Passionate, Dayton, Ohio-based indie quartet The 1984 Draft releases their Heisman Trophy Winner EP via Gas Daddy Go! on November 6. The band, who channels alt-folk sensibilities through a ‘90s emo and indie lens, is recommended for fans of The Replacements, Beach Slang, The Smoking Popes, Sugar and Cheap Girls.
For those unfamiliar with The 1984 Draft, or its primary singer/songwriter Joe Anderl, few Dayton, Ohio-based musicians have enjoyed the opportunity to support as broad and diverse a list of nationally and internationally recognized musicians as Anderl has with his various projects. To name just a representative sample, he’s supported everyone from indie rock heavies like Maritime, The New Amsterdams, The Wrens, Murder By Death, Limbeck and Ink and Dagger, to celebrated songwriters like John Vanderslice, Richard Buckner, party rocker Andrew WK, and even hardcore heavies Everytime I Die and H2O.  He’s also toured alongside The Gunshy (Chicago), Adam Torres’ Nostra Nova (Austin) and Tender Mercy (Louisville).
His current project, The 1984 Draft, includes powerhouse drummer Justin Satinover, studied axe-man Eli Alban, and bassist Charles “Chip” Heck  (Larry Evans of Dayton powerhouse Smug Brothers provides bass on “Heisman Trophy Winner”).
In 2014, The 1984 Draft released their EP, Bo Jackson Up The Middle, via We Want Action (84 Nash, She Bears, Tiara). The EP was recorded at Popside Studio with Micah Carli (guitarist for Hawthorne Heights) in mid-January 2014.
The band also premiered a video teaser for “Clear Heads Full Hearts” produced and directed by Mike Postalakis, who has been responsible for videos from Guided By Voices, Wussy, Swearing at Motorists, DTCV and more.
Their 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 on the NFL Network.
2015 finds The 1984 Draft as one of 24 Ohio bands featured on the 10^th anniversary Aquabear Legion double vinyl compilation and releasing an EP, Heisman Trophy Winner, on November 6 on Gas Daddy Go! (GBV, Swearing at Motorists, Smug Brothers) titled Heisman Trophy Winner.  Early in 2016, the band plans to release an LP, titled Return to Tall Boy Mountain Again, and another EP, Makes Good Choices.
Today, The 1984 Draft celebrate the EP’s release by sharing “War Of One” with Ghettoblaster. This is what Anderl had to say about it:
“On this song, I really wanted to write something that would give Eli a chance to show off his guitar chops and have a little fun.  This one is more of a rocker for us, heavily influenced by the bands from Athens, Ohio in the mid ’90s, particularly Appalachian Death Ride and Geraldine.  From a lyrical perspective, I started with an idea from reality and the story grew from things I experienced in the past and present.”

Catch the band live:
November 6, Spacebar, Columbus, Ohio with The Easy Pieces, Methematics, The Left Hooks
November 7, Blind Bob’s, Dayton, Ohio with The Left Hooks, Cliffs, Bribing Senators