Midwest Friends Fest is back for year two in the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area. Once again taking over Southgate House Revival on May 28-30 (tickets), the festival brings together an incredible and diverse mix of national and regional acts for two days of loud guitars, DIY spirit, and the kind of community you only find in independent music scenes. With artists like Teens in Trouble, Little Low, The 1984 Draft and Tooth Lures a Fang joining dozens more across multiple stages, Midwest Friends Fest is shaping up to be another unforgettable weekend.
This year, MWFF is treating the lineup like a pack of trading cards where each band is its own collectible piece of the Midwest Friends Fest universe. In the lead-up to the festival, we’re spotlighting the artists one by one so you can get to know the players before the doors open. Next up in the set: Joe Anderl of 1984 Draft
For anyone discovering you for the first time… what should our readers know about 1984 Draft? What’s one song in your catalog that feels most important to you personally or best displays your sound and voice, even if it isn’t the one people know best?
“Honest” from the Make Good Choices record. There have been so many times over 30 years I have wanted to stop playing music and shows. There have also been so many great encouragers who don’t let quit. So I am still at it and I do still love it.
You’re gearing up for Midwest Friends Fest. What does the festival circuit mean to artists like you right now… especially festivals that feel community-driven rather than industry-driven?
We ride the regional circuit so for us this typically means we get audiences who would never see us otherwise. Also it tends to be earlier in the day for us when more of our friends, peers, their kids, and others and make it out to see us.
MFF is a different animal to me. It is so well cultivated and supported by Jared and team. It’s kind of like if you had a punk rock potluck and invited all your friends and they all played. It’s not a normal show or festival to me. It’s more like a punk rock revival of sorts and all are welcome.
What’s something you’re still figuring out as an artist, and feel comfortable being honest about?
Am I good enough to have the opportunities I get
When you’re not writing or playing music, what’s feeding your creativity lately?
My kids, my wife, my family, nature, birdwatching, working in the yard, and sasquatch. I’m just a 46 year old dad who gets to write, record, and perform records with my best friends so my hobbies are very Dad. Also I really love going to the pool in the summer and doing cannonballs. That makes me feel creative..
This isn’t your first time performing at Midwest Friends Fest. What makes you want to come back and perform at Southgate again? How has it felt being able to watch this thing grow from the inside?
I touched on this earlier but to me it really is about Jared and what he has cultivated. It’s kind of like a little punk rock garden that pops up once a year and blooms so intensely. If you miss it you miss it. If you see it, you have to see it again.
When it comes to live sets, what are you most excited to bring to the MWFF crowd? Ideally, what do you want people to say about your set when they’re driving home or texting friends who skipped it?
This year I am playing solo so I want sing alongs and for people to walk away feeling they saw something special and that it wasn’t just me. It was US doing it together.
Punk, ska, and indie scenes have long been leaders in inclusion and community, yet gatekeeping still creeps in. Why do you think these scenes can feel so welcoming on one hand and so closed-off on the other?
People are people. That is a really hard concept for most to understand. We all have amazing qualities and faults. We all have our strengths and insecurities. This may be a punk problem but it also a world problem.
Hypothetically speaking… if you made a Midwest Friends Fest friendship bracelet, what word or phrase would it say this year?
Be awesome to yourself, be awesome to others, fuck Nazi’s
Post-show, stereotypically Midwestern empty field, questionable bonfire, everyone’s tired but happy… what song are you covering?
I think I probably wouldn’t play a song but if I did do one it’s probably “Rocket Man” by Elton John
MWFF is stacked. Which bands are you most excited to see, and are there any you’re hoping to connect with offstage as well?
I am fortunate to be part of the Sweet Cheetah family of artists so every band involved with that (Toilet Rats especially). Also – I freaking loved Kat and the Hurricane last year.
Once MWFF wraps up, what’s next for 1984 Draft? New music, touring, a reset, or something unexpected?
Goal number 1 is our next record. We have started it and are continuing to put the work in to make it our best yet.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/