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Keep The Trailer Park In Sight: Catfish Haven Hits Athens
by Sarah Wagner  photo by Caleb Condit What exactly is Catfish Haven? Is it a resort where all the stressed-out catfish go to unwind? Is Catfish Haven a hole-in-the-wall restaurant? Not even close. Catfish Haven is a three piece indie-rock band from Chicago, Illinois with a soulful sound. With a name like Catfish Haven, one must wonder what the story behind the band is, which was my focus when I began interviewing them. George Hunter (vocals), Miguel Castillo (bass) and Ryan Farnham (drums) are the three original members of the band, who started Catfish Haven 5 years ago, though they have all been friends for over 10 years. Due to their love of punk music and skateboarding, the members of the band met at punk shows when they were still teenagers. Catfish Haven got its name from a trailer park in Missouri, where the lead singer, George Hunter, grew up. Miguel Castillo said that process of coming up with a name for the band was an easy one because the idea of naming the band after a trailer park that George Hunter lived in "represented a time of innocence for George." Castillo added, "It [Catfish Haven] sounds kind of filthy and raw, like Muddy Waters or something." The Catfish Haven sound is influenced by such classic artists as Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and Credence Clearwater Revival. Achieving a sound that makes the audience feel emotion is what Catfish Haven's motivation is when they write their songs. Catfish Haven said, "We are all fans of music that expresses raw emotion. The technical aspects of music are secondary to the feeling and the emotion in a Catfish Haven song. For those 3 to 4 minutes that the song is playing it can make you feel like everything is right with the world." One of Catfish Haven's favorite places to play a show at is in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, because it is home to one of their favorite record stores, Grand Palace. They're doing what they love, the music, and don't just love their own. The band does normal things like drinking, going to other shows, listening to records and playing music in their free time. One time, while they were on tour, Catfish Haven had a weird occurrence with a fan, who invited them to stay with her for the night. The woman was married, but had a man on the side, and the guys were terrified that some psycho husband would come home and, finding all of those men at the house, kill them. The band says they had fun, eating, drinking and playing guitar that night, but the possibility of the husband's return cast a nervous pall over the evening. If Catfish Haven sounds like a band with great lyrics, a good quality sound and fun to listen to, then you should definitely check them out when they come to play at the 40 Watt on September 23rd. Comments [post a comment]Comments are closed |
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Friday, September 03, 2010
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