These legends of the Phoenix punk scene are calling it quits. Why they're saying goodbye

At a certain point, the Father Figures realized they were in no danger of regaining the momentum that had seen them through the writing of their first four albums, a staggering seven-year run that had established them among the most consistently inspired voices in the history of the Phoenix punk scene.

It’s been six years since the fourth of those releases, “Heavy Lifting,” left them feeling they’d already done all they could do on the trail they had been blazing from the time they hit the streets with a first album titled “Lesson Number One.”

To Michael Cornelius, the Father Figures guitarist whose standing on the local punk scene goes back to the early days of Jodie Foster’s Army, “Lesson Number One” and “Heavy Lifting” felt like bookends.

The only way forward would have been to find a completely new direction.

“There was only so much further we could go without rehashing things we had already done,” singer-bassist Tom Reardon explains. “And for the type of project we've been, that was never gonna be fulfilling. I don't think any of us ever wanted to get to the point where we were sort of resting on our laurels.”

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How COVID took the wind out of the Father Figures' sails

Before they really had a chance at reinvention, the pandemic hit and brought the world to a standstill.

“COVID really took the wind out of our sails,” says drummer Bobby Lerma.

With no shows to play, they had no funds to pay the rent on their rehearsal space. With no rehearsal space, it wasn’t long before they’d stopped doing much of anything.

And as Reardon says, they’re just not wired to go on like that.

“We're a band that really needed something to be working towards to go on at the level we had grown accustomed to,” he says. “And when you take that out of the equation, it's like, 'Well… why are we doing this?'”

'We've known for quite a while that the band is fizzling out'

That's why they're turning their 100th show into a louder, faster version of "The Last Waltz,” saying thank you and goodnight to the local fans that have supported them for 13 years with one last gig at Valley Bar — a sold-out show on Friday, Oct. 27.

“We've known for quite a while the band is fizzling out,” Cornelius says. “And none of us are the kind of people that would want to ride a legacy for any period of time at all.”

The Father Figures made their first appearance on a local stage in 2010 at the Ruby Room, a 50th birthday party for Cornelius.

“Our goal at first was to just throw Michael a good 50th,” Reardon says.

It wasn’t long before it got more serious than that.

“We're very agenda-driven,” Cornelius says. “We've always said, ‘We're gonna write songs. In the spring of next year, we're gonna have a record out.’ When we didn't have the agenda, it was kind of like, 'Why are we practicing? What are we doing?’”

They’ve also undergone some lifestyle changes.

“I retired and could travel more,” Cornelius says. “Tom became a teacher and could leave for the summer. So some of that stuff was also getting in the way of us regaining an agenda.”

'13 years of being overwhelmed with the support and love'

Knowing this will be their final show is “bittersweet,” Cornelius says.

“We did a lot of stuff. When I look back, I'm like, 'Dang, that's a lot of work.’ Fifty-some songs recorded. This is gonna be our 100th show. It was a lot of good work. It would be a lot more bittersweet if I thought our relationships would not be maintained. But the relationships are fine.”

There’s even talk of all three members doing a new project where they’d all play bass.

For now, Cornelius and Reardon are playing the show with a project they’ve been doing called the Living Room Collective.

“When we lost our practice room, I thought, 'If we could do something that wasn't super loud, we can use my living room,’” Cornelius says.

“And that's more open-ended, more like, ‘We're gonna play music. And if we come up with something, we'll record it at my house.’'

Lerma is also playing the farewell show with his new band, Timber Giants.

“I’m massively grateful that it was Tom and Michael that I spent the last 13 years with,” Lerma says. “Amazing musicians and humans, and made me better in so many different ways.”

The Father Figures will be joined by several special guests in their first set before bringing it home with what Cornelius says will be the longest set they’ve ever played.

“I'm excited for it,” Lerma says.

“Thirteen years of doing the Father Figures was incredibly fun and rewarding. I've never had an experience like that. Ever. But it's time for us to move on. And I love the idea that we get to say ‘Thank you’ to Phoenix for 13 years of being overwhelmed with the support and love.”

Reach the reporter at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter @EdMasley.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Why Phoenix punk scene legends the Father Figures are packing it in