Chasing dreams with Marshall Catch

Marshall Catch first hit the local music scene in 2010, with a combination of hard economic times, friendship and passion for songwriting. The last five years have seen even harder times for the rotating cast of band members, but ultimately chemistry and serendipity have created a group that’s here to stay.

Marshall Catch is Jared Denney on drums, keyboard and harmony vocals; Matt Haun on bass and backup vocals; Tyler Rounds on lead guitar (and beard); and Luke Lautaret on guitar, lead vocals and “sex appeal, sadly,” Lautaret joked.

Lautaret is the sole original band member, although he was quick to point out that Denney came onboard very shortly after the group began playing together in 2010. Haun also has been with the band for most of its history, but worked first as a sound technician before picking up the bass about two years ago.

Rounds, the relative newcomer having been with the band for about a year and a half, rounds out the group with “that scorching lead guitar sound,” Lautaret said. “And we needed that piece.”

MARSHALL CATCH released its first album, “Ad Meliora,” in 2010, followed by the 2012 EP “Make Noise.”

The foursome is back in the studio now working on another full-length album, tentatively titled “Chasing Ghosts and Dreams.” It’s a project they hope to complete sooner rather than later. No release date has been set, but Lautaret said the album has already been a couple of years in the making.

“Writing is incredibly personal,” Lautaret said. “Very therapeutic, and a way to work through a lot of loss.”

“[The songs] are fairly brutally honest. There isn’t a lot of happy, sweet stuff on the new album.”

The band has started incorporating some of the new material into its live shows, and so far have gotten positive feedback.

“People definitely connect with [the new material],” Rounds said. “And there’s really been a shift, where we’ve been filling out the shows with originals.”

Lautaret said playing all-original sets is ultimately the goal at live performances.

“The music is what’s important to us,” Lautaret said. “We want to write music for the ages.”

“I wouldn’t want to go see a band who I felt wasn’t being honest with me. We strive to be something deeper.”

THAT DRIVE to create music that’s meaningful and that people can connect with is what sets Marshall Catch apart on the local scene.

Fellow local musician, Israel David, occasionally sits in with the band at live shows, performing as a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. David said the group’s authenticity is what drew him in.

“These guys are so great as a group,” David said. “The music is done here with people here, and that just isn’t an experience you see ... You just don’t get organic music coming out of a local group like this.”

In July, Marshall Catch was voted “Best in the Flathead” for the fourth year in a row in the band category in the Daily Inter Lake’s annual contest.

Lautaret said more importantly, they hear from fans all the time about how the group’s music has affected them in some way.

“We’re making music because that’s what we love, what we’re passionate about,” Lautaret said. “Overwhelmingly we’ve got something pretty special.”

Denney agreed. He said that the lack of drama between band members helps the group focus on putting out good music, rather than being preoccupied with other issues.

“We work at it,” Denney said. “There’s plenty of ego, but we work around it.”

This summer, that workload has included a severe regional touring schedule. Denney said many of the group’s regional gigs this year have come through a partnership with the Montana Narcotics Officers Association, taking them around the state to different conference events. The band also has booked shows through the Rocky Mountain Association of Fairs, which has taken them to Wyoming, North and South Dakota, and Utah.

“We really get to meet a lot of different kinds of people,” Lautaret said. “There are some great people out there.”

But the bandmates so far seem no worse for the wear.

“I think people expect certain things from a band on the road,” Rounds said. “But for us, when we aren’t playing, we’re usually on the bus reading or sleeping or having deep philosophical conversations.”

Marshall Catch’s next local show will be Tuesday, Aug. 11, from 7 to 9 p.m. in Depot Park in Kalispell, part of the city’s “Picnic in the Park” summer concert series. Fans can keep up with the band at www.facebook.com/MarshallCatch.

Entertainment Editor Stefanie Thompson can be reached at 758-4439 or ThisWeek@dailyinterlake.com.