Apple Chip Tidbit: Who is Newcastle's pop culture claim to fame? Answer: SILVERCHAIR(Go 90's Rock!)

Dear Reader(s)(Myself and maybe Sho),

If one were to walk down the streets of either Queens, New York or Minneapolis, Minnesota and ask a random person on the street,

" Who is the most famous person, group or other cultural entity that comes to mind when mentioning Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia?"

I would be willing to bet almost six figures worth of American dollars that no one would say," Ah, but of course, those devilish lairikins of alternative rock Silverchair!!!"

 Up until a month ago, I would not have been able to answer this question either, but I when I saw a copy of the Newcastle Herald with an adverstisement for an upcoming Silverchair reading something like,"  Silverchair Playing Hometown Gig", your favorite aimless investigator decided to look into this important matter. And what did I find out: That all three members of the band were brought up in the inner-city suburb(read urban residential neighborhood) of Merewether Beach, which is only a few kilometers( a mile or so) from where we live in The Hill section of Newcastle. Why I find this obscure fact interesting is because Silverchair was a medium sized speck on the alt-rock landscape of the 1990's that reminds me of  the great years of Nirvana, Soundgarden and the Smashing Pumpkins, amongst many others. The band was(and still is) a three piece band with lead singer and guitarist Daniel Johns, Bassist Chris Joannou and Drummer, Ben Gilles. They were discovered in a talent contest sponsored by the national radio station, Triple J(a subsidiary of the Australian Broadcasting Channel), and went on to record three records that I knew of in the mid to late 1990's, "Frogstomp"(1995),  "Neon Ballroom(1999)" and "Freak Show(1997)" When" Frogstomp" was released in the United States it became the first time since the 1980's that an Australian band reached the Billboard Top Ten Album's list(along with fellow Aussies INXS and Men At Work). 

So, friend(s), now you know, when someone asks you about Newcastle's contributions to pop culture, you can knowingly chime in about these blokes: