[Photo courtesy of Kelley Lach]

By Kate Tocke, PR Director

Ananke is a band of five proud Cleveland natives: Ben Stewart on rhythm guitar, Ted Bucha on drums, Sean Bradesca on the bass, Jonas Evans on guitar and Marty Bradesca on vocals and guitar. With their influences spreading out all over the map, Battle of the Bands viewers were guaranteed a great show. These guys have taken inspiration from Big Thief to Geese, but bring their own twist to their covers. I was able to talk to the guys before they took the stage at Battle of the Bands.

[This interview is edited for length and clarity]

Kate Tocke (KT): How do you guys feel going into Battle of the Bands?

Ted: The Cleveland sound is on a big upswing in Athens right now. We are going to just keep riding that wave. 

Ben: It’s the first show at The Union for a few of us, so we are a little nervous. 

Marty: Three out of five of us haven’t played at The Union before. I have played here multiple times with many different bands and Jonas played here with On Paper before. 

Sean: We all drove three hours to get here, and Jonas made really good burgers. 

Jonas: One thing about us is that we love burgers.

KT: What can people expect from an Ananke performance, since we haven’t seen you guys here at The Union before?

Ted: Sweat.

Jonas: It’s kind of like the Charli XCX sweat tour but sweatier than that.

Marty: Sweaty but fun.

KT: If you guys could associate any color with your band, what would it be?

Marty: Maybe like beige or brown. 

Sean: Think of a really bad shade of brown. 

Marty: The Union back patio railing brown.

Jonas: Go Browns!

KT: Where did the name Ananke come from?

Ted: We were in music theory class and we were thinking of a name to put in, so I looked up Greek goddesses and gods. We then stumbled upon Ananke and I believe–

Marty: It is the Greek goddess of compulsive dance. We went through a lot of names before we did land on Ananke. 

KT: If you could collaborate with any musician dead or alive, who would it be? 

[Group huddle as they make a decision]

Jonas: The answer is Drizzy. Drake.

KT: What does the future hold for Ananke?

Ted: We might switch the name.

Marty: We will be back in the spring in Athens playing more shows here. But you can catch us in Cleveland in the winter and the summer. 

Sean: We are all great friends and we love burgers!