Interview and words by Zeena Koda
Video by Maia Stern

My fascination with Dave Witte began the minute I heard blast beats rabidly pulsating through the walls of a dingy, yet endearing practice space in south Jersey. At the time I was in this ambitious tech metal band and my band mates quickly alerted me, “that’s Dave Witte, he’s the fucking MAN.” As a lover of all things heavy, I was privy to Dave’s projects — Discordance Axis, Melt Banana, Human Remains — but what I was hearing that glorious day was the unmistakable Burnt By the Sun. Later that day he walked by and in true Dave fashion complimented us on our sound, I stood in utter awe of a man that was not only one of the sickest drummers alive, but also stood out as a genuine, humble and approachable human being.

There is no greater pleasure in life than to meet another musician you greatly respect and receive a positive vibe. As fates would align, a few years later I began working at Earache Records and spent time working with Municipal Waste, which I immediately discovered now included a recently transplanted Dave Witte. The man truly is an anomaly — he cooks gourmet dishes, has a fervent love for cats and has several tattooed through his body (all cat lovers are clearly genius), tours the world and most notably, pounds a drum set like no one else.

A legend in the underground metal community, Dave and Municipal Waste are showing a new generation of kids how to party hard and thrash he night away. We sat down with Dave and talked about the bands’ slot on the forthcoming No Fear Energy Tour with Lamb of God, recording a new Municipal Waste album in 2009, the reemergence of Burnt By The Sun and many other revealing tidbits.

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