After a set that blew the roof off Camden’s legendary pub venue The Good Mixer, The Tightrope was excited to engage Caution Elderly People in conversation. The four-piece queer punk unit can only be summarised as a band with chaos at its core, and, as recommended by Good Cop in an earlier interview, are ‘absolutely great’. With this glowing review in mind, I approached the band with high hopes- and they did not disappoint.
The four-piece is made up of guitarist Oran, joined by Sophie also on guitar, who could not join us for the interview, Sonny, the drummer, and bassist May who completes the line-up. One interesting, rather unorthodox aspect of the lineup- every member performs vocals. This is tricky to execute musically, but Caution Elderly People pull it off seamlessly while maintaining their unique sound.
They agree wholeheartedly with Good Cop’s description of them as a queer punk band, defining Caution Elderly People as “an entity of queerness and weirdness”.
“Punk is too broad of a term to describe us. Nazis, racists, homophobes can all call themselves punk, but if you see a band that is specifically queer or queercore, it’s easier to trust them.”
This makes the band’s priority of creating a safe space for queer people in punk blindingly clear, which is a trait to applaud. The band advocates for inclusivity, and both their music and their philosophy showcase this.
After hearing punk described as a broad term, I was interested to hear Caution Elderly People’s own definition of punk. What stands out to them in this genre of rebellion? What does a genre known across the planet for smashing through boundaries mean to these four individuals? The answer was simple.
“Freedom of expression.” Sonny tells us. “Energy and inclusion.”
For the band, self-expression and inclusivity are the pillars holding up the punk community, and even the genre itself.
“That’s what keeps it all together, and makes it so exciting every time a band plays a show, or something new comes out. It’s all unique. If you’re in a punk band, and you’re not expressing yourself, you’re doing something wrong.” says Oran.
The history of the punk scene proves his point exactly. Through the decades, punk has been a genre and a community for those who feel cast out of society or want to stray away from the status quo, and has always been a place where these people can fight back against these social norms, primarily through their self-expression and art. Punk has always fought for the good of the minority and rights for the oppressed, often in the most explosive way possible. Only hypocrites would shun inclusivity in a community built on fighting for oppressed communities, and only hypocrites would use punk, a genre built on individuality, to make art for anyone but themselves.
Caution Elderly People are not hypocrites.
They believe punk revolves around fighting bigotry and showing your truest self to the world. They stand up for what they believe in through everything, and shout their values for everyone to hear.
“State your morals clear and call people out when they need to be called out”, says May, which are values that demonstrate the band’s authenticity as a true punk band.
They also know what punk is not, with drummer Sonny telling us that he thinks “ a lot of people get very caught up in the sound and the look, rather than the meaning. Fucking take ‘Zombie-Punk’. We're in Camden, mate. Topical. He dresses up with his mohawk and gets his bloody face tattooed. And then he goes and does terrible things to people. And only listens to, like, Nirvana. People take it as a fashion, and call themselves punk, when really it revolves around the ideology.”
The band believe this commodification of punk comes partially from consumerism and “alternative” fashion styles growing in popularity on social media.
“Kids on TikTok dying their hair black and being like, ‘oh, we’re punk’. They ain't got a clue what it's all about. But, you know, you can't control all of that. People are always gonna do that, it's just that you need people who strongly understand what it actually is.”
We agree with this strongly at The Tightrope, and, in fact, serve as a place of education for people who are interested in genres like punk, but don’t know anything about the ideology or music. This is a huge part of our philosophy, and believe that everyone deserves a way into the scene.
Caution Elderly People’s beliefs strongly feed into their music, typical of any punk band, but they also love to have fun with their music.
“Some of them are quite metaphorical. Like Goose, we don't have an agenda specifically against geese!” jokes May.
Thematically, the band spans a range from serious, political songs, such as I Shoot Boyz, about slut-shaming and misogyny, to playful scenarios, like Goose, their latest single, shows. The band believes that a range like this is needed, to lift the mood of both the band and the crowd. If every punk band wrote about sombre, political topics, there would be nothing to set any band apart. Caution Elderly People find an angle of punk that allows them to be creative and unique with their songwriting by discussing more lighthearted topics alongside the more solemn political aspect found in any punk band.
“The more personal the subject is that I want to get out, the harder it is, and then banging out a silly little tune is quite quick and easy sometimes.” Oran tells us. The band’s balance of these topics also keeps writing music as an enjoyable experience, and prevents creative burnout.
The ability to have fun with art is what drives people to make art, no matter the wider intention behind it.
Caution Elderly People are a band that get an equal share in writing their music, letting every member share their lyrics and ideas. Collaboration drives them- and each individual brings something entirely new to the table.
“ For the most part, if I write lyrics, it's always been after something that's happened that's really made me think about something, and then, you know, it's good to get your thoughts out in the form of writing a song, you know.” Sonny has an emotional approach to writing lyrics, creating his art from his own thoughts and opinions.
When it comes to creative expression, Oran believes that songwriting “shows the difference in each one of us.”
Sonny adds, “I think we have a lot to say. I think what's made us so close as people is what we all believe in, and how we preach that. We all play instruments, so why not make it into something that people can enjoy?”
And, suffice to say, people certainly do. Caution Elderly People is a band that started with a desire to say something, four individuals who want to show the world who they are and what they believe in. After two years of dedication, people are listening.
“Every band has that phase at the start where you're finding your feet. You're a punk or hardcore band playing with jazz acts, you know. It's horrible, until you find your feet and find people who agree with the message, and, you know, it's not a very unique message.
We're saying the same thing a lot of other people are, but it's our message.
And the way we each present it is very different. That's why we all jump on the microphone. Half of us have never sung a word in their lives before joining this band, but as we started writing our own songs with our own personal material, we don’t want to give that away to someone else and be like, ‘you speak this for me.’
We all have something to say, and we all want to say it out loud.”
A sentiment so quintessential to any musician, yet so overlooked- the desire to say something. To let the world know who you are and what you believe in is a brave act, and one that Caution Elderly People are more than willing to undertake.
The band draws influence, mainly, from other punk rock bands- and as they all contribute to everything, each member’s influences fuse together in perfect harmony. A shared love of Soft Play, English punk duo, is a proud influence for the band, especially in terms of flow and structure. May brings influence from The Slits, the post-punk band formed in 1976.
Collaboration is truly at the heart of Caution Elderly People. The band have an incredible connection with each other, as friends and musicians, and feel pride in fusing their tastes and values to make something that represents each of them in a new and unique way.
To Caution Elderly People, performing and living off music is a dream come true. The same goes for any musician, we’re sure, but the band’s burning passion to make their vision into a career is truly admirable. They acknowledge how, sadly, this is unrealistic for many musicians, but don’t let this deter them in the slightest.
“It is what it is at the end of the day. But even just comfortably living doing this would be amazing.” Sonny tells us.
More than anything, the band just want to present themselves to the world as they are, and say what they want to say, to people who recognise and support their message.
With May, they love and strive for the connection to the audience and even other musicians.
“I hope that one day I'll wake up, I'll play a gig, and then someone will come and speak to me after and just tell me something extraordinary that I did playing on a stage. Or even if it's just a random lady telling me that she showed her daughter pictures of me playing, or something, it's rewarding.” they share. “I want to keep going as long as it is rewarding for me.”
The rewards that making and playing music reap for Caution Elderly People also present themselves while playing live, and the band were eager to tell me about their favourite parts.
For Sonny, the satisfaction of playing live is what makes the experience special.
“It’s the release. The satisfaction of actually doing it. It's like a big sneeze. I mean, I've played drums since I was, what, nine, ten? For about six or seven years, all I wanted to do was play gigs. When we actually started playing gigs, even if they were shit, if, you know, the only crowd was my mum, it had me buzzing.”
Oran, however, loves the element of self-expression found playing at punk shows. “Just presenting ourselves as ourselves, it's one of the best bits.”
May loves seeing the progression of the band through shows. “We're not aware that we're changing individually and as a band into something good. And we see it gradually. But then we see pictures of ourselves from ages ago and we think we look so dumb and like we’re lost. Over time, we’ve started to warm up on stage, especially with our voices as well.”At this point in the interview, a passer-by from the show caught sight of the band in interview and started proclaiming, “The best fucking band in the world! So fucking good.”, before proceeding to hug everyone. If that doesn’t sell you on Caution Elderly People, I don’t know what will!
As many of our regular readers may already know, The Tightrope’s goal is to draw as many people who want to be part of the punk, metal and hardcore scenes into those scenes as they can. Growing the scene is vital to keep it thriving for generations to come, and The Tightrope aims to serve as a pillar of information for people wanting to find new bands, venues, and explore new genres. Here’s Caution Elderly People’s advice for those people:
Sonny: “Don't be a cunt. Be decent to people.”
Oran: “ I think, there's definitely a layer of people who like this sort of music, who keep in a very, sort of, shallow end of the waters, and like big bands, and don't really, or almost don't know the means of access to like, really small bands.
Just, go with your friends and go to a gig.
Dice is really good for finding gigs, especially if you live somewhere with a smaller scene, or only a couple of venues. Dice can get you into deeper waters and help you find a scene that, hopefully, isn’t too far away. And then, going to shows, you start to see opening bands, and then you can go to their shows, and then it grows from there.”
May: “Don't be one of those twats that ignores everyone. People that don't say thank you or things like that. Be nice and be decent.”
The band also had some advice for budding musicians:
Sonny: “Message local promoters and try and get yourselves out there. There is definitely a strike of luck with it, like if we hadn't met the South London punk community, we wouldn’t be here.
Oran: “If you get one good gig, you can talk to the promoters and if they like you, they'll try and promote you a bit. For us, we opened for Bruise Control, a punk band from Manchester.”
Oran: “I mean, that is what's really nice about the scene, the queer punk scene in general. The people in it are great, and they do spread you about a bit on Facebook and that. It gets you places, and everyone is willing to help each other out.”
Thank you so much to Caution Elderly People, it was an honour to work with you. I cannot recommend this band enough, go and check their music out on your preferred streaming platform. If you get a chance, go and see them live. They're truly electrifying.
In the spirit of ‘sharing the scene’, and as a Tightrope tradition, I asked Caution Elderly People to share their favourite up-and-coming bands, to give them the attention they deserve. Here’s what they said.
CAUTION ELDERLY PEOPLE’S RECOMMENDATIONS
SONNY- The Beeves. The Beeves are the bollocks.
MAY- Electric Cowboy Club. They're bigger than us. We just love them!
@electriccowboyclub
SONNY- Good Cop are great, of course. We wouldn’t be here without them!
@goodcop_hxc [Personally, I love this. The interview transpired from me asking Good Cop the same question, so seeing Caution Elderly People shout out the same band makes me so happy! To me, it really shows how willing people in the scene are to support one another.]
ORAN- Shooting Daggers are amazing.
@shootingdaggers_hc
MAY- Rites of Hadda. Go fucking see them, they're sick.
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