MR. DAD

Mr. Dad are the sort of band that you might have a hard time believing exists. Not just because they’re an unlikely group of great musicians from the little town of Minot, ND, but also because they’re so fully-realized it seems like they might have been playing for years and years in obscurity, and having heard them for the first time, you might believe you just stumbled upon a cult band that many other people have loved and obsessed over for years while you were busy collecting the entire Mumford and Sons back catalog like a chump. Fear not, Dumbford, ‘cause the truth is, they’ve only been playing a short while and they have not achieved any sort of cult-status, though it’s easy to see that if they keep playing, it wouldn’t take much to become one of those bands that people freak out about and constantly recommend to their friends.

They play an art-damaged freak scene amalgamation of musical genres...one foot entrenched in punk, another in funk, and a third mutant foot that might like off-the-wall metal and/or prog. ...How they accomplish melding such seemingly incongruous sounds together without sounding forced or like some lame punk-ska-chorus-h/c breakdown-ska-dubstep interlude-chorus-chorus-chorus band we can only hope to understand. Add probing, thoughtful lyrics and what I hear is an energetic live show to the kettle, and you’ve got yerself a heaping pot of hot and delicious Mr. Dad- what a great bunch of weirdos! 

Richard Dreyfest: Names, ages, what you do in the band:

Ages : old enough to party!
Zach - Whomping, bomping, crashing and bashing / Chris - Ass boogie / Arvin -Jitter Gitter Box / Charlie - Throat Wobbling

How’s everyone doing today?
Zach is quiet cool. Chris is Tired. Charlie is lost and Arvin is rev'd up with no place to go!

Anyone who hasn’t been there might be skeptical that Minot, ND could support a community of involved musicians and artists. Why do you think the people there are so active in their (your) scene?

Let's not kid ourselves Minot isn't the best place on Earth.
We are currently recovering from a devastating flood in '11 and smack dab in the middle of a terrible oil boom that is scum sucking the earth dry and shitting all over us. However that isn't stopping us. Minot has always had a strong musical community that usually consist of a bunch of weirdos from all walks of life who strive to make this town a little more interesting.

Speaking of being active, what other pursuits do you put your time into?
Arvin has three kids and a lovely wife, dogs, cat and years worth of art projects rattling around his brain. He sometimes plays in other bands and has had a number of other bands in Minot.
He gets pretty buck when no one is watching.

Zach is a Luthier (he fixes guitars) and is an all around talented musician playing in many other bands in Minot. He is the only straight edge member of the band, like that matters.

Chris is a dad of a cool lil dude and currently engaged to be married this fall. He is also allergic to beer and constantly quitting cigarettes, don't let him bum one from you. He also tears the shit out of a bass in TOD which also has Arvin in it,
Charlie surprisingly teaches young children art and Gymnastics. He also dabbles in janitorial work. Other than that he makes art, skates bowls and is definitely not straight edge! He also plays bass in Duffy and the beer slayers.

Richard Dreyfest was in part inspired by the music and arts festival WHY NOT? in Minot. Assuming at least some of you are involved in that, how is the planning going so far for this year’s WHY NOT?

It is going really well! This year is gonna be a blast! See ya there!

Some of you are real-life dads. How difficult is it to make time for work, kids, significant others, and a band (not to mention the other projects you have going)?

It isn't too hard to get together once and a while for a practice, and we surprisingly play a lot of shows in Minot. It is just sort of an availability thing. Traveling is the hardest part which is why we are so thrilled to be a part of Dreyfest!

Your first batch of songs are all named after reality tv shows. Were they specifically written about each show as a concept, or do they just happen to deal with themes those shows present and you named them afterward, accordingly?

The first four songs were all named after reality t.v. shows before Charlie was in the band. Chris, Arvin and Zach were just using stupid names to identify each song. However after Charlie joined the band he just kind of took the titles and ran. Deadliest Catch is more about someone trying to catch a massive fish. Instead they would rather be Kevin Costner in Waterworld and be able to breathe underwater and swim with whales and shit. 
Ice Road truckers is just about traveling and how it is better than home sometimes. It just feels like real living.
Storage Wars is about having too much shit period.!
Say yes to the dress is all about the theory that we are all made out of space dust, and one day we will all be space dust once again. Because that is fucking awesome!
90% of the time we write the music and we name the song and Charlie just goes off lyrically loosely based on a title or an idea.

If you had a reality show, what would it be called?

That's a good question and it would be less of a reality t.v. show and more of a show where young children ask deep thought provoking and devastating questions that are not easily answerable. Because those are the kinds of things people should be thinking about rather than fucking weak ass reality t.v. That's a good question! Weeknights at 5 on kdixzlebia tv!

Is there a Mrs. Dad in the future?
What does this question even mean? Arvin is married. Chris is engaged. Zach has a lady. Charlie is celibate (you don't want people like him breeding).

What else is going on in the future?
The sun will die. Hopefully humans will embrace one another and become Earthlings and we can start space travel exploration for a new home. Space is the place!

And really, how else can you end an interview other than by promoting interstellar travel? Is this a topical endorsement of Richard Branson's quest to make affordable the launching of our populace into the outer reaches of the galaxy or is it a clever allusion to the 1977 Richard Dreyfuss movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind? We say that it is destiny! See you at Dreyfest!