{{Short description|American rock band}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Napalm Beach | image = | caption = | image_size = | alias = | origin = Portland, Oregon, U.S. | genre = Punk rock, hard rock, grunge, punk blues | years_active = 1981–present | label = Flying Heart, Tim/Kerr, Zeno, Skullman, CM/Shinola, Here After/Imperial, Loves Simple Dreams, Satyricon, Dream Hunter | associated_acts = Snow Bud and the Flower People, Wipers, Divining Rods, Lost Acolytes, Oblivion Seekers, Chris Newman Experiment, Boo Frog | website = | current_members = * Chris Newman * Sam Henry * Dave Dillinger }} '''Napalm Beach''' is an American rock band formed in Portland, Oregon. They are considered early innovators of the grunge sound.<ref>[http://www.twolouiesmagazine.com/history/history5.html S.P. Clarke: Two Louies Magazine: The History of Portland Rock] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061112223956/http://www.twolouiesmagazine.com/history/history5.html |date=2006-11-12 }}</ref> Nicholas Pell, writing for the ''Portland Mercury'' said "a huge influence on the grunge and alternative rock of the 1990s, Napalm Beach never had the name recognition of other Portland bands like Poison Idea or the Wipers."<ref>[http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/king-beach/Content?oid=9914395 Portland Mercury July 10, 2013: King Beach: Napalm Beach's Final Show]</ref> Napalm Beach shared the stage with bands such as X, Public Image Ltd., Joan Jett, Johnny Thunders, Gun Club, Bad Brains, Soundgarden, Screaming Trees, Mudhoney, Dead Moon, and Poison Idea. They also toured Germany five times between 1989 and 1992. During their long musical career they have released more than 30 studio and live recordings in various formats on a number of small independent labels in the U.S. and Germany.
At the core of the group was Chris Newman on guitar, and Sam Henry on drums. Sam Henry was the original drummer for the Wipers and Portland band The Rats (with Fred and Toody Cole) before joining Napalm Beach in 1981. The group went through thirteen bass players before Dave Dillinger came on board in 1989.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://wweek.com/editorial/3410/10241/ |title=Willamette Week January 16th, 2008: Napalm Beach Jan. 11 at Dante's: A reunited Napalm Beach rocks Dante's like it's 1988. |access-date=2009-04-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006214654/http://wweek.com/editorial/3410/10241/ |archive-date=2008-10-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The group's earliest recordings were done on the Trap label, owned by Greg Sage of the Wipers.<ref>[http://www.therealchrisnewman.com/2009/04/09/2-louies-august-1981/ SP Clark. Napalm Beach. Two Louies, August 1981.]{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
Courtney Love lived in the Napalm Beach band house in 1981.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Nt9QtduXd_0C&dq=wikipedia+chris+newman+napalm+beach&pg=PA60 Poppy Z. Brite. Courtney Love: The Real Story. Simon and Schuster, 1998. p 60-61]</ref><ref>Melissa Rossi. Courtney Love: Queen of Noise. Simon and Schuster Pocket Books, 1996. p 33</ref>
==Discography== :{|class="wikitable" !Year !Title !Record label |- |1981 |''Trap Sampler'' LP with other artists (produced by Greg Sage). |Trap (U.S.) |- |1983 |''Live at the Met'' Cassette (produced by Greg Sage) |Trap (U.S.) |- |1983 |''Rock & Roll Hell'' Cassette (produced by Greg Sage) |Trap (U.S.) |- |1984 |''Pugsley'' Cassette |Skullman (U.S.) |- |1985 |"Why Do Parties Have to End?" on ''Doomtown PDX: Portland Punk '78-'85'' Cassette |Mississippi Records (U.S.) |- |1985 |''Teen Dream'' Cassette |Here After/Imperial (U.S.) |- |1986 |''Napalm Beach (Teen Dream)'' LP |Here After/Imperial (U.S.) |- |1986 |''Moving to and Fro'' Cassette |Skullman (U.S.) |- |1988 |''Moving to and Fro'' LP |Loves Simple Dreams (Germany) |- |1988 |''Liquid Love'' Cassette, LP, CD |Flying Heart (U.S.) |- |1990 |''Fire Air and Water'' Cassette, LP, CD |Satyricon (Germany)/Flying Heart (U.S.) |- |1990 |''Satyricon...the Album'' LP (Compilation by a Portland nightclub called Satyricon, not the German label.) |Satyricon (U.S.) |- |1990 |''"Pugsley"'' 45 rpm flexi-disc in Ptolemaic Terrascope magazine Vol.2, No.1, Sept. 1990. |(U.K.) |- |1991 |''Thunder Lizard'' LP, CD |Satyricon (Germany) |- |1991 |''Rumblin' Thunder: Raw and Alive Over Germany'' LP (Live box set with Dead Moon) |Heart is a Lonely Hunter aka Dream Hunter (Germany) |- |1991 |"Chatterbox" on ''A Tribute to Johnny Thunders'' 45 rpm box set with other artists. |Tim Kerr (U.S.) |- |1991 |''"Just One Day"'' 45 rpm flexi-disc in Howl magazine No.11 |(Germany) |- |1992 |''Xmas With Satyricon'' CD (Live recording of five Napalm Beach songs plus two other artists). |Satyricon (Germany) |- |1992 |"Potential Suicide" on ''Eight Songs for Greg Sage and the Wipers'' 45 rpm vinyl box set with other artists including Nirvana. |Tim Kerr (U.S.) |- |1992 |''Summertime Again/Last Big Heartache'' 45 rpm single. |Tim Kerr (U.S.) |- |1992 |''Curiosities'' CD |Satyricon (Germany) |- |1993 |''Curiosities'' CD |Tim Kerr (U.S.) |- |1993 |"Potential Suicide" on ''Fourteen Songs for Greg Sage'' CD with other artists including Nirvana. |Tim Kerr (U.S.) |- |1993 |''"My Master Calls"'' 45 rpm flexi-disc with Poison Idea in Flipside Magazine. |Tim Kerr (U.S.) |- |1994 |''Volunteer'' CD (Although credited as a Chris Newman solo CD, all 12 songs are studio re-recordings of earlier Napalm Beach songs from the 1981 Trap Sampler LP, as well as the 1983 Rock and Roll Hell, and 1984 Pugsley cassettes.) |Flying Heart (U.S.) |- |1994 |''In My Tree'' CD |CM/Shinola (U.S.) |- |1995 |''In My Tree'' CD |Dream Hunter (Germany) |- |2000 |''History of Portland Punk, Vol. I'' CD |Zeno (U.S.) |- |2004 |''Rock And Roll Hell'' CD (Combined digital re-release of the Live at the Met and Rock & Roll Hell cassettes) |Zeno (U.S.) |- |2008 |''Kill for My Bitch'' CD (Live recording of a reunion show) |(U.S.) |- |2009 |''Moving To And Fro'' CD (Vinyl transfer digital re-release of the original LP). |Skullman (U.S.) |- |2011 |''Teen Dream'' CD (Vinyl transfer digital re-release of the original LP). |Skullman (U.S.) |- |}
==References== <references />
==External links== *[https://www.skullmanrecords.com/bands/napalm-beach/ Napalm Beach on Skullman Records] *[https://www.youtube.com/napalmbeachpdx Napalm Beach on Youtube] *[https://napalmbeach.bandcamp.com/ Napalm Beach on Bandcamp]
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Category:Musical groups from Portland, Oregon Category:Punk rock groups from Oregon Category:1981 establishments in Oregon Category:Musical groups established in 1981