This is an enchanted place. No, I don’t mean really cool or fun or eclectic - it’s literally enchanted. Things happen here that don’t happen in the real world. Each member of the ORANGE Music Staff has experienced that pivotal moment that changed their lives forever. It’s a blessing and a curse, really. No matter how mind-bogglingly awesome our celebrity run-ins or community festival experiences may have been, we are now forever spoiled, fully aware of the depressing fact that no other city will ever match the serendipitous beauty of Austin.

From punk to hip-hop, Austin has something for every type of music fan on any given night. Where the show takes place is almost as important as the performance itself. A venue’s ambiance can make or break a live music experience. The ORANGE Music Staff encourages all live music enthusiasts to find the venue that best resonates with them.

Austin-based electronic artist Roger Sellers just wrapped up an Indiegogo campaign to raise money for his recently released album, “Primitives,” and subsequent tour of the western United States this month, his first time in that part of the country. He speaks about the trials of making the album, his expectations for the tour and the passion for his craft that sustains him through the highs and lows of his career.

We get it. There are a million-and-one places to buy records and other assorted music memorabilia in Austin. But in a city that thrives off of music consumption and appeals to an enormously diverse demographic of listeners, finding a store tailored to one’s taste is easier said than done. To take the stress out of finding the right place to shop and put the emphasis back on the joy of adding a new item to the collection, the ORANGE music staff gives its picks for the top music stores in Austin.

Cover songs: one of the trickiest balancing acts in music. Artists face the tremendous pressure of putting their own stamp on a time-honored classic, while still paying homage to the original. Add extreme skepticism from purists to the mix, and it seems like a no-win situation for musicians simply trying to wear their influences on their sleeves. Still, against all odds, these artists’ renditions manage to not just make the cut, but even surpass the original versions in the eyes of the ORANGE music staff.

Junk. At least, that’s what we call it. George Herms, however, marvels at trash heaps and paper scraps, blank canvases awaiting his transformative touch. For nearly 60 years, the Beat-generation artist has drawn from a hodgepodge of discarded, seemingly mundane objects to craft a myriad of collages and sculptures.

They say home is where the heart is. They forgot to mention that home is where the comfy bed, working kitchen appliances and free Wi-Fi are as well. We got back from tour a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been meaning to sit down and write my final reflections on the whole adventure ever since then, but truthfully, I’ve been trying to enjoy my last week and a half at home before I leave yet again, this time until December at the earliest. Hey, this is the first stress-free week I’ve had all summer.

We just had two days off, yet I didn't write a single word about the tour in our downtime. Instead, it's back to the iPhone notes while sitting in the back of the van. Good to know I maintained my stellar work ethic from the school year.

I haven’t produced a single piece of writing in nearly three months. That’s probably a mortal sin in this world, right? Shouldn’t I be stricken from the journalistic community and left to wither in my own irrelevance? Even if I’m allowed to stay, my creative muscles have probably atrophied past the point of no return. I’m lucky I even managed to eek out the last five sentences!

Call me obsessed, but the second thing I do every morning (after cursing my alarm to Hell) is lunge for my phone to check my text messages. In the sincerest act of vanity, I nearly set fire to my screen as my thumb races to and fro, checking with the utmost diligence to make sure I didn’t miss any action. But on Monday morning, I stumbled upon a message from my best friend, sent at 3:25 a.m., that stopped me dead in my tracks: “The singer of GWAR died :(”