Catch 22 was formed by guitarist/vocalist Tomas Kalnoky and drummer Chris Greer who recruited trumpeter Kevin Gunther, who was working in a local record store.
Bassist Jason Scharenguivel, saxophonist Ryan Eldred, and trombonist James Egan, who was also Kevin Gunther's first music teacher, rounded out the original lineup.
[2] The band mailed several copies to labels they were interested in working with including Gainesville, Florida's Toybox Records (who had previously released a 7" by Less Than Jake).
Toybox was owned and operated by Sean Bonner, who had recently moved to Chicago, Illinois to work at Victory Records.
Kalnoky left the band shortly thereafter, deciding (due in part to parental pressure) to continue his education rather than tour.
After this release, the band began touring heavily on a national scale, appearing with Mustard Plug, Reel Big Fish, and other third-wave ska, hardcore, and punk acts.
On February 23, 2002, the band performed at Birch Hill Nightclub in Old Bridge, New Jersey with Gunther as the lead vocalist since Eldred was unavailable at the time.
EP, was released in 2001, featuring two new songs, three rarities from the Alone in a Crowd era, and a handful of live tracks recorded in October 2000 at Club Laga in Pittsburgh and Euclid Tavern in Ohio.
Both albums featured supposed veiled attacks on each other, suggesting to many fans that there was some sort of disagreement or heat between Catch 22 and Streetlight Manifesto.
Catch 22's Kevin Gunther has since been in charge of Streetlight Manifesto's tour booking for many years, and members of both bands have said in conversations with fans that there is no "beef" between the two.
In 2004, Catch 22 released Live, a combination CD and DVD recording of a show performed at The Downtown in Farmingdale, New York, earlier that year.
2006's Permanent Revolution saw the band return to its ska punk roots, while also borrowing influences from jazz, reggae and alternative rock.