred Newcombe (born August 29, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and founder of the music group

The Brian Jonestown Massacre The Brian Jonestown Massacre is an American Rock music, rock band led and started by Anton Newcombe. It was formed in San Francisco in 1990. The group was the subject of the 2004 documentary film called ''Dig!'', and have gained media notorie ...

. Newcombe was the subject of the 2004 documentary film ''

Dig! ''Dig!'' is a 2004 American documentary film by Ondi Timoner. Summary The film explores the collision of art and commerce through the eyes of psychedelic rock groups The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, focusing on the developin ...

'', along with

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band

The Dandy Warhols The Dandy Warhols are an American psychedelic rock, psychedelic/ band, formed in Portland, Oregon, Portland, Oregon, in 1994 by singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and guitarist Peter Holmström. They were later joined by keyboardist Zia Mc ...

Career

In the 1980s Newcombe started recording with a band called Homeland. Besides

, Newcombe has worked with several bands, most notably

The High Dials The High Dials are a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The band started out playing a brand of pop music strongly influenced by 1960s Great Britain, British Mod (subculture), mod styles, but their sound has broadened to inc ...

, The Manvils,

Innaway Innaway was 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 ...

, and The Quarter After. He recorded and produced

Dead Meadow Dead Meadow is an American psychedelic rock band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1998 and currently composed of vocalist and guitarist Jason Simon and drummer Mark Laughlin. The band have released seven studio albums, two live albums, and a Peel ...

's album ''

Got Live if You Want It ''Got Live If You Want It'' is a live album by American 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 Co ...

'', and recorded a cover of

Ewan MacColl James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a British folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as o ...

's song "

Dirty Old Town "Dirty Old Town" is a song written by Ewan MacColl in 1949 that was made popular by the Dubliners and the Pogues. History The song was written about Salford, then in Lancashire, England, the area where MacColl was born and brought up. It was ...

" with Lorraine Leckie on her 2008 album ''Four Cold Angels''.

The Brian Jonestown Massacre

Newcombe founded the musical group

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, in 1990. Core members in the early years included

Matt Hollywood Matthew Hollywood (born June 11, 1973) 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 psychedelic rock band The Brian Jo ...

, Jeffrey Davies,

Joel Gion Joel Gion (; born ) is an American musician, best known as the tambourine player for the psychedelic rock band The Brian Jonestown Massacre. He was a guest star on the U.S. television show ''Gilmore Girls'', where he played the tambourine in the ...

, Travis Threlkel, Peter Hayes, Patrick Straczek,

Ricky Maymi Ricky Rene Maymi () is an American rock musician, best known as an original member of the psychedelic rock band The Brian Jonestown Massacre. The Brian Jonestown Massacre A founding member and original drummer of The Brian Jonestown Massacre, he ...

, Brian Glaze, Elise Dye and Dean Taylor, although the line up was subject to frequent changes. Newcombe wrote most of the group's songs, with Hollywood collaborating or contributing others on occasion. Following Hollywood's departure from the group in 1998, Newcombe's name became almost synonymous with The Brian Jonestown Massacre. Newcombe was also heavily involved in the post-production of his albums, often engineering and mixing them on his own. A prolific artist, he authored over 150 songs in a 15-year period. In 2016, he composed the soundtrack for British indie film ''Moon Dogs'', directed by Philip John. During the 2022–23 European Tour with The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Newcombe gave away free tickets to each of his shows in raffles that raised money for

Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs), focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. It began as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief ...

Tess Parks & Anton Newcombe

Newcombe recorded two albums with Toronto singer-songwriter Tess Parks: ''I Declare Nothing'' in 2015, and the eponymous ''Tess Parks & Anton Newcombe'' in 2018.

L'Épée

In 2019, Newcombe founded the musical group L'Épée along with French film star

Emmanuelle Seigner Emmanuelle Seigner (; born 22 June 1966) is a French actress and singer. She is known for her roles in '' The Diving Bell and the Butterfly'' (2007), '' The Ninth Gate'' (1999) and '' Frantic'' (1988). She has been nominated for a César Award ...

and The Limiñanas.

A Recordings Ltd

Newcombe founded the record label A Recordings Ltd., where he releases records for

and other artists including

and the Vacant Lots.

Personal life

Part of Newcombe's life is featured prominently in the documentary film ''

'' which focuses on the tense relationship between

and

as both bands struggle for success. Newcombe has experienced drug addiction, alcoholism and depression.

References

External links

*
Official band website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newcombe, Anton 1967 births Living people American expatriates in Germany Singer-songwriters from California Musicians from Greater Los Angeles American male singer-songwriters American rock guitarists American male guitarists American rock singers American rock songwriters The Brian Jonestown Massacre members Guitarists from California 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American multi-instrumentalists 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singer-songwriters