The sound of Boulder County quintet Card Catalog is as varied as the name suggests. After establishing a bluesy baseline with their 2019 debut album, Push, this year’s Snow Moon EP finds the band skewing heavier.
“I didn’t want to steer completely away from blues rock, but wanted to branch into a different vibe to see what was out there,” says vocalist and rhythm guitarist Jenn Tatros. “I don’t even know what genre this is. We’re told it’s alt-rock. Somebody said alt-metal.”
Drummer Kevin Kirkpatrick laughs at the alt-metal tag. He credits the addition of lead guitarists Davy Ford and Will Perkins, both of whom joined Card Catalog after the release of Snow Moon, for beefing up the band’s sonics, especially live. Original bassist Kelton Kragor also rejoined the five-piece at that time.
“It hits a little heavier,” Kirkpatrick says. “It’s like Card Catalog Version 2. We pulled from our influences and brought a lot of these things to the table. Even though right now, the current lineup wasn’t the actual members who did the recording, they bring the heat to the song.”
Kragor, who helped form Card Catalog back in 2013, remembers when they’d all get together to rehearse at his house. Tatro would use a microphone taped to a vacuum as a stand.
“It was fun to be in a ‘bad’ band, cutting our teeth and figuring it out,” he says. “That’s how we built a lot of the chemistry.”
Even after Kragor left to focus on other musical endeavors, he supported his friends and regularly went to their shows. Now that he’s back in the fold, he’s excited to see what Card Catalog can conquer next, especially with some new players.
“It’s evolved in a way that makes me really happy and proud of what these guys are doing,” he says.
Road dogs
While there hasn’t yet been new music from the latest iteration, this summer has been all about playing live as much as possible, including a Midwest run. So far, Card Catalog has hit the stage 20 times.
“We’ve just been out playing our asses off, trying to get out there and support that,” Kirkpatrick says.
The next gig will be a headlining show at the Fox Theatre on Aug. 10, with fellow locals Bury Mia and Dayshaper.
“I got some tricks up my sleeve,” Tatro teases. She doesn’t share specifics, but it’s in line with the Card Catalog ethos of providing a memorable live experience.
Kragor drops a little hint about the upcoming setlist when talking about some of his influences, particularly the Maynard James Keenan-fronted supergroup A Perfect Circle.
“You might hear some of that, maybe. I don’t know,” he says. “You’ll have to show up and find out.”
School of Rock
The band’s love of turn-of-the-century radio rock is no surprise. The members of Card Catalog grew up with the heavy music of the 1990s and early 2000s, naming acts like Tool and Incubus among the staples of their rotations.
Perkins, the quiet axeman who runs licks on his guitar during the interview, is a little more old-school, naming Elvis and Led Zeppelin as his inspirations.
“I’m a really simple dude,” he says. “I just like to play really fast and greasy.”
Ford, the counterpart to Perkins in the shred department, is a metalhead who draws from the playbook of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.
“I’ve always been a sucker for dual lead lines,” he says. Now with two lead guitarists on deck, Card Catalog is taking a page from that playbook.
“It sounds so much fuller. We’ve never tried that before, the dueling stuff,” adds Tatro, who looks up to dynamo vocalists Stevie Nicks and the late Dolores O’Riordan of The Cranberries.
With only a handful of shows left on the slate through October, including an opening slot for Emily Wolfe on Aug. 29 at Denver’s Black Buzzard, Card Catalog is looking forward to writing some new tunes before the end of the year. Given the band’s eclectic mix of styles, musicians and influences, there’s no telling what the result will be.
“It’s true to its name: Card Catalog,” Kragor says. “Just open the drawer and see what you find.”