Catch 22 is an American ska punk band from East Brunswick Township, New Jersey. The band was formed in 1996 by guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Tomas Kalnoky, who left the band in 1998 and later formed Streetlight Manifesto. Founding members remaining in the band are vocalist/saxophonist Ryan Eldred, trumpeter Kevin Gunther, and drummer Chris Greer.

Catch 22 was fronted 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 Todd Seaman rounded out the original lineup. Greer, Kalnoky, and Scharenguivel were formerly in "Gimp" before Tomas fronted Catch 22.

The band released a self-produced demo tape, Rules of the Game, in 1997. All 2000 copies of the tape quickly sold out. 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. Sean brought the tape to the Victory office and suggested the band be signed.

Scharenguivel and Seaman left the band and was replaced by Josh Ansley and Jamie Egan respectively. The band then signed to Victory Records and produced their first studio album, 1998's Keasbey Nights. Ansley left and was replaced by Pat Calpin. Kalnoky left the band shortly thereafter, deciding (due in part to parental pressure) to continue his education rather than tour. Catch 22 continued on with Pat Calpin moving to guitar, Pat Kays (nicknamed "Mingus") on bass, and Jeff Davidson on vocals. After recording the Washed Up! EP, Egan left the band to continue his teaching career and focus on family life. Alone in a Crowd followed in 2000 with Mike Soprano on trombone. 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. Davidson and Soprano left the band in 2001 to pursue other projects, and for a while the band actively courted new vocalists, even putting an advertisement on their website. The group also recruited Ian McKenzie, formerly of Long Island, New York ska band Edna's Goldfish on trombone/vocals.

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 that night. Various members from Last Picked, a fellow ska band from Rahway, NJ, volunteered to fill in the horn section.

After a fruitless search, the band decided to continue on as it was, with Ryan Eldred and Kevin Gunther sharing vocal duties. Washed Up and Through the Ringer, an expansion of the Washed Up! 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.

The band released its third full-length album, Dinosaur Sounds, in 2003, roughly the same time Streetlight Manifesto (a band founded by Tomas Kalnoky and featuring Josh Ansley, Jamie Egan, Jim Conti, and later Mike Soprano as well as former members of the NJ ska band One Cool Guy) released their debut album Everything Goes Numb. 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. While there was a disagreement, the two parties have since reconciled their differences. 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.