Getting To Know The FPSF Locals: Catch Fever
Photo: Trish Badger
One of the things that sets Houston apart from other cities, is the amazingly talented pool of artists that we have just waiting in the wings of the industry. Something that really stands out from those, are artists who are hustling every avenue to make a career at their craft a reality. One of those artists is Houston’s Catch Fever. The three piece had their album praised locally by FPH and other outlets, they had that album mastered by Arcade Fire & Foo Fighters mastering guru Emily Lazar, and they have the merch & marketing thing down to a science. Couple that with an appearance at the CMJ music conference in NYC last year, and you have a band doing everything they can to break out. Now, they’re already putting the final touches on an EP to follow last year’s “Shiny Eyes,” which will be produced by Justin Nava of TheLastPlaceYouLook. With a slot on this year’s Free Press Summer Fest, things seem to be going their way in 2024.
FPH: 2024 was quite the year for Catch Fever. You dropped a debut album, you got tons of press, and two local papers called you one of Houston’s best new bands. What do you guys have in store for 2024?
Catch Fever: Big things! Our primary goal this year is to get out on the road and continue to grow and expand our reach as a band. We plan to build upon our foundation here in Texas and also do our part to help our local music community continue to grow. So many artists in Houston are killing it right now! We’re going to do our best to help bring attention to all the cool stuff that’s happening here.
FPH: You guys are known for playing pop rock, is that a genre you’re comfortable with, or is there another way you’d choose to describe the music you make?
Catch Fever: It’s been interesting to see how people have labeled us over the past year…Pop Rock, Alternative, Indie, sort of electronic…I think that speaks to the variety of each band members influences and how we use these influences to attempt to create our own thing. We’re definitely rooted in pop, but tend to label ourselves, broadly, as alternative. We feel that gives us freedom to explore a number of genres and experiment with different sounds.
FPH: For those who are unfamiliar with you, can you tell us where Catch Fever got its start, and what everyone in the band’s background is with music?
Catch Fever: I (Taylor) had just moved back to Texas after a brief stint in Mississippi and reached out to Doug to see if he’d be interested in starting up a new project. We had played in bands together in the past and he was my top choice to be the drummer for this project. Not long after I met up with our good friend and former bass player, Josh, for a round of golf with some friends. I let him listen to a few demos Doug and I had been working on and he expressed an interest in playing bass for us…and that’s essentially how Catch Fever was born.
FPH: You guys have a pretty loyal following of fans. Is it surreal to have people wanting autographs and pics after the shows you play?
Catch Fever: Our fans are incredible. They are so passionate and supportive. We love getting to meet and hang out with them. You know, our biggest focus from the start was to write great music that people could relate to and connect with, so it’s awesome to see that come to fruition.
FPH: The rumor is that you guys are putting the finishing touches on a new EP set for release sometime this year, can you elaborate on who you worked with and will it sound like last year’s “Shiny Eyes”?
Catch Fever: The rumor is true! We’re in the mixing phase as we speak and are aiming for a Spring release. We recorded at The Orb in Austin, TX. with Kevin Butler engineering/mixing and Justin Nava producing, and we’ll be going with Emily Lazar again for mastering. It’s an honor working with such talented people. As for the sound, I would say the new E.P. is a graduated version of “Shiny Eyes”. The songs are smarter and more to the point, with each element having a true purpose. The great thing is that I feel that we’ve really discovered who we are as a band in the last year. When we were working on “Shiny Eyes”, it wasn’t certain that we would remain a 3-piece, so we just wrote and recorded what we thought sounded cool. In the past year, I feel we really learned how to be effective and purposeful in our writing, and to utilize our limited resources to their max in order to create the best and most dynamic music possible.
FPH: With the new recording, what do you guys have planned for the crowd at FPSF this year?
Catch Fever: New songs, of course, as well a few tracks off “Shiny Eyes”…and maybe a couple surprises? Maybe a guest vocal spot during our set…who knows? You’ll have stop by our stage to find out.
You can see Catch Fever when they perform this year the FPSF. The three piece is definitely making all the right moves as they attempt to navigate such a music heavy landscape. From what it sounds like, they’ll have just as big of a year as they did last year, and go further than many bands in similar positions.
