Album Notes

HAILING from the rain-soaked trenches of Portland, Oregon’s punk rock scene, DRAWBACK offers a dry respite under the metaphoric maple trunk. Possessing the innate ability to turn the tragic to the triumphant, DRAWBACK'S arsenal comes complete with shiny guitars, skittish rhythms, and belligerent bass licks, all with a hummable hook and sing-along chorus, the perfect companion to their adrenaline-inducing live show.

DRAWBACK'S musical stew has been simmering since 2004, when drummer Matt Stares and bassist Travis Shoemake, then writing songs in a friend’s basement, were joined by young guitar impresario Zack Barrer. After several months perfecting their signature blend of Replacements via Blink-182 power punk, Drawback began work on their first studio effort; an EP entitled ‘Things We Enjoy’. Jumping in with both feet, DRAWBACK effectively cannonballed into Portland’s live music community, rocking the house at such legendary venues as The Roseland, Hawthorne, Loveland and Paris Theaters.


Having roughly over sixty shows throughout Oregon and Washington under their belt by 2005, DRAWBACK began their first tour of California in support of their second EP, ‘Straight Up Nasty’. With exceptional summer concert attendance, coupled with a significant jump in friend requests on their Myspace page, sales of their DIY EP soared, culminating in sales of over 500 copies out of the back of their tour rig, Travis' 4-Runner.