The band was formed in 1980 by Chris Newman. Sam Henry original drummer for the Wipers, left Fred and Toody Cole’s The Rats to join Newman in 1981. The group’s earliest recordings were done on the Trap label, owned by Greg Sage of the Wipers. Sage also produced and distributed their first album-on-cassette (and later CD) “Rock & Roll Hell.” At the core of the group is Chris Newman on guitar, and Sam Henry on drums. The group went through thirteen bass players before Dave Dillinger came on board in 1989. Napalm Beach toured Europe several times between 1989 and 1992. They never toured the U.S., but headlined frequently throughout the 80’s in Portland, Seattle, and sometimes San Francisco. They recorded around around a dozen albums on several small labels. They were known for musicianship, improvisation, intensity, and eventually for their destructive spiral into drug addiction. Dropped from their German label and in trouble with the law, they finally called it quits in the mid-90s. Newman and Henry both ended up jailed, in treatment, and working on rehabilitation. Though they no longer record new material, Napalm Beach has played several reunion shows over the past ten years. Sam Henry and Chris Newman both have had several other bands and side projects over the years. Newman’s current band is called Boo Frog. Henry’s current band is called DON’T. |
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