When the Evergreen-based band Marshall Catch was in its nascent stages, there was one major requirement: No drama.
It’s a prerequisite that the band says has saved them plenty of headaches and helped keep their priorities in order. They also say it proved to be a successful strategy.
Marshall Catch released its first CD this month, “Ad Meliora.” And with the album out, the band members say they can focus on finding the path that leads to the brass ring: supporting themselves on their music careers.
Lead singer and guitarist Luke Lautaret said he handpicked the members of the band about a year ago in an effort to dispel any drama that could get in the way of the music.
Lautaret and the band’s drummer, George Kimerly, had both been in bands previously that dissolved after diva-like behavior. Those situations tend to throw roadblocks in the way of someone serious about pursuing music as a career, he said.
“Both my drummer and I were so sick of that environment,” Lautaret said. “The whole scene is kind of a nightmare if you want to be a regular guy and play music.”
Lautaret and Kimerly said they played gigs together for a while, and worked on building a recording studio in Lautaret’s basement in Evergreen. But when the economy tanked, both Lautaret and his wife Heather lost their jobs, and faced losing their house.
He had recorded other musicians in the studio, but Lautaret said he realized that he had yet to record a decade’s worth of his own songs and time was running out.
“I built it to record my stuff,” Lautaret said, adding that he remembers thinking, “and before the bank takes the house away I’m going to record my own stuff.”
He began laying down tracks with Kimerly, and started passing out some of the recordings. Eventually, the duo began adding members that passed the reliability and drama tests, ending up with Aaron Danreuther on rhythm guitar and back-up vocals, Jared Denney on the keyboard and Aidan Foshay on the bass guitar.
Lautaret’s wife, Heather, works the merchandise table and used to be the sound engineer until Matt Huan, the current sound engineer, came on the scene.
Once the other band members recorded their layers for the album, Lautaret and Denney mixed and engineered it, making the entire 17-song collection in Lautaret’s basement from start to finish.
The songs range from nearly punk to sentimental acoustic to alternative rock. Most were inspired by people Lautaret knows or knew, he said.
Now, a year after forming and spending most of their time developing “Ad Meliora,” the five members of Marshall Catch say they look forward to getting back to playing live and reaching new audiences.
“We’re just trying to make a run for it, we’re just trying to make it happen,” Danreuther said. “I have no idea where we’re headed, I know it’s looking good though. I guess as a band we just want to influence people with music, however we can do that.”
Lautaret said the band has received positive feedback from people in the music industry, and the ultimate goal is to get signed on a record label. The band had a long meeting about this goal, he said, and by the end of it they decided to seriously pursue it.
Denney noted they are working to avoid being pigeonholed as a typical cover band. While they understand that playing covers is part of the fun, Denney said they want to be able to connect with the audience on an original level as well.
“We just don’t want to be known as a bar band,” he said. “We definitely would much rather be respected as an original band.”
That means playing gigs, and Marshall Catch is ramping up for a summer tour. It’s an exciting prospect after spending so much time in the recording studio.
“We’re all looking forward to doing what we do best – play music,” Denney said.
Foshay, the bassist, said they owe plenty to the fans that already support them, and that their new album has enough diversity to get anyone into a groove.
“We kind of have our own sound; I don’t feel we can just be categorized,” Foshay said. “Our music is something new and we’re ready to share it with the world.”
As for anyone considering going to a Marshall Catch show, the band promised good music, one of the best sound systems around and an enthusiastic performance.
“They should know we’re just like them, we still have other jobs and along the lines of where we’re at as people, we just wanted to pursue our dreams instead of wondering what would have happened if we didn’t,” Kimerly said.
For more information on the band’s touring schedule or “Ad Meliora,” visit www.marshallcatch.com.