American Catapult

Residing happily on the outskirts of Americana, American Catapult is the American musical dream in progress. While touring to support the relatively prolific repertoire of their first two albums - “Home of the Brave” and “Excess Falling” released just one year apart – rather than try to appease all concert venue bookers by promising a guaranteed draw to their shows, the band instead has taken to just showing up at places and soliciting impromptu shows on the spot. Not just bars and clubs either, American Catapult has also played during classes at a school for bartenders, at an abandoned airfield, and at Laundromats around Central and Southern California: “We have found over time this incredible difficulty in finding decent places to play out. This became so discouraging to us, until we came to grips with that reality and decided to find our own audience – even if that meant playing during the spin cycle in a Laundromat full of strangers,” says Tom Townsend singer/guitarist. “So it became our goal to find an unlikely place to conquer, to gain respect through our music, and if that happened somewhere, well then we all win!” Besides, why should music be limited to the space of bars and concert venues? Street musicians busk on the subway everyday trying to reach people with their music – a Laundromat isn’t so different. This guerilla-style showmanship has made American Catapult many fans-turned-friends all over the country – sometimes even earned them a place to stay for the night during their “Tour of the Brave” tour booked almost exclusively in this manner: “It’s humbling to meet others who genuinely appreciate our music and our desire to connect. It’s not someone’s friend who gives us the obligatory ‘you guys sound great,’ but it’s a complete stranger who give us a thumbs up and invites us to their winter cabin in Yosemite,” recalls Shawn Winters, drummer. “Making friends along the way makes us happy and gives us the impression we’re doing something worthwhile.” Their newest national release - “Trees of Mystery” - follows the spirit of their first two albums and their touring ethic and takes their rootsy, alt country song craft to the next level of accessibility. Decide for yourself: is this true grit or spin?