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Marshall Catch
started out in a basement in Evergreen, Montana in April
of 2009. Evergreen is sort of the redneck ghetto, a place
where trailer houses are bolted, welded, nailed or
otherwise stuck together to form "mansions," and where
broken down vehicles are viewed as high-class landscaping
by the local residents. In fact, the rest of Montana,
itself a clearly red-tinted crowd, lovingly refers to
Evergreen as "Real Montana's Less Attractive Step-Sister."Let
us therefore not dwell on those sub-standard beginnings
any longer than we have to. It was more convenience' sake
that brought about this relatively humble birthplace,
anyway. Lead singer/guitarist Luke Lautaret owned and
operated a recording studio in Evergreen, where colorful
local and regional bands would come in and lay down demo
tracks to sell or give away at the various area venues.
This studio made for the perfect place to practice, since
members could simply leave their gear set up all week, and
members of Marshall Catch are notoriously lazy and hate
hauling gear. So Street Vendor Studios at 129 Sleepy
Hollow Road in Evergreen became the home of one of the
most professional bands ever to come of out of the state
of Montana (which, admittedly, is not saying much).
Luke had been
introduced to drummer George Kimerly in early 2008 by a
mutual friend named Cody Hart, himself a capable musician
whose interests in Hockey and motocross sadly left very
little room for serious musical pursuits. Having been a
songwriter for years, Luke was in the process of recording
his catalog of unfinished songs for the benefit of
generations to come and any other intelligent life that
may be searching the universe for "the next big thing." He
was a music director at a local church, and invited Cody
and George to participate in the weekly gatherings. A
friendship ensued, and Luke began using George as his
go-to session drummer on the tracks he was recording.
Soon, George and Luke realized there was an excellent
chemistry between them and friends began requesting to
hear live versions of the songs they had recorded. Around
this time, the relationship between Luke and the church
where he was serving became strained because "...it was
run by lunatics who, by all outward appearances, consulted
a Ouija Board and Miss Cleo before making bad decisions
and then compounding them with stupidity. " Luke therefore
"resigned," and began to focus on his passion for music.
This bizarre
turn of events led to much more spare time for Luke and
George, who had quit attending the church after Luke's
removal. Fulfilling requests that they perform again, Luke
and George played their first gig as "Marshall Catch" at
The Raven, a bar and grill in Bigfork, Montana,
overlooking Flathead Lake. The sound was rounded out by
Luke's sister Lori Stoffer, who played keyboards and sang
harmony. The songs, the chemistry, and fans all proved one
thing: Marshall Catch was here to stay, and it was only
going to get better.
The restaurant
owners were so excited with the turnout of fans and great
music that they invited Marshall Catch back again as soon
as possible. Luke and George realized they needed more
members to fill in the gaps of their sonic endeavors. Both
the victims of many failed bands in the past, the duo
decided that instead of finding the stellar musicians each
knew from years of music-related pursuits, they would
recruit solid friends under the premise of starting a
"Drama Free" band. Marshall Catch would not cancel shows.
Marshall Catch would not be sharing the stage with
jack-asses And Marshall Catch would give the fans what
they wanted, every night, until the fans quit coming to
see them. With these ideas in mind, they recruited Aaron
Danreuther, a guitar player and friend of Luke's for
years, to bring his steady rhythm guitar work and driving
riffs to the mix. George recommended Aidan Foshay, a bass
player he had worked with on a hip-hop side project. Luke,
George, Aaron and Aidan became Marshall Catch, a complete
4-piece band with a wall of sound that drove intelligent
lyrics and catchy hooks out of the venues and concert
halls and into the streets of Montana.
The original
plan was to delay live performances and instead finish the
album that Luke and George had been working on for nearly
a year. However, requests poured in from all over the
state from people who had heard of the Marshall Catch
sound and wanted to experience the music in person. The
gigs kept coming: a benefit concert in Eureka, headlining
an all-day Festival in Pony, Montana, the grand opening of
a new club in Kalispell, and even a performance at a
Roller Derby bout where 1600 people showed up (admittedly,
most came to watch girls in fishnets beat each other up on
roller skates, but it still was fun). The summer flew by,
and show after show the fans came back to see and hear the
distinctive Marshall Catch rumble. Within a few short
months, thousands (and by that we do mean thousands, maybe
millions but that seems like a stretch) of people had
heard and fallen in love with Marshall Catch, especially
George's dimples and Aidan's son Gibson, who became the
Official Harmonica Player of Marshall Catch. Marshall
Catch brought to the table all the things people love
about music; honest lyrics, sincere vocals, and crescendos
of powerful and heartfelt sound that evoke raw feeling
even when the words are silent.
The songs
impacted people in the purest ways possible. Marshall
Catch was requested to play at funerals, weddings and
other deeply personal events in the lives of their growing
legion of fans. "Lay Your Head Down," a song Luke had
written to his grandmother Maxine as she battled
Alzheimers, became an anthem for mourners that has gone on
to be played at other funerals and memorial services,
comforting those who grieve. People who lost their homes
in the overwhelming recession listened to the lyrics of
"These Times," and found some measure of peace, reminded
that things don't always stay the way they are. "Beautiful
to Me" and "Glide," songs Luke wrote about his wife
Heather, have been played at weddings and become the
soundtracks that couples throughout Montana danced to.
Without a doubt, Marshall Catch has been making noise and
people are noticing.
Never a group to
be content until they achieved perfection, the members of
Marshall Catch had been searching for a keyboardist and
harmony vocalist to round out their sound on stage and in
the studio. Luke answered an ad on Craigslist posted by a
guy who played keyboards and sang, but sadly this man
never called Luke back. So Luke answered another ad, also
on Craigslist, posted by Jared Denney, an experienced
drummer and vocalist who excelled at keyboards as well.
Jared's experience with live sound, studio gear, and the
fact that he owned really cool and expensive music stuff
made him a perfect fit, and ushered in the new era of
Marshall Catch as a five-piece band. Picking up where
Luke's sister Lori had left off, Jared began gigging with
the band in September 2010.
In October 2010,
after an unexpected summer touring schedule and only a few
months after forming, the members of Marshall Catch needed
a break from playing live so they could re-focus on the
long-awaited release of their first album. With fans
clamoring for music, and the world desperately needing
something better to listen to than Justin Bieber and Lady
Gaga, Marshall Catch has entered the studio and is
currently working on their debut album. Tentatively
scheduled for a release in November or early December, the
as-yet-untitled album will feature at least 15 original
tracks, and will be available for sale on this website and
iTunes.
Marshall Catch
is a rare breed of band, whose members get along (albeit
slightly dysfunctionally, but who are you to judge??), and
actually enjoy making good solid music regardless of who
is watching. They are real guys who have real thoughts
like the rest of us. They just happen to be gifted enough
to write them down so we can understand them and relate.
When people attend a Marshall Catch concert, they sing,
they laugh, they dance, and they feel the music in the
deepest parts of their souls. After the last call for
drinks when the lights are turned off and the stage is
swept, the people spilling into the streets will begin
humming the songs they heard, faint whispers reminiscent
of falling in love or feeling a powerful new emotion. With
original songs, catchy melodies, and lyrics that matter,
Marshall Catch will not be going away soon. The music is
already timeless, the fans are already devoted, and people
walking away from a Marshall Catch show already feel good
-- about themselves, about life, and especially about
Marshall Catch.
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