As a young yet undeniably gifted quartet, The Catching are really starting to make waves on the music scene, thanks in large part to their recent EP Teenage Fiction Part 1. Now on tour through to the end of the year, lead singer Holden Glazer took time out of his increasingly busy schedule to chat Green Day, dream performances and the power of social media.
PW: Please introduce yourself.
Holden Glazer: Hi! I’m Holden Glazer, lead singer and bass player in The Catching.
PW: How would you describe the band and your music in a few words?
HG: Serious yet energetic pop rock.
PW: When did you realize you wanted to make music a career? Was there an album you bought or concert you attended that inspired you?
HG: I’ve always been attached to music from a very young age. I grew up in a very musical household so it was always a constant throughout my life. My mom is a classically trained pianist and my dad has played guitar since he was in his teens. Their creativity made me teach myself how to play all the instruments I know.
Once I exhausted all my passion for the typical sports that everyone plays, I realized that music was something I had always turned to or created, so Jake and I – who were already good friends at the time and played in school of rock together – formed our band over 4 years ago and have just kept growing since. We knew this was going to be what we wanted to do once we hit high school and formed The Catching with Evan and Drew. I would say each concert I had seen growing up inspired me in a creative way and made me want to achieve what those artists have achieved.
PW: Which bands or artists influenced you growing up and have those influences changed over the years?
HG: Green Day have been a band I’ve loved from the very beginning. The same goes for the other band members. We also all love Kings of Leon, U2, The All-American Rejects and Fall Out Boy. Those are our go-to bands. I’d say growing up we all listened to more classic rock, which is still very prevalent in our influences with bands like The Beatles, The Who or The Rolling Stones.
PW: Is there a band or artist you might say you’re similar to?
HG: I wouldn’t say we are very similar to any band, but we definitely draw influences from each of the bands mentioned above.
PW: Tell me about your new single “Ready Set Go”. Is there a story behind it?
HG: “Ready Set Go” was a song I wrote with our producer, Skidd Mills, in Nashville last year. The chorus came from an older song I had written a year prior and was refitted with a new verse and groove over all. The song’s lyrics were inspired by some experiences I had in my childhood of being bullied and feeling left out. I wanted to express to anyone that is going through a similar thing to be who you are no matter what anyone thinks. Screw the bullies, man.
PW: The track is taken from your new EP Teenage Fiction Part 1. How would you sum it up?
HG: Teenage Fiction is about a culmination of events and general occurrences I experienced while growing up and in my teenage years. I had already written the lyrics when I came up with the title and realized that all I had written came from a teenage perspective; one that had so much more to experience in life before actually forming a real opinion. The dynamics and production bring the words to life in our own pop rock way.
PW: Could you pick a favorite track on the collection and if so, which is it and why?
HG: Hmm that’s tough, but I guess I’d pick “Wild Ones” because of its anthemic and awesome sound. It was a really fun one to record and it pumps me up every time I hear it.
PW: Who or what most inspires your song writing?
HG: To be honest, what I write comes from my own brain and just random ideas I hear throughout the day. I can be doing any day-to-day activity and have to walk away to record a melody I hear in my head. Ask the band – it’s funny! Otherwise, I would say what I’m listening to at the time of the songs creation has an influence on how I hear it.
PW: In your opinion, which is the greatest song ever written and why?
HG: Wow that’s a hard question. I go through phases when it comes to what I listen to so it’s never really just one band or song, but I must say a classic like The Beatles, “Come Together” is one of the best songs ever written just because of the simplicity, yet awesome melody. In terms of more modern songs, the song “Gives You Hell” by The All-American Rejects is one of my absolute favorites and one of the catchiest songs I know.
PW: What are your upcoming performance plans?
HG: We are going to be on tour for the rest of the year! In fact, The High School Nation tour will last until November and after that, we are going on another tour from late November to the end of December, which will be revealed soon. Aside from that, we are trying to build a following as much as possible in order to get more touring opportunities.
PW: If you could share a stage with three other bands or artists who can be living or dead, who would they be and where would you play?
HG: Led Zeppelin including John Bonham, All 4 Beatles, or Green Day at any venue anywhere because that would be amazing.
PW: What are your thoughts on social media and would you agree it’s a vital tool for bands and artists today? Do you think you’d have the support you do without it?
HG: Social media is key for artists in the modern music industry when it comes to engagement and gaining a following. We are taking full advantage of it right now with the amazing live streaming platform, YouNow, and also we tweet and Instagram non-stop. Our YouNow fan-base is amazing, with us grabbing a slot in the top 5 broadcasters worldwide every time we go on – we’ve been number one more than five times!
PW: What else does the rest of the year have in store for you?
HG: Touring and working on Teenage Fiction, Part 2.
PW: Finally then, what’s your ultimate ambition as a band and, what advice would you give to new bands and artists just starting out?
HG: Our ultimate goal is to build a fan-base and be able to have a career and sustain a living in doing what we absolutely love to do, make music and playing it for our fans. I would tell new bands to cover songs together in order to find inspiration for writing and play as many live shows as possible in order to get your chops.
Check out the video for “Ready Set Go” below and for more information on The Catching, visit their website, give their page a like on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.
