As Catch 22 trumpet player/resident smart-ass Kevin Gunther relates, there’s been a massive shift in the Victory Records tour. Featuring such diverse acts as Grade, Reach The Sky, Catch 22 and Student Rick, this year’s line-up sees a traditionally hardcore punk label branching out, supporting a wide array of genres under said punk banner.
“The 1999 Victory tour was Hatebreed, Shutdown, All Out War, Buried Alive…these huge hardcore bands with really heavy flavour. Not even old school…it was straight-up metal. The 2002 tour shows the growth of the label. You have a ska/punk band, an emo rock band, the Boston old hardcore of Reach The Sky and whatever Grade are…I can’t do it. If you want, you can call them ‘screamo,’ whatever that is.”
While the majority of shows are running smoothly with packed houses nightly, Gunther must admit that things don’t always go according to plan when the crowds are faced with such a varied line-up.
“Let’s put it this way: the audiences are great. The only people crying during our set are the hardcore kids that want to get the hell out of there. Unfortunately, some of the fans just aren’t ready to branch out musically. The ska kids are just as guilty as the hardcore kids. They pay their 10 bucks to see the band they want to see, then leave or ignore the other bands. They don’t realize that nine times out 10, if you give a band a chance you’ll think they’re pretty cool. And nine times out of 10, those bands aren’t as different as they may appear at face value. All the bands on this tour are very similar…except for Student Rick. They’re weird.”
Joking aside, Gunther quite soberly points out that there is only one reason Catch 22 are together, let alone trekking across North America with three other very different bands: fun.
“That’s what this tour is about. I don’t want to get all deep and shit, but that’s what life’s about too. Too many bands take this stuff way too seriously, completely missing the fact that they’re doing what they love, and what so many people never get to do. I don’t care if you’re the most political band in the world or the least political band in the world, no one’s saving the world. It’s just the way it is. Life’s the way it is, so you might as well have fun along the way. I say this, and we’re the serious band on the bill. How’s that, huh? The hardcore band are all silly and the ska band are all serious. The exact opposite of what everyone would expect. Still, we get along with the hardcore band whose fans hate us. Again, it’s all about making friends and meeting people. That’s what this band is about.”
Pointing out the most profound moment of the tour, Gunther admits that after three weeks with Grade, he’s about to crack. He can’t take ’em any more. With smart-assed tone deeper than ever, he sets the stage, hoping the Varsity interviews them next so he can hear their reply.
“We’re on tour with a bunch of Canadians. That’s a lot of fun. They blab like a bunch of jocks when they’re talking about the hockey game, but none of them know anything about sports except ‘Oh, we won the hockey game! We won the hockey game!’ Like, you haven’t won in 80 years, you finally won a freakin’ hockey game and yer flippin’ out about it. They’re so weird!”
