Communion After Dark is an Internet radio show that serves as a companion to the weekly Friday and Saturday dance nights at Ybor City’s The Castle (Tampa, Florida). It features the latest and best alternative-electronic music — EBM, dark electro, synth pop, goth, power noise. Europe spearheads these styles, which unfortunately receive little exposure in the United States. We are here to help counter that sad reality. However, you can assist far more effectively; buy CDs and legal downloads from the artists, and make sure you see these bands when concerts come to the area. It makes all the difference!
The show — airing first in February 2008 — is hosted every Monday by DJ Mark Paradise of The Castle, DJ Bryant Griffin of the band Ien Oblique, DJ Maus and DJ Tom Gold , who is the Resident DJ of The Castle, which has operated continuously since 1997 with weekly scene nights. It proudly stands as the premier dance club spinning these genres in the United States.
Communion After Dark can be found in the iTunes store where it frequents the Top 100 Music Podcast chart and is featured in the What’s Hot list. It's the dominate podcast covering these genres in the world. Shows are also available on YouTube (with some episodes attracting more than 330,000 views) and Mixcloud.(often ranking No. 1 in five different charts).
"Our primary goal from the beginning was to expose people to this genres's remarkable music, which is backed by an impressively large, diverse group of artists and labels," DJ Griffin said. "For electronic music fans, this music scene -- traditionally and tragically receiving little wide exposure -- represents an addicting treasure trove to explore."
Several special shows are featured each year too, which include guest DJs, interviews with bands and special themes such as covers, genre classics and Halloween.
Along with producing weekly shows, Communion After Dark also hosts several Tampa concerts and a music festival each year, and it has brought in such acts as VNV Nation, Suicide Commando, Velvet Acid Christ, Leaether Strip, Covenant, God Module, Tactical Sekt, Grendel. Its DJs also guest-spin at clubs and festivals.
For our usual format, the show features 15 tracks. What set belongs to what DJ? Though together we announce each others songs just heard, the set belongs to who starts and ends that announcement. Also, an introduction by "Promo Cyber-Girl" is fixed before the set, except the first, indicating who is up next.
If you have ever wondered why a show sounds harder or softer than the previous week it's usually because our goal is to expose listeners to the latest music; as a result, we're at the mercy of the labels and what is hitting stores at any particular time. Sometimes that means a show leaning toward hard stuff, other times toward soft stuff or an equal mix. Ideally, we would like a balance of it all each week, but that is not always possible. If there is a particular style you favor, just hang in there, it's simply a cycle normal for release schedules.
You can email the DJs at communionafterdark@yahoo.com.
DJ MARK PARADISE - Mark was born in Wisconsin and moved to Florida in 1984. He originally fell in love with electronic music when he heard Devo in 1981. By 1987 he was hooked on the industrial/goth scene, especially after hearing a song called "New York New York" by the Microchip League. For over a decade now, Mark has served as a resident DJ at The Castle and can be heard upstairs every Saturday. He is a big fan of all forms of music in the scene, and has brought a number of bands to play in Tampa, including VNV Nation, Assemblage 23, Combichrist, Grendel, Culture Kultur, God Module.
DJ BRYANT GRIFFIN - Bryant entered the scene in early 1995 after viewing the horror flick "Hideaway," discovering in its soundtrack a window to industrial music. After religiously tuning into the radio show Dark Horizons, he became a diehard addict, making countless trips to Tampa's dark electro club The Castle. He is a member of the band Ien Oblique, which is signed to Infacted Recordings.
DJ MAUS - Maus fell into the industrial scene in 1991 and got hooked on artists such as :wumpscut:, Benestrophe and Skinny Puppy, scooping up anything on the Zoth Ommog and Wax Trax! labels. She started DJing in 1999 and has supported the The Castle for at least 18 years. Maus listens to a wide range of dark electronic music and favors synthpop and melodic harsh electro.
Current DJ Maus nights in Tampa are TAPED Indie Music Video Night and select Communion After Dark post-punk and Obscura Undead events
DJ TOM GOLD - For more than 17 years, Tom has DJed on Fridays and Saturdays at The Castle, spinning Industrial, Darkwave, EBM, TBM, Electro and Goth. A true pioneer of the "scene" in the United States, Tom's run at The Castle is one of the longest-standing gigs held by any single DJ in the American scene. He is always pushing the envelope to make the Tampa scene evolve by introducing listeners to new music and booking shows, which have included over 50 scene bands to date:
He has graced the decks several times at festivals such as Wave-Gotik-Treffen, Kinetik Festival, Darkstar, Blacksun and Dracula's Ball.
You will catch him playing the oldies on Fridays for Midnight Mass and the latest music from the scene for No Boundaries every Saturday.
Tom is rumored to have a "Mount Everest" of music that spans all genres and occupies the lion’s share of space in his Tampa home. His current Poisons are: Vokda + Redbull.