The Draft Recent News

HOT WATER MUSIC Reunite For Mini Tour

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 00:11:00 -0800

POST-HARDCORE PIONEERS PLAN MINI REUNION TOUR FOR 2008

Gainesville, Florida's Hot Water Music will reunite for a handful of anticipated shows in 2008. Returning to the stage after amicably disbanding in 2006, HWM's founding members Chuck Ragan, Jason Black, Chris Wollard and George Rebelo will ignite crowds in Chicago, Orlando and Sayerville, NJ with rare and long overdue performances.
For well over a decade, HWM helped pioneer the post-hardcore sound with their distinct blend of punk influenced rock. The band's tight rhythms, aggressive riffs and blue collar vocals helped establish them as one of the scene's most respected bands, and their years of relentless touring and vigorous live shows helped make them a household name in the punk community.

Called "the best punk band of the last decade" by Alternative Press, HWM parted ways in early 2006 while still remaining close friends over the ensuing years. The group's raspy singer, Ragan, went on to pursue his solo work, while Wollard, Black and Rebelo formed the punk infused folk rock group The Draft. With Wollard taking over vocal duties, The Draft made their Epitaph Records debut in the fall of 2006 with the full length studio album In a Million Pieces and released a self-titled digital EP in spring of 2007.

While the future of HWM remains to be seen, fans can get a rare glimpse of the band on their 2008 mini tour. Tickets go on sale November 10th.

Tour Dates:
1/19 - House of Blues - Orlando, FL
1/25 - Starland Ballroom - Sayreville, NJ
2/1 - Metro - Chicago, IL

The Draft Tours with Lifetime

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:04:00 -0700

Starting at the end of April, The Draft (former members of the legendary post-punk outfit Hot Water Music) will combine forces with the very influential, recently reformed Lifetime.
This will be a great show.

Check to see if they're coming to your area.

April 20th - Toronto, ON @ Reverb
Click To Buy Tix

April 21st - Mt Clemens, MI @ The Hayloft
Click To Buy Tix

April 22nd - Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
Click To Buy Tix

April 23rd - Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock
Click To Buy Tix

April 24th - Milwaukee, WI @ Miramar Theatre
Click To Buy Tix

April 25th - Covington, KY @ Mad Hatter Club
Click To Buy Tix

April 26th - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
Click To Buy Tix

April 27th - Orlando, FL @ The Social (18+/under with guardian)
Click To Buy Tix

April 28th - Columbia, SC @ New Brookland Taver
To buy advance tickets, either come by the club with cash after 4pm, or call 803-791-4413 between 4pm & 7pm to order by credit card.

April 29th - Richmond, VA @ Alley Katz
Click To Buy Tix

The Draft to release exclusive digital EP March 13th

Fri, 16 Feb 2007 00:02:00 -0800

Post-punk outfit The Draft are set to release an exclusive self-titled digital EP on March 13th from Epitaph Records. A follow-up to the band's acclaimed 2006 debut, In A Million Pieces, the EP features four rockin tracks like the melodic punk anthem The Devil In The Shade and the toe-tapping cut Stop Wastin My Time. The Draft EP is available for purchase individually through all major download services and as an exclusive packaged album through iTunes.

The Draft features former members of Hot Water Music, Jason Black, George Rebelo and Chris Wollard as well as ex-Discount guitarist Todd Wonderboy Rockhill, and are currently blazing their way across the country on a national tour.

Track Listing:

1. Stop Wastin My Time
2. Up All Night
3. The Devil In The Shade
4. Na Na Na

Upcoming Tour Dates:

3/13/2007 Handlebar Pensacola FL
3/17/2007 Rubber Gloves Denton TX
3/18/2007 The Rock Papillion NE
3/19/2007 Triple Rock Minneapolis MN
3/21/2007 Mad Planet Milwaukee WI
3/22/2007 The Abbey Chicago IL
3/23/2007 Ottos DeKalb IL
3/24/2007 The Nite Owl Dayton OH
3/25/2007 Poison Room Cincinnati OH
3/27/2007 Creepy Crawl St. Louis MO
3/28/2007 The End Nashville TN
3/29/2007 Cave 9 Birmingham AL
3/30/2007 Masquerade Atlanta GA
3/31/2007 Common Ground Gainesville FL

The Draft set their plans for Fall headlining tour!

Sat, 21 Oct 2006 00:10:00 -0700

With their new album In A Million Pieces, in stores now, The Draft are heading out on a headlining tour, and are kicking it off on the East Coast!

The first leg of the tour is going to run from November 30th through December 9th, and cities are set to include New York, New Jersey, Boston and Atlanta. Support for all of these dates will be provided by Planes Mistaken for Stars (Abacus Records) and Fifth Hour Hero (No Idea Records).

The second leg of the tour is going to be another round on the West Coast, this time supporting Avail. That leg will run from January 19th through the 28th and will hit the following cities: San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Tempe and Phoenix.

If you have yet to see The Draft live, do yourself a favor and check out one of these dates!

The new Draft album gets a great review from Pastepunk.com!

Thu, 14 Sep 2006 00:09:00 -0700

It's 3pm on a Friday afternoon in mid-July and I'm driving on a desolate stretch of Interstate 81 through the mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania. The sky is a shade above apocalyptic darkness and the rain is coming down so hard that I feel like I'm navigating a nuclear sub rather than a 1998 Toyota Camry with stiff leather seats and a gimp windshield wiper. Between roars of thunder that are involuntarily causing my vehicle to shift lanes, bolts of "HOLY SHIT!" style lightning, and steady pleas to my wife, who is clinging desperately to the car door handle, of "we're fine... we're fine..." it was a bit of a panicky situation. But not really. Because THE DRAFT we're on the car the stereo. And like them, I was weathering the perfect storm.

In A Million Pieces, the debut release from THE DRAFT, is a full-length that is part survive and part conquer. Featuring three-fourths of the now-defunct HOT WATER MUSIC (everyone but Chuck Ragan), the group survives by having a smooth, yet momentum-charged sound that's largely an extension of HOT WATER MUSIC's final recording The New What Next. As for the conquering - THE DRAFT do the things that guarantee instant affection from these ears - they deliver an endless stream of propelling rhythms and sing-a-long friendly verses and choruses. It's the familiarity that ropes you in (surely one of the benefits of losing just one vocalist, rather than starting a rookie in that position), and the subtle nods of progression that keep you entranced.

I've struggled at the task of reviewing HOT WATER MUSIC releases because few words have seemed to accurately describe the band's timeless, organic sound, and the way in which the group makes complex songwriting seem so incredibly natural and simple. To some extent, In A Million Pieces pushes the juxtaposition of reality and appearances even further along - THE DRAFT do inexplicable things to make things to make their music sound so straight forward; yet looking under the hood shows an engine that has benefitted from years and years of high-end care. It's that sense of veteran knowledge and excitement that causes a band to write an opener like "New Eyes Open" which shatters through hesitations and preconceived notions in a matter of seconds. "Let It Go" leaves the words 'And I won't lie unless you ask me to,' stinging in the air, while "Wired" takes aim with unexpected horn support and undeniably addictive shouts of the album title. THE DRAFT are penning tunes that smother instead of smolder. The final two tracks to the twelve song release are some of the band's best work, with "Longshot," and "The Tide Is Out," both riding the energy out to the last drop.

The most important pieces of music in my life are those that are tied to priceless periods of learning, growth, and personal exploration and experience. While it's much too soon to determine how THE DRAFT will fit into this longterm perspective, all I know is that if my wife and I didn't make it through that terrifying driving experience a couple of months ago, at least we would have gone out with an amazing soundtrack.

www.pastepunk.com

The Draft get 4 stars from AMG.com!

Mon, 07 Aug 2006 00:08:00 -0700

After the departure of Chuck Ragan, his bandmates were determined to soldier on, but no longer under the Hot Water Music name. Wanting to make a clean break with the past, the remaining trio dubbed themselves the Draft, and with Brian Baker initially filling in the guitar gaps, went back to work. But it was only upon enlisting Todd Rockhill that all the pieces finally fell into place.

At the tail end of their time as Hot Water Music, the group had begun toying with more melody, but still that doesn't prepare listeners for just how drenched with it In a Million Pieces is. The set opener, "New Eyes Open," is positively hook-laden, with an absolutely exhilarating, anthemic chorus to boot. "Bordering" takes things even further, with chiming lead guitar juxtaposed against the song's jittery, edgy atmosphere, while "Not What I Wanna Do" boasts rich vocal harmonies, fabulous swooping guitars, and a rhythm that steam rolls right over the grooves. And then there's "All We Can Count On," a slower, weightier number, with slightly blurred guitars, a fist in the air, singalong chorus, and a tinkling xylophone � yep � a xylophone. But the Draft haven't been totally sheared of their hardcore soul: "Lo Zee Rose" is tough as they come, with an anthemic shout-along chorus, while "Let It Go" also bristles with anger, but in a raw, melodic ska-core mode. Both "The Tide Is Out" and "Wired" contain some shreds of the past, the former almost stadium-sized, with a sound big enough to shake houses in the next town, hard rock slamming headfirst into hardcore, the latter stomping with fury. But it's songs like "Alive or Dead," that portend the band's real future, sizzling with energy, harmonic guitars, and a melody that will knock your socks off; it represents Draft in all its new glory.

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:pze097ygkrst&writer=1