The Bad Penny (beta)

Self-help charlatans, fitness freaks, and corporate advertisers will have you believe that “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” But those blustering boobs typically omit a rather critical part of the equation: Often times, the most trying challenges in life befall us when we least expect it, before we have the time to steel ourselves in preparation for such trials and tribulations. It’s why sucker punches are strictly prohibited in every imaginable form of a so-called “fair fight.”

Psych-rock outfit Bask learned this lesson by facing a challenge that no one should have to face: a devastating natural disaster—specifically, the deadliest hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland in almost two decades. Hurricane Helene obliterated the band’s rehearsal space when it ripped through their hometown of Asheville, North Carolina, in September of last year. Fortunately, the band members didn’t suffer devastating physical injuries that threatened to put a halt to their careers, as kindred spirits Baroness experienced in an unforgettably devastating bus crash in 2012.

Bask certainly had their work cut out for themselves as they tried bouncing back from their own horrific twist of fate. The band relied on charitable donations from a GoFundMe campaign they launched to replace gear and rehearsal space furniture they lost in the flood. But during a March check-in with Bask, longtime friends Zeb Camp (guitar/vocals) and Scott Middleton (drums) already had perspective on overcoming what could quaintly be referred to as an “adversity.”

“We can’t complain too much,” Middleton said at the time. “A lot of people had it way worse than us.”