Soulhat is a popular Austin, Texas band whose sound incorporates alt-country, funk, hard rock, "jam band," and southern rock influences. Their live performances frequently include covers from acts as diverse as Black Sabbath and Van Halen to Jeff Beck, the Allman Brothers, and Devo. Formed in 1990 by Southwestern University alumni Kevin McKinney (guitar, lead vocals, and the band's principal songwriter), Bill Cassis (lead guitar) and Brian Walsh (bass), Soulhat's career began in Austin's vibrant live music scene. At the much-beloved Black Cat Lounge, the band began attracting a growing fan base with McKinney's quirky humor and extended jam sessions displaying the group's chops to great effect. In 1991 the band replaced drummer Ian Bailey with the venerable Barry "Frosty" Smith, which upped the musical ante even further; Smith's résumé includes stints with Jimi Hendrix, Parliament-Funkadelic and Sly & the Family Stone. Releasing a small live demo tape called Live at the Black Cat early in 1991, the band soon became a mainstay of the Austin music scene; along with other emerging acts such as Sister 7 (née Little Sister) and Joe Rockhead, Soulhat's shows and later recordings became seminal to the Austin sound of the early-to-mid 1990s. Local-press profiles in the Austin Chronicle and Austin American-Statesman followed; a full-length album called Outdebox was recorded and self-produced by the band in mid-1991, and high-profile appearances at Austin's legendary South By Sou

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