What happened? Were they trying to hurt themselves, or others? Was it in someway intentional?

He was one of those very few people that has that very deep, genuine connection to music.Īccording to your press release, the driver who killed Connor was acting purposefully. In terms of taste, he would always love the more strange, experimental stuff. Even deeper than that, he was so passionate about music. He was very involved, and definitely one of the best musicians I’ve ever met. Even when tours got tough, it never bothered him at all. I don’t think you would ever see him without a smile on his face. He was always super optimistic, always smiling. He was a person that could get along with anybody. From the get-go, he was just such an incredible inclusion. So I asked him to try out, and as soon as he did, we got him in the band. All I could think about was how talented he was. Back when he was about eighteen, Awaken I Am was looking for another guitarist, and I came across him. He was easily one of the best people I’ve ever met. Who was he as a person, and as a musician? “We’re doing this to carry out Connor’s legacy, and part of that is talking about what happened.“Ībove: Awaken I Am with Connor Verner-Oakley on the far left. “I really appreciate that, but even though there are some things that are incredibly difficult to talk about, that’s why we’re doing this in the first place,” says the drummer. When we apologize for the sensitive nature of the interview, he’s gracious but firm. On the phone from just outside of Atlanta on the band's current tour with Secrets, Luke sounds understandably grim when discussing the first anniversary of Connor’s death, but resolute to talk about it none the less. Recorded by Taylor Larson (known for his work with Asking Alexandria and The Word Alive), the album is a hard-hitting mixture of tracks written while Connor was still in the band and songs that came out of Awaken I Am’s grieving process, each one a piece of high-gravity post-hardcore that will leave fans with their jaws dropped. The result was The Beauty In Tragedy, an EP of songs paying tribute to Connor’s life and venting the confusion and bitterness felt by his bandmates after his death. The concept that Connor was gone absolutely crushed the band the idea of finding a new guitarist and touring so soon afterwards felt almost unthinkable.īut in the name of Connor’s love of music, and at the urging of his family, Awaken I Am brought on new guitarist Jay Sibthorpe and pushed through the pain. in support of their 2017 album Blind Love only a month and a half before Connor's passing, and the Brisbane quintet were scheduled to head back out on the road less than two weeks after the tragedy had happened. Awaken I Am had finished touring the U.S. The tragedy of Connor Verner-Oakley’s death was twofold, in that it not only robbed the world of a young talent before his time, but it also struck a band in the process of ascending to the next level.

Hindsight awaken i am