Pop punks CAUGHT OFF GUARD just released their debut album this past fall, with further plans for more music come next year, with a follow-up album expected in the next couple of year's time! The band talks about their inspirations, releases, and plans to play more shows and likely tour soon!
1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or did it come out just like that?
The idea came from a song lyric from the song "Letters to God" by Boxcar Racer, a song and album that heavily influenced me in my songwriting.
2. Why did you want to play this genre?
It's just the only music I've ever been interested in. Blink 182, Simple Plan, Good Charlotte, Fall Out Boy and so on, were all major influences and the only music that ever peaked my interest growing up.
3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?
Yes, we're all friends and have been for several years.. some of our former and current members are even brothers haha.
4. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
Caught Off Guard is based out of Charlotte, NC, but we like to think we represent both the Carolina's! The music scene is amazing. Several venues all showcasing the talent that is in the Carolinas. We love it here. However, we want to bring Pop-Punk to the forefront of the scene so when people think about music in the Carolina's, they think "Pop Punk." I'd say heavier rock, nu-metal, goth etc kind of owns Charlotte currently.
5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?
The pop punk legends from the early 2000's that I've already mentioned inspired me to get started. But I also just have this creative itch that basically requires that I write lyrics and riffs on guitar, it's just my creative outlet. I've been writing poetry and lyrics since I was 16.
6. What are your songs about? (What specific themes do they cover?)
A lot of the songs I write are just about personal experiences, emotions and feelings that I've been through over the years, early teenage years and just throughout life. They dabble in heartbreak, sadness, one of our songs is kind of about revenge, one is a feeling of "pressure" which I wrote when I felt pressure about being successful in music and the pressure to write another song when I was going through writers block.
7. Do you write your own songs? (Discuss the songwriting process in detail.)
Oh yeah! I, (Tyler), basically have dozens and dozens of songs written. My process is probably unexciting and not very interesting.. but I try to sit down with a guitar and plug into my daw and just mess around until I find a chord progression or riff that I like and just try to write out an intro, verse, chorus and bridge based off of that.. once I have that down, I try to add a lead guitar and have 2 guitar tracks over the whole song. I listen to that recording over and over again and just kind of freestyle/improvise lyrics over it until I find a melody and craft some words around that.
8. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?
As of now our full length album called "Wondrous Blunders," that released on Halloween of this year 2025!
9. Do you have any new music in the works?
We have plenty of music we're planning on rolling out starting in Spring of 2026 which will eventually lead to our sophomore album in 2027.
10. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?
As of now we're done playing in 2025. We played our final show in our home city of Charlotte, NC on November 22nd. We headlined and it was an amazing experience and Charlotte did really show up. We have a few shows booked around North Carolina in 2026, and we're starting to work on some small tours that we can knock out for some cities that have been requesting us in the south east and midwest. So keep a look out for those announcements!
11. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
We plan on continuing performing and growing our social media accounts and working towards becoming a national touring band. We do have the framework for several albums and multiple singles for the next few years so we'll see what happens. No intentions of stopping any time soon though, that's for sure.
12. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
We are on all major streaming platforms. Just search Caught Off Guard and our goofy faces will pop up, I'm sure. As for purchasing merch, I'm working on getting stuff set up on our band camp, but feel free to DM the band page and we can try to work something out. I try to be as fair as possible, but the idea that anyone would even want something from Caught Off Guard is amazing.
Post a Comment