Beaten Awake

**Beaten Awake** ˈbē-tən ə-ˈwāk _n_ **1**. are now and have always been about the music of Kent, OH: making records and going on tour since the ‘90s, they have played basements, living rooms, and backyards; they have been the weight-bearing walls of bands that include The Party of Helicopters, Harriet The Spy, The Man I Fell In Love With, and “New” Terror Class **2**. Jon Finley (vocals, guitar, keys, drums), Ryan Brannon (drums, guitar, bass, keys), Tom Raichel (bass, keys) **_see also_**: Joel McAdams, former guitarist/vocalist who plays on Thunder$troke (an album: see below) but has since departed the band; Gabe Schray (baritone guitar), who has replaced McAdams **3**. old friends who met in a clearing called the Zephyr Pub: it was 2005 – what started as a two-piece of Finley and Brannon with only a couple songs fully formed ended as a three-piece when McAdams joined the band onstage to play keys impromptu **4**. a band that has toured with: The Black Keys, Heartless Bastards, and Dax Riggs; played shows with Built To Spill; opened for and served as a backing band for Daniel Johnston, with whom playing they’ve called an experience they will never forget. **_related_**: Finley also sings/plays in Drummer, a new ‘supergroup’ formed by and featuring Patrick Carney of The Black Keys **5**. “motley bandits” raised by weird wolves and home schooled by trees **6**. socially challenged fakers – in every way sincere

**_Related_**: Let’s Get Simplified, Beaten Awake’s debut, released jointly by Patrick Carney’s (a friend to the band) label Audio Eagle and Fat Possum in 2007

**See also**: Coming Home, a single released by Fat Possum in 2009

**Thunder$troke** ˈthən-dərˈstrōk _n_ **1**. Beaten Awake’s (a band: see above) sophomore album **2**. recorded over the past year in Akron, OH: at The Mammoth Cave Studios with Tim Gerak and at Audio Eagle Studios with Patrick Carney and Jeff France **3**. a lo-fi, alternately heavy and rocking, dreamy and rolling landscape of fuzzy bass, reverberating drums, and guitars channeled through a late ‘70s Fender Super Reverb amp **4**. to be released October 13, 2009 on Fat Possum