PRODUCTION PROFILE: Catfish And The Bottlemen
CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN FORMED IN LLANDUDNO, NORTH WALES, AND QUICKLY TAKING OVER THE INTERNATIONAL INDIE AIRWAVES, FOUR-PIECE LAD ROCK BAND CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN ARE GAINING A REPUTATION AS ONE OF THE UK’S MOST FORMIDABLE LIVE BANDS. ONCE AGAIN, THE RENTAL COMPANY ON THE RADAR WITH A NEW BREAKOUT ACT IS NEWCASTLE-BASED NITELITES. Catfish And The Bottlemen - named after singer Ryan ‘Van’ McCann’s first memory of a busker who possessed a similar name were originally signed to an artist collective called Communion, founded by Mumford & Sons’ Ben Lovett. The band released their debut album The Balcony and soon claimed an army of fans - eventually getting picked up by major label Island Records and securing a top 10 chart position. Leading the band’s foray into full production touring is Tour Manager and now also Production Manager, Daniel James Humphreys. Following a career at Cato Music, he began touring internationally by tour managing LA-based soul soothing musical sisters, Haim. Currently based in LA himself, the 28-year-old Brit is looking after Catfish while Haim record a new album. 48
From his production office, Humphreys explained: “I’m very close to both these guys and the Haim girls. It’s been great being on the road with a real guitar band again; Catfish have just blown up quite quickly and that’s because they’re such a strong live act. They’re not pushing for arenas, which I’m glad about, but they could have done. They’re on the radio a lot and so they’re doing well in America too, but this only their first album and we’re building up their production in stages. “They like the fact that they have a really good live sound designer and they can have an LD with them, but it’s more a case of working with working class lads who just love the musicianship in what they do.” By Humphreys’ own admission, he’s able to fulfil his dual role thanks to the expert skills of his touring crew. “I have a good team around
me, so I can handle both roles quite easily. I liaise with all major sides and help to bring it all together but I’m not overly technical in the same way our engineers are. I do have a tech background and understand what we need for the show, and I’ve inherited a young, talented crew, who are mainly in their 20’s. “I’m excited to work with the band on their new album because you get all those new sounds, designs, artwork themes, and that progression of maturity in the songs - which I’ve been lucky enough to hear. They’re growing and developing all the time, and their show will grow when the time is right. We’re all looking forward to seeing new show designs next time around and although the band will keep all those raw punk elements, we have to give the audience something different to keep them coming back every time.”