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Arts & Entertainment

Soul Asylum @ Infinity Music Hall & Bistro

True survivors of the rock struggle, whose home-made post-punk ethos made them one of the cornerstones of the No Depression movement in the '90s, Grammy winners Soul Asylum, with the hits "Runaway Train" and "Misery", are living proof of the ‘do-it-yourself' ethic that has always meant life or death to rock bands in the American heartland.

Landing their first record deal with Twin/Tone in 1984, Soul Asylum recorded a total of four albums for the local label: Say What You Will… Everything Can Happen in 1984 (later re-released as Say What You Will, Clarence… Karl Sold the Truck), Made To Be Broken, and While You Were Out in 1986, and the EP Clam Dip & Other Delights in 1988. The band then switched to A&M, releasing Hang Time in 1988 and And the Horse They Rode In On in 1990 under that label. Although they enjoyed some success as a live band, Soul Asylum suffered from low album sales and considered disbanding.

In 1992, they signed with Columbia Records to produce Grave Dancers Union, a record that would come to transform them from underground college rockers to international superstars. The first two singles off the album, "Somebody To Shove" and "Black Gold", both came in at high positions at the Modern Rock and Album Rock charts, but it was the album's third track that led them to their major breakthrough. "Runaway Train" peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, raised album sales to double-platinum level, and won Soul Asylum the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song in 1994.

In 1995, Soul Asylum followed up the success of Grave Dancers Union with Let Your Dim Light Shine, which climbed to #6 on the Billboard 200 and featured the #1 Modern Rock track Misery. After releasing Candy From a Stranger in 1998, the band members took a break from recording and didn't release a new studio album for the better part of seven years.

They reunited in 2004 to record their ninth full-length album. Shortly thereafter, Karl was diagnosed with throat cancer. Up until this point, Soul Asylum had always included Dan, Karl, and Dave, despite several line-up changes. This changed on June 17th, 2005, when Karl passed away after finishing his work on the new album. The Silver Lining was released in 2006 and dedicated to Karl Mueller's life and memory, with Dan expressing that, "For me, this record is Karl."

In 2009, after many rumors, it was confirmed that the band are working on a new album set to be released in 2012: Delayed Reaction.

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