Jesse Hunsaker (Vocals)
Adam Rojo (Guitar)
Mike Perfetti (Drums)
Mike King (Bass)
Influences
Deep Purple, Dead Kennedys, Blondie, Helmet, Pixies, Fabien, Gang of Four, Fugazi, Wire, Hardcore, Softcore, Atari, Tron, Social Stratification, Guilt, Anger, Love, Envy, and anything else we may have seen, felt, heard, tasted. in the past 20 some odd years.
Ideal Fathers is a band that shouldn't work. You shouldn't be able to mix edgy Gang of Four-esque guitar adventurism and funky rhythms with the thorniness and snarling vocals of early Dead Kennedys and get anything but an unholy mess. Theirs is a collection of sonic elements that seem to pull at each other in destructive ways, yet through a clever legerdemain of musical invention, the Fathers have somehow come up with a new shading of dance punk that is thrillingly aggressive but with an expansiveness of tone that suggests the more reflective side of songwriting. On stage, the bandmembers perform like one of the great hardcore acts of old, with singer Jesse Hunsaker alternately playing hellish provocateur and tortured artist. Snidely clever yet smart song titles and a genuinely creative use of sound render them ideal paragons of the new post-punk.
-- Tom Murphy Westword
Someone once told me the Ideal Fathers, who closed the night out, were a straight up punk band. And while there's elements of that in the band's sound, the act seemed more like a mating of hardcore, danceable post-punk and atmospheric guitar rock. Likewise, the group performed like a punk outfit but sonically, there were far more interesting and expansive textures as well as tight, brutal rhythmic dynamics. At times the band reminded me of Brooklyn’s A Place To Bury Strangers, with its gritty, dense dreaminess. This is easily one of the best of the obscure bands going in Denver right now.
-- Tom Murphy Westword
Luckily, the best band of the night was the final act, the Ideal Fathers. They delivered a blistering set of kinetically charged, danceable post-punk that sounded like the Buzzcocks dry humping Fugazi. The charismatic singer and charmingly spastic bass player ricocheted around the stage, bringing an unusually intense energy for a midnight slot in a weekday show. Solid playing and a bunch of fun tunes, including the brilliantly named “A Complete Waste of Time Travel,” made the whole night worthwhile. With a touch of fine tuning, the Ideal Fathers may well turn out to be a damn near ideal band.
-- Cory Casiato Westword
Punk is good. Punk with a sense of humor is better. And punk that's funny and smart in that sly, subversively sarcastic kind of way… that's the best. And that's exactly what Ideal Fathers deliver on their self-titled debut EP (the release of which will be celebrated Saturday, May 16, at the Larimer Lounge). The Denver band kicks off the four-song CD with a "A Complete Waste Of Time Travel"—which, besides having the best title from a local band in recent memory, is a ragged post-punk anthem that tips the dancefloor sideways, wobbles it around, dumps hipsters on their asses, and leaves only the strong standing. Throughout the rest of the EP, frontman Jesse Hunsaker spits, shivers, and prods his bandmates into an escalating fit of sardonic, echo-smeared aggression—one that culminates in "Failing At Friendly Is Not An Option," a slab of jackhammer disco that laughs at you, not with you. It's almost a blessing Ideal Fathers is just an EP; a longer disc might be enough to overload and blow out even the most hardcore-hardened fan's capacity for noisy, spastic, smart-ass rock. That said: Bring on the full-length, dudes.
A week ago I didn't know u guys existed then, not even halfway through one song I found myself thinking "this is my new favorite band." Can't wait to hear what's next!
