It started with an open mic night at The Tin Ceiling Tavern in 2014. Not My Dad wasn’t yet fully formed and could play just six songs, but they knew they had something.
“It took us a full summer to hammer out those six songs,” Jon Elfner said. “I really think the reason we kept going is because our friends came out and had so much fun and made the night feel extraordinarily special. We thought ‘OK, this was way better than we thought. What’s next for us?’”
What was next for the Homewood-based cover band was a decade of taking stages for events like Flossmoor Fest and The Homewood Art and Garden Festival, as well as at Grape and Grain, Coyote Run, The Thornton Distillery and private shows and fundraisers. Crowds have grown, and NMD says it’s just as fun as it ever was.
“(The first show) was sort of a white-knuckle experience. Jon dared us to take it out of the basement because anybody can be a garage band,” singer Krista Venegas said. “To dare to play in front of people forces you to come to a reckoning for how good or not good you might be.”
Not My Dad decided the experience was a good one. They’ll celebrate their 10th anniversary with a “Birthday Bash” at 7 p.m. on March 1 at Tuscan Gardens, 601 W. Holbrook Road in Glenwood.
“It’s just been great. It just keeps getting better. We finish up a show and it’s just like ‘How are we going to top that?’” Billy Villareal said. “We don’t really have a recipe to make it better. It just naturally gets better because we keep wanting to do it.”
The group is guitarist and musical director Elfner and his wife Lara who plays bass; lead singers Ted and Krista Venegas; drummer Terence Smith; guitarist and vocalist Villareal; guitarist and vocalist Matt Epperson; keyboardist Justin DeAngelo; and sound engineer Ken Draus. Dan Lavin is the band’s “resident artist” who makes original paintings for each show.
Members had varying levels of experience before forming NMD, which they call a “drinking club with a music problem.” Elfner had the most experience, playing in and working with bands in Chicago clubs. Music was just a hobby for others.
“I collected this merry band of people who are too modest for their own sake,” Elfner joked. “Ted failed to mention that he was the lead role in fifth grade in ‘Oh My Stars, It’s Christmas.’”
“Top billing over Mary and Joseph,” Ted Venegas said.
They rehearsed for a few months before taking it to the Tin Ceiling.
“I don’t think we ever intended to do what we ultimately did. We got together to have some fun,” Ted Venegas said. “We were just looking for a reason to get together.”
They decided it may be more fun if basement jam sessions were instead rehearsals to prepare for a show. Since, they’ve played to over 40 audiences.
Epperson wasn’t an original member. He saw a handful of those shows from the crowd before joining, giving him a unique perspective.
“My first show was at Wiley’s (Grill) and the place was packed. This is a place that’s not often packed. It just had a lot of energy,” Epperson said. “Once people started dancing, really having a great time, I just thought ‘Oh my God, this is amazing. This is the best feeling.’”
Not My Dad plays covers from the ’60s through today. They try to play a variety to make each show unique. The catalog is about 200 deep, filled with songs that the band likes and thinks will help encourage the audience to sing and dance.
How those songs and the set lists are chosen is a discussion. Elfner is the most experienced, so he has the first veto. Ted Venegas does the most singing, so he has a little more leeway, too, but each member can push for a song to be included if they feel strongly enough about it.
“Jon understands that we all have things that we’d like to do and that if we don’t have input in what we’re doing than maybe it’s not as fun as it would otherwise be,” Ted Venegas said.
Sometimes those are nostalgic songs that the audience can sing along to. Kenny Loggins’ “Footloose,” Counting Crows’ “Rain King” and The Beatles’ “Twist and Shout” are some of the crowd pleasers.
Other times it’s songs by artists like Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats that may not be familiar to most but are energetic and fun.
“One time I was driving (Villareal) home after a show and I said ‘How lucky are we?’” Epperson said. “We’re not dependent on this for our livelihood so it’s not like we’re playing every weekend and getting sick of each other. There’s always something unexpected that happens and we have a blast. It’s always like ‘Let’s do it again in a few months.’”
The anniversary show at Tuscan Gardens will celebrate everything Not My Dad has been for the last decade.
They’ll have a tribute to former guitarist and founding member Mike Mandichak, who died of brain cancer in 2016. Lavin’s paintings will be on display, including one with room for guests to write a message to the band. The setlist will include the original six songs played at that first show, only Not My Dad insists they’ll be much tighter after 10 years of practice.
The band will give away shirts and custom beer Koozies. There is no cover charge and NMD encourages fans to come early and eat dinner at Tuscan Gardens before the show.
“The biggest secret of this band is that we all love each other. We like drinking together and there’s no doubt that’s been a big part of the band,” Elfner said. “It’s just a lot of laughing and a lot of fun with this group. The fun that we bring to the stage, that I think the audience feels, is fundamental to our friendships.”
