Posts by Chris Newton
The Lost Husky
The Lost Husky began in 1998 as a solo acoustic side-project for Chris Newton, the bass player for 1990s Sydney alternative rock bands Psyclone Smyle, Tooth and User. It started out as a country-infused folk act, honed at open mic nights, pubs and local cafes in his hometown of Balmain, and Sydney’s inner west, as…
Read MoreThe Balmain Sound – Indie Rock from the Balmain Peninsula
Here’s a little piece about the Balmain indie-rock scene I grew up in. Originally published, in part, in a small article in the local Balmain paper Village Voice in 2006/2007. By the late 1970s, Balmain (in Sydney’s inner west) had already been through a sea-change of sorts with the influx of a younger, politically left-leaning…
Read MoreTooth
In early 1993, after the split of indie funk metal stalwarts Psyclone Smyle, guitarist Ben Nightingale and bassist Chris Newton were looking to start a new project with a decidedly heavier edge. Several song writing sessions gleaned a stoner-metal template that would ultimately become the new band’s signature sound. Requiring a new singer and drummer…
Read MoreUser
Formed in early 1996 by three friends on a working and surfing holiday in Byron Bay, USER were a band. Scott Collins, Henry Brister and Scott Enderby bonded over surfboards and snags at the Byron Bay Arts & Music Festival, before moving to Sydney’s inner west and finding a new bass player in Chris Newton…
Read MorePsyclone Smyle
Formed in the summer of 1989 by a close group of high school friends, Psyclone Smyle were conspirators of Sydney’s anti-shoegaze movement, playing their part in the local rise of the funk metal genre. Emerging form the blues-rock scene of the inner western suburb Balmain, Psyclone Smyle were part of a small, close-knit collective of…
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