August's Band Of The Month - Catch 22 (From The Westmorland Gazette)

August's Band Of The Month - Catch 22

2:08pm Friday 29th July 2011 in Band Of The Month By Daniel Orr, Reporter

KENDAL pop-rock outfit Catch 22 are The Westmorland Gazette’s Band of the Month for August.

The five-piece have been together for nine years and are well-known on the North West gigging circuit, playing an ever-changing set with an eclectic mix of pop, rock and soul.

Matt Kassell, is on rhythm guitar and lead vocals, Howard Little plays bass and sings, Stefan Billington takes lead guitar and backing vocal duties, Neil Wise is on drums and Craig Howarth plays keyboard and provides further backing vocals.

Craig, a former Queen Katherine School pupil, and Stefan, who went to Kirkbie Kendal School, are childhood friends who grew up together on the same street in Kendal, and whose love of music led them to form the band.

Craig said: “We do a lot of functions and gigs around the area at pubs and bars such as Bootleggers in Kendal and The Fighting Cocks in Arnside. Our schedule varies but we usually play live once or twice a week.”

The band ‘is fully self-contained’ and members provide all of their own high quality sound and lighting systems, which means they can play just about anywhere.

Classic tracks are all part of their repertoire, and they are always building and adding to their bank of more than 50 songs, including classics such as Summer of ‘69 by Bryan Adams, Can’t Buy Me Love by The Beatles and Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey.

More modern hits include Poker Face by Lady Gaga and Amy Winehouse’s version of Valerie.

Craig added: “We make sure we perform well and play the songs faithfully to the original versions. We try to cover songs well and do them justice.”

Catch 22 are a great live band whose showstopping performances should not be missed by music enthusiasts.

You can catch them next at The Bull, in Milnthorpe, on Friday, August 19.

For more information visit the website below.