The 1984 Draft continue to make good choices

It’s been almost three years since the release of the 1984 Draft’s EP, “Heisman Trophy Winner” and fans, this writer included, have been clamoring for more. The wait is finally over on Saturday, Aug. 25, when Poptek Records releases the local band’s smoking new vinyl album, “Makes Good Choices,” at South Park Tavern in Dayton.

This is the 1984 Draft’s most realized offering to date, and easily one of the best Gem City releases in this stellar year for local music. The group retains the melodic sensibilities of past releases but the songs are imbued with a power akin to Guns N’ Roses’ “Appetite for Destruction.”

The 1984 Draft — Joe Anderl (vocals, guitar), Eli Alban (guitar), Chip Heck (bass) and Justin Satinover (drums) — sat down recently on Blind Bob’s patio to discuss the new album, which was recorded by Patrick Himes at his Reel Love Recording Company.

Alban: "It was great to record in a professional studio with a guy like Patrick."

Satinover: "Yeah, he was amazing to work with. Everything went pretty smoothly."

Heck: "We played nine of these songs for a couple of years. By the time we got in the studio we were ready to record them."

Alban: "We still made a few tweaks to some songs on the record. We didn't play 'Megaphone' the way we play it now. That came together in practice a couple of months before we recorded."

Anderl: "Then 'Lutheran Heat' was a new one."

Heck: "The version on the record is literally the third time I ever played that song."

Anderl: "We walked into the studio completely knowing the first five songs we were going to do. We recorded those instrumentally and then we had a couple of weeks before we went back in to cut the second five. I knew we needed one more banger. It was going to be the older song, 'Cannon,' but we decided to go with 'Lutheran Heat,' the new one."

Satinover: "I laid down the basic tracks live with Chip on bass and Joe on guitar. A lot of them were first takes. Joe went in after that and doubled the rhythm guitar and then Eli overdubbed his lead guitar parts."

Anderl: "There are a lot of firsts with this album. It's the first time we've released anything on vinyl and it's the first time we worked with Patrick. It's also our first release on Poptek and it's the first release with this line-up. I couldn't be happier with how everything turned out."


HOW TO GO

Who: The 1984 Draft

Where: South Park Tavern, 1301 Wayne Ave., Dayton

When: 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25

More info: 937-813-7491 or www.southparktavern.com

Artist info: www.facebook.com/the1984draft

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