Last Friday I ventured down to the Opera House to see one of the most exhausting but nevertheless fabulous shows of my concert-going career. Despite the fact that the Rancid show was on the same night, Catch 22 managed to draw a great crowd, albeit many of them were high school kids, thus proving that the ska-punk genre still has a following.Mugshot, an emo band, opened first and proved my sneaking suspicion true that it’s a requirement for the first band of a punk-filled night to suck. They didn’t have a whole lot of stage presence and didn’t seem to try very hard. The guitarist made an effort to jump around, but overall the band was fairly lifeless.
Crown King played next and was a welcome change. Their horn players were great and the band had a lot of energy. The crowd, however, probably disappointed that Slick Shoes decided to cancel, was anticipating the performances to come and kept their dancing to a minimum.
When Boys Night Out came on the stage, though, the energy on the floor changed from ambient blue to electric red and instead of standing around comfortably, it was a rare occasion when it was even possible to put both feet on the ground. During most of this performance I was leaning against the speaker on the front of the stage, under the weight of nearly every struggling body behind me, while the sweat from the lead singer nearly dripped on my face. Dozens of die-hard fans sang into the microphone as it was offered to them, allowing for an intense and intimate show. For many fans this band was the main attraction and Boys Night Out certainly proved themselves worthy of this attention.
And finally, the band that all the more ska-based fans were waiting for, came Catch 22. And what a show it was. Again, I managed to squeeze my way close to the front for this one, but Catch’s music is so upbeat that exhaustion quickly set in. I retreated to the outskirts for the end of this show, allowing me the advantage of a broader perspective. Here I realized that the entire crowd, as opposed to a mere core near the front, was either moshing or skanking. The music itself was tops as the sound quality and the vocals were great as far as live performances go. And the bass player, Pat “Mingus” Kays, is one of the best live bassists I’ve ever seen. Catch played a lot of tunes from their new album, “Dinosaur Sounds,” but many of the old favourites as well. By the time the encore came around, the ever popular “1234 1234,” fans were jumping on the stage, throwing their arms around the band members, and singing along into the microphone. Such an up-close-and-personal performance made for a fantastic night thoroughly enjoyed by all.
Before the doors opened earlier in the night, I was able to sit down with Ryan Eldred, Catch 22’s very chill sax player and vocalist. He took me into the band’s RV (their “tour bus”) for an interview.
The Strand: So how did you guys first get started and how did you get this far?
Catch 22: Well, we were 16, a couple of the guys were in a punk band and they just decided they wanted to play more. I was one of them. We started playing in our basement in New Jersey, [then] we started playing shows in fire halls and other small places with a couple of ska bands that were around in the mid 90s.
The Strand: Why did you decide to call the band Catch 22?
Catch 22: A couple of us were fans of the book. And it’s a fun name… Like, we’ll show up and we’ll talk to people at a restaurant or something like that and people will be like: [speaking in a old country bumpkin accent] “So y’all are in a band? Catch 22? I think I’ve heard of that!” [laughs]
The Strand: You’ve changed band members over the years. Do you thing that has changed the dynamic of the band?
Catch 22: Absolutely, yeah. Definitely for the better. The reason that people leave a band is because their heart isn’t fully there or they don’t like touring, which is everything Catch is about, you know? And I think for the past, like, 3 years we’ve been playing with this band and we’re very solid and very comfortable with who we are and what we’re doing.
The Strand: Steve Evetts came aboard this year to help produce your new album Dinosaur Sounds. What was that experience like compared to your previous self-produced albums?
Catch 22: He didn’t take our songs and, like, totally change them or write anything for us. He just basically said, “You know what? You can try this… try adding this extra chord.” Just small things, and everything he suggested was great! He was very demanding, which is a good thing. He wanted… not perfection, but he wanted very quality playing and at the same time playing with character. It’s helpful [and] he’s very good about it… He’s a good guy.
The Strand: Do you have any kind of message you’re trying to give your fans or do you play more for fun?
Catch 22: Not necessarily. Each of us in the band… [has a] different message. We just try to make good music and write songs and… they have to relate to our lives.
The Strand: What’s the best part about touring?
Catch 22: We’ve haven’t been touring for the past year, but it’s really good to be back out again. I don’t know, it’s…getting together with a bunch of bands, a bunch of guys and girls… and just making friends. That’s a really good part of it: making connections. There’s a lot of good people.
The Strand: Do you have any crazy stories from the tour so far?
Catch 22: Well, last night we got attacked by a hooker! She… dropped her phone and our base player Mingus tried picking it up for her and she wigged out on him… He has long hair so she just grabbed at him and started ripping at his hair. We all tried getting her off, at first just trying to break them up, but she wouldn’t let off and she started biting people! She bit Calvin, our guitar player, in the finger and ripped the tip of his finger off. He’s going to the hospital for blood tests now. She bit me right here on my arm, through my coat, twice [here he lifts up his sleeve and shows me his battle wound]. She was just crazy man, ‘cause there were a couple of us trying to get her off, but she was doped up.
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