WITCH TAINT: From the mean streets of Gary, Indiana by way of Oslo, Norway (or maybe the other way around - we're not sure) comes Witch Taint, the most extremely extreme and Satanic Norwegian Black Metal band from Gary, Indiana ever probably and you can ask anyone. While the origins of the band remain hazy, even to the members themselves, there is at least some evidence of the band's existence dating back as far as late 2004 (Read for yourself at www.theblackmetaldialogues.com). However, we also know a version of the band consisting of founding member Lance the King of Black Metal and About 500 Other Things Most People Can't Handle (rumored to actually be comedian and musician Dave Hill) and his sworn enemy, Oslo native Matthias Backwards (rumored to actually be musician and comedian Phil Costello), began performing live as a duo in 2017, including sold out appearances at SXSW and the Wacken Open Air festival, which were awesome and a lot of members of the audience had to receive counseling both during and immediately following the show because it was so extreme, brutal, and occasionally foul in odor.

This past spring, Witch Taint began performing as a full, six-member live band (consisting mostly of members found in the darkest recesses of Craigslist) that is so extreme, brutal, grim, unholy, kvlt, and just sort of negative in general that most people can't even handle it basically even if everyone agrees the Witch Taint T-shirts are pretty awesome and they should really consider keeping more mediums in stock but whatever. The band's full-length debut Sons of Midwestern Darkness, recorded entirely in darkness in a damp room that was also annoyingly cold much of the time even if you wore a coat and a hat and stuff the whole time, is set to be released by New York City's Tee Pee Records in early 2020. The album is extremely difficult to listen to in the very best of ways and features guest appearances from members of such not-nearly-as-extreme-as-Witch Taint bands as Venom, Carpathian Forest, and Autopsy and also Lance's dog Lucifuge because they forgot to keep the basement door shut even though she will end up coming down there every single time no matter what. If you think you can handle it, which - statistically speaking anyway - you probably can't, please get yourself a copy. And by all means, come see the band live. However, whether you decide to kill yourself, go sit in a ditch for a while, or simply stare of into the distance for a disturbingly long amount of time as a result of having done either one of these things, that is not their fucking problem.

Sometimes, a mystical, life-changing connection can be closer than you think. In 2017, Grammy Award-winning guitarist/producer Adrian Quesada had recorded some instrumentals in his Austin studio, and he started looking around for a vocalist - he knew a lot of singers, but he wanted something different. He reached out to friends in Los Angeles, in London, but nothing seemed right.

Meantime, Eric Burton had recently made his way to Texas. Born in the San Fernando Valley, he grew up in church and then got heavily involved in musical theater. He started busking at the Santa Monica pier, where he brought in a few hundred dollars a day and developed his performance skills. Burton traveled through the Western states before deciding to settle down in Austin - setting up his busking spot on a downtown street corner, at 6th Street and Congress, for maximum exposure.

A mutual friend mentioned Burton to Quesada, saying that he was the best singer he had ever heard. The two musicians connected, but Burton took a while to respond ("My friends were like 'Dude, you're a mad man, you need to hit that guy back!'") Finally, he called Quesada, and started singing to one of the tracks over the phone. "I loved his energy, his vibe, and I knew it would be incredible on record," he says. "From the moment I heard him on the phone, I was all about it."

The results of that inauspicious beginning can now be heard on the self-titled debut album from Black Pumas, the group that Quesada and Burton assembled, which has become one of the year's most anticipated projects. Described as "Wu-Tang Clan meets James Brown" by KCRW, Black Pumas were the winner of Best New Band at the 2019 Austin Music Awards.

A seated no talking during the performances, Asbury Cafe show.

Brooklyn-based alt-pop band Spirit Animal have just dropped their new track ARM CANDY. The band is also happy to announce the release of REBORN YESTERDAY, out September 20th via RED MUSIC. REBORN YESTERDAY is the deluxe version of the band's debut full-length album "Born Yesterday" and features three new tracks, including their newest track, "Arm Candy".