Father Figures are an awesome punk band from Pheonix, Az. They are made up legendary Phoenix punks and have one awesome lineup. They actually do an awesome live set and have shared the stage with former bands and an extremely impressive list of punk bands. They have released an awesome album and appeared on a premiere local comp. I got the band to tell their story...
Introduce yourself…
We are the Father Figures from Phoenix, Arizona. We are a three piece band featuring Michael Cornelius on guitar and backing vocals, Bobby Lerma on drums and backing vocals, and Tom Reardon on bass and lead vocals.
How did the band start?
We got started because Tom and Bobby were chatting on facebook and decided we could do the “post-punk” thing as well or better than the kids we were watching on youtube videos, so Michael was enlisted to join and we jammed at Bobby’s on Memorial Day weekend 2009.
How did you come up with the name?
The name came out of a conversation that we were having in Bobby’s living room. We’re all fathers, so it kind of fits, plus we like the irony of it, as well.
Who would you say are your influences?
We are all into the first wave of punk and post-punk, as well as tons of other bands. We definitely give a strong nod to Saccharine Trust, Fugazi, Gang of Four, Dinosaur Jr and Burt Bacharach
What is the punk scene like in Arizona?
What isn’t it like? We are an amalgamation of a bunch of different influences. There are quite a few bands doing interesting things and so many people have moved here from other places that we have taken on some of the attributes of other larger scenes. The Phoenix scene is always constantly reinventing itself. It would be nice if the scene supported itself a bit better, but we’re so spread out here that it is hard to go out and support everybody who is doing something cool.
Describe the song writing process...
Our song writing process is as fun or more fun than most of the bands we’ve been in. We are truly collaborative and all write songs for the band. One of the strange aspects of the band is that the drummer writes songs on the bass, the bass player writes songs on the guitar, and the guitar player composes everything with spoons. Alright, the last part is not true, but the first two are. We also tend to finish each other’s songs like an old married couple finishes each other’s sentences. We’ll bring in pieces of songs and as a band we figure out how to make them work.
You released an album 'Lesson Number One', tell us about the album...
Most of the songs on Lesson Number One were part of our first batch of songs that came about after we got together. A few happened right before we recorded in October of 2010, but for the most part, the album was a product of our first year together. We did the recording at Villian in Phoenix, which is an excellent studio owned and operated by a most gracious and talented man, Byron Filson. AZPX Skateboards stepped up and helped us put it out on their sister label, AZPX records, which is run by Rob Locker and Pat McGinnis, who are both great supporters of the music and skate scene here. We were really stoked on how it all turned out and are super proud of it. We had a tremendous CD release party in January at Rip’s, which is a cool venue that is very accommodating to the punk rock scene.
What else have you released?
We were fortunate to be part of a compilation of local bands put out by May Cause Dizziness records in conjunction with AZPUNK.com and DJ Johnny Volume called Personality Disorder (www.mcdrecords.bigcartel.com). We are working on a split 7” right now with Casket Life, and look forward to recording our second full-length towards the end of the year.
Who are some of the bands you have done shows with?
We have played a couple of shows with the Meat Puppets, one of which also featured the Riverboat Gamblers. We’ve also rocked with JFA and Agent Orange, which were tons of fun to do. Most of our shows are with friends of ours from the Phoenix scene, which has a number of really talented bands right now. Robot Tank, Dephinger, The Killed Kids, The Cosmeticators, and The Belfry Bats are among our favorites to play with…
Have you toured?
We have yet to leave the great state of Arizona…we have played a bunch of shows down south of us in Tucson and a couple up north in Prescott. We’re all older dudes with real jobs and families, so touring is not very easy for us. We’d like to get out to the west coast and play some shows, though, at some point soon.
Do you prefer small clubs or large venues?
We tend to prefer the more intimate venues, but we also like to sound good, so some of the larger venues around Phoenix are the ones with the nicer sound systems. It is always good to hear yourself on stage.
Is there a favorite band you like to do shows with?
We really like doing shows with our friends and with the old Phoenix bands that we grew up listening to, supporting, and in Michael’s case, playing in. JFA and the Meat Puppets have got to be right up there, although we love to do shows with Robot Tank, too, who is a very good band that people should know about.
Is there a favorite place you like to do shows at?
The Hollywood Alley is a favorite for us, as is The Icehouse Tavern. They are both very accommodating venues. Rip’s is fun, too, and they folks there always treat us well. We are lucky to have some really good folks in town who put on shows.
What do you see is the future of the Father Figures?
We will keep playing until either isn’t fun to play or no one wants to hear us. We’ve got a few more records in us, for sure, and we really enjoy playing together so who knows? The kids need us.
How can people contact the band?
www.thefatherfigures.com has all of our pertinent information or folks can friend us on facebook if they are so inclined. We answer emails and love postcards!
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