Having had previously worked with producer Will Yip (Circa Survive, The Starting Line, Title Fight), Cautioners released their album Dead Ends in March of 2015. After the release of their album, they went back to writing music and created their new single, “Daisies.” We were able to catch up with the band and talk about their new single and what has helped make them the band they are today.
Interview by Nina Schirmer
Can you tell us a little about Cautioners for readers who might not be familiar? How would you describe your sound?
We’re a 5 piece band from Poughkeepsie, NY! Our sound is on the alternative rock side, but we draw elements from punk rock and the aggression that comes across through our songs shows that.
You used to go by the name Far From Proper but then it changed to Cautioners. Can you tell us about the name change?
We’ve been playing together since high school, and we reached a point where we felt the name didn’t represent our music or who we were as people well, so we decided to change it while recording our first full length Dead Ends.
How did you originally get your start as a band and how did you all meet?
Jesse, Matt, and Angelo all met in high school and formed the band to play a couple local shows. Nick and Matt met each other at a theater camp in junior high and kept in touch throughout the years, and Nick joined soon after. We all knew Justin from playing shows with his old bands, and he joined recently to fill out the line up.
You recently released your song “Daisies” as a single. Where did you come across the phrase “pushing up daisies” and what gave you the inspiration to use it in a song?
The first time I ever came across the phrase “pushing up daisies” was on an On Broken Wings record I bought when I was 13. The song is all about being shutout by someone you once cared for, and being made to feel like you’re dead to them. When I started writing the lyrics to the song, it was something I was going through with someone I’d known for a long time, and the phrase just popped into my head. I wrote the whole song around the idea of being made to feel like you’re dead, or “pushing up daisies.”
After giving us a taste of your new music with “Daisies,” when can we expect to hear more new songs?
We’re currently writing a lot of new material, and we’re really excited on how it’s all sounding. We believe they’re our best songs yet and we’d like to put them out as soon as we can!
Are there any messages that you would like for listeners to receive when they listen to your music?
Lyrically, everything is written from personal experiences. Writing the songs ends up being like a weight lifted off our shoulders, so we hope that people can find meaning in the songs we write and help lift some weight off their shoulders as well.
Who have been some of your biggest influences that have inspired you to be in a band and write music?
We’re all inspired by so many different types of music, and we all draw influence from the many different genres we listen to. I believe our biggest goal is to write music that can stand the test of time, so records we listened to growing up that we still love are a huge influence on us.
Back in March of 2015 you released your album, Dead Ends. What are some of your favorite moments from recording the album? Did you come across any challenges while working on it?
We decided to change the name while recording the record, so the feeling of starting fresh and really representing ourselves in a different way I think was our favorite part. We love recording with Will Yip, because he pushes us harder than anyone we’ve encountered to get the best takes and be the best musicians we can be. Sometimes that meant playing until you couldn’t play anymore, or in Nick’s case, singing until you blow your voice out. Nick had to come back down to Pennsylvania to finish tracking vocals, but other than that, the recording process was very exciting for us.
Being based out of Poughkeepsie, New York, how has the music scene there influenced who you are as a band today?
The music scene in our hometown influenced us by showing us how to work hard for your goals and never expect a handout from anybody. We’ve made some great friends along the way who have helped us out, but we always worked hard to try and achieve our goals.
Moving forward into this year, what are some of your goals?
We want to continue writing for a new record, and release some more new music by the end of the year. We’d like to film a few more videos as well, and get back on the road as soon as possible to play some of these new songs for people.
Thanks for chatting with us! Is there anything else you would like to add?
Thank you so much for checking us out, and please go listen to our new single Daisies on YouTube, iTunes, and Spotify!
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