Nashville’s Catchfire has a new single out and it evokes the classic rock we all cherish
A few months ago, I caught the band Catchfire at The Underdog in East Nashville. My interest in this young group was immediately sparked from the get-go. At that time, they were debuting a new track called ‘You Bring The Rain’. Now, this newly formed lineup, are set to release a new single on Friday, October 4th called ‘Wild Side’. I received an advanced copy of the track via the bands manager to give it a listen and possibly transcribe an excerpt about it. I gave it a listen and I am thoroughly impressed by all of it. The music, the hook and the production value are all fantastic and so I wanted to share this song with as many folks as possible.
The song opens with a bouncing bass line and a foot tapping cymbolic morse code accompaniment that tears down your fears and worries and prepares you for your sensory compiled journey. The bass player on the track is JC Huber, and his fingers carefully pull and release the strings in that jaunting opening section that forces you to bop your head. There is no other alternative- your body has been summoned by the hand of this craftsman.
That soft ting on that thick plate of casted alloy, suspended by more metal, is Gabe Roman, and he draws you even closer to that place that you long for. The sound lifts you off your feet and floats you towards your uncertain destination. The playing sounds like it might be easy, but to play so subtle on an instrument designed specifically to be boisterous and chaotic is the masterfulness of training. Making this seem easy is what professionals do.
The two initial players are met at a crossroad by Travis Fairley, who interjects with a purely electric overtone of 70’s pseudo-psycho-rock-fusion guitar riff built for an era of stick-slinging ghosts of yesteryear. He barrels over the top of the melodic rhythm section and awakens your inhibitions, yet he is careful not to disrupt the balance that has been created. It melds together in a wonderful progression, and we are just :34 seconds in when that voice hits. “Wild Side/ I wanna take you/ I wanna take you there”.
The tiny touches on the high hat are now bellowing reverberations from slamming skins and that bass line is hammering out a backdrop for our story to unfold. The sounds created are that of a medieval mason pounding out metals to forge a weapon. Maddy’s voice plunges through the fire and molten rock and grabs us by the hands and feet to make sure that we don’t stop moving. Her armament is music. Music is life. Music is the ability to dance when you just want to stay in bed all day. Catchfire wants to remind us that there is beauty and comfort in a world that seems harsh and cruel most of the time. This ensemble lifts the blanket and avails the light.
The song is luminescent and one hundred percent diggable. From the shadows of their ancestors like Aerosmith and The Black Crowes, the thumping happiness that transcends from thin air to a palpable heartbeat is alive in well within the future of new rockers like Catchfire. The track continues with excellence. Nothing overly fancy or obnoxious skews this single. Maddy has an old soul living inside her that gets to come out a play when presented with a microphone and the rest of the band does better than “just their job” which makes the sound jump to a new level.
There is a point about two-thirds through were they seem to let go of any inhibitions that may have lingered and everyone goes controllably-wild. A brief guitar solo with a elegant scream by our front-woman culminate to a crescendo that that heightens our indelible smile. We are then settled and back in a funk driven groove. “Don’t think twice/ Have no doubt/ Don’t lose sight/ Live out loud” repeats and the song closes with Maddy welcoming us to the “Wild Side”.
The rattling echo from the burning words and instrumentals stays with the listener even when the song is silenced. It is now out there in the ethos for others to discover- for that is all that we can do. We create and place our art in the world for the scavengers to find. This track is certainly art and I am happy that I got to hear it before most. This is a band to be on the lookout for.
From their website: “Catchfire is sparking up a flame with their original classic rock tunes and a twist of modern lyrics and looks. Having only formed just over one year ago in Nashville, TN, they are lighting up audiences everywhere.
Catchfire is comprised of five members who all grew up with rock and roll in their lives. Whether their parents were cranking the volume on a Zeppelin song, or they were shredding on Guitar Hero 5, all of these experiences led them to where they are now on their musical journeys.
Starting out, Catchfire had a lead and a rhythm guitarist, a drummer, and a bassist, but they were having trouble landing a singer. At the time, a good friend of the lead guitarist, Travis, volunteered to fill in as a temporary vocalist. Six rehearsals and one debut show later, Maddy became the lead singer of the band and she is here to stay.
The origin of the name Catchfire is also a great tale. Maddy worked at a café as a pastry chef assistant. While cooking breakfast sandwiches, the toaster had a flare up and caught fire. Once it died down, her first remark was, “damn that thing was catching fire,” and it clicked in that moment that that’s what the band name had to be; Catchfire.
Catchfire’s music is timeless rock with a fresh modern sound. They use the 70s and 80s rock era as their inspiration and foundation to build their original ideas upon. Some iconic rock and rollers that contribute to their sound include AC/DC, Def Leppard, Pearl Jam, Led Zeppelin, and Tom Petty. Catchfire wants their music to make you remember that timeless classic rock feel, but they have new stories, melodies, and anthems of their own.
Currently, Catchfire is releasing their next single, Wild Side, and recording several other new singles to be released in the coming months. With several shows booked for the fall, as well as plenty more exciting live performances in the works for the beginning of the year and on into the spring, you won’t want to miss out on the excitement. Are you ready to feel the heat?!”
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