THE 1984 DRAFT, a band who channels American rock sensibilities through a ‘90s-tinted punk and indie lens, are set to release their sophomore LP, Best Friends Forever, on January 19, 2023, via Poptek Records, Sell The Heart Records, and Engineer Records (UK).
This LP follows their critically lauded debut album, Makes Good Choices, which made a bunch of “best of the year lists” in 2018, and a trio of 7″s, including splits with Gordon Withers (Jawbreaker on Cello, J Robbins Band) and Todd Farrell Jr. (Two Cow Garage, Benchmarks).
“I thought I had Best Friends Forever completely written shortly after the release of Makes Good Choices”, said Joe Anderl, frontman for The 1984 Draft. “We began recording the record ourselves and then Chip Heck’s board got fried. That caused us to pause and then Covid hit. With the additional time at home, I kept writing, so some songs were swapped out.”
The 1984 Draft are: Joe Anderl- vocals, guitar, Justin Satinover- drums, Eli Alban- guitar, Chip Heck- bass.
“We did not intend for it to take this long to release another full-length, but it is the card that was dealt and I couldn’t be happier this how it turned out,” Anderl adds.
According to Anderl, Best Friends Forever continues to tell the story laid out on Makes Good Choices. “I’m still writing songs about my family and life in general. This is my photo album of a period of time in my life. My kids continue to grow, I continue to evolve, and the world continues to be a mess. I think we cover a little bit of all of that on this record.”
The album was recorded by Fred Vahldiek (Dark Backward) at his Fredzoz studio in the band’s hometown of Dayton, Ohio. It was mastered by Chris Common (Mastodon, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Le Butcherretes). The album also features contributions from Susie Ulhrey (Pohgoh), Todd Farrell Jr. (Benchmarks, Two Cow Garage), and Sean Gardner (Denovo, Kopaz, The Receiver, Winter Makes Sailors, Minnows), and Cherry Fullam.
The 1984 Draft, the band is comprised of Anderl, guitarist Eli Alban, bassist Chip Heck, and drummer Justin Satinover. To date, the band have released a compilation track, a pair of EPs, three 7 inches (w/ Todd Farrell (Benchmarks) and Gordon Withers (Jawbreaker on Cello / J Robbins band) an LP.
The band continue to perform live as often as possible and have supported Radar State, Off WIth Their Heads, Haymarket Riot, Hawthorne Heights, Extra Arms, Relaxer, Signals Midwest, Jon Snodgrass, Shane Sweeney, Ben Nichols of Lucero, Crooks on Tape, Dead Rider, Maps and Atlases, Vinnie Caruana of The Movielife, Anthony Raneri of Bayside, Geoff Rickly of Thursday, Six Gallery, The Color Fred, and more.
In 2022, The 1984 Draft released a split single with Todd Farrell Jr (Benchmarks) via Poptek Records. The single was covered by New Noise Magazine, Ghettoblaster Magazine, The Bad Copy, The Book of Very Very Bad Things podcast, Aversionline, and Jersey Beat.
In 2020, The 1984 Draft released their Destination Breakdown single via Poptek Records. The single was covered by Punk News, Big Takeover Magazine, etc.
The 1984 Draft released their freshman LP, Makes Good Choices, in 2018 via Poptek Records. The album received rave reviews from Wannabe The Comic, A Diverse Sound, Soundblab, Oklahoma Lefty, Us For Once, Punk Music UK and more, and topped that year’s “Best of the Year” lists at many online outlets.
Their Heisman Trophy Winner EP was released via Gas Daddy Go! (the boutique label of former Guided By Voices drummer Don Thrasher) in November of 2015. They were also one of 24 Ohio bands featured on the 10th anniversary Aquabear Legion double vinyl compilation that year.
In 2014, The 1984 Draft released their EP, Bo Jackson Up The Middle, via We Want Action (84 Nash, She Bears, Tiara). The EPs were recorded at Popside Studio with Micah Carli (former guitarist for Hawthorne Heights), who also took up engineering and mastering duties on the Heisman Trophy Winner EP. Their Bo Jackson Up The Middle EP saw the light of day in advance of the release of an NFL Network documentary on the actual 1984 NFL Draft, in which the band is featured. NFL Films captured them live in the band’s hometown on January 10, 2014. The documentary aired on April 30, 2014. It continues to air each draft season on the NFL Network and was followed print and web features on the band in Sports Illustrated, The Omaha World Herald, to name a few.
