After being rescheduled a couple of times, everyone (including me) are keeping everything crossed that we might be able to attend ATTITUDE FESTIVAL in September. The lineup looks IMMENSE and I thought it would be good to chat to as many bands as possible ahead of the festival so people could learn a bit more about them, check out their music and hopefully, be in the room when they take to the stage to do their thang.

One of the first bands I contacted was THE OOZES, I knew nothing about them prior to sending the questions and I will definitely be checking them out in more detail ahead of the festival. Here’s how we got on….

Evening all, please take a moment to describe your band, your sound, style and anything else people need to know about you…. 

The Oozes are a loud, queer, political punk band that take inspiration from everywhere between Britney Spears to Bikini Kill. Our sound is most comparable to classic punk and riot girl bands but really who knows what we’ll come out with. There are certainly some grunge, post-punk and folk influences in there somewhere. Our aesthetic was born out of charity shops, queer-coded cartoon characters and we love to wear bright colours, funky makeup and fight gendered fashion stereotypes.

 

If I were to say "if you like (insert other band names) you'll LOVE The Oozes" who would you say? 

If you like… Bratmobile, Fugazi, Goat Girl, The Raincoats, Fontaines D.C. you'll LOVE The Oozes :)

 

Where are you from?

Tom and Ciara are from South-East London and have known each other since secondary school, Olly and Cherry met Tom at college in Shoreditch, so as a band we originated in London, however Ciara is living in Manchester for University, so we’re pretty back and forth! (not in the pandemic!)

 

What is the music scene like there (assuming we aren't in a global pandemic)

We’ve played at some super cool venues and met some of the coolest people since starting the band, special mentions to The Fiddlers Elbow in Camden and PinUps in Islington, I remember when we played at the Fiddlers Elbow it was one of the first times I felt like the crowd not only wanted to be there, but were actually enjoying the show, and afterwards one of the organisers told me that even the bartender enjoyed seeing us play “and he usually hates everything” - Tom

 

Please introduce each band member and tell me what they do/play

Tom - Lead Vocalist/Songwriter - He/Him

Ciara - Bassist/Backing Vocals - They/Them

Cherry - Guitarist - She/Her

Olly - Drummer - He/Him

 

When did you form?

Our first ever rehearsal was on November 12th 2018 and in that session we played through our two first songs, “Cryin’ Like a Baby” (the first song on our EP) and “Eat Shit” (Currently unreleased) The three original members were Tom, Olly and Ciara, and Cherry joined the band in July 2020, the day we released our first single.

 

How did you form?

Tom and Olly met through a mutual friend at college, then Tom posted on his instagram saying “I need a bassist for a Queer Punk Band!” and Ciara responded! At our first rehearsal we worked together so well it was insane, having chemistry with the people you play with is the best feeling ever.

 

This whole pandemic has been a real kick in the teeth for bands, artists, live music venues and anyone who works in the entertainment industry, how have you coped?

Well… it’s been rough, but we managed to record and release our first ever EP in the first national lockdown, 200 miles apart! Really we just threw ourselves into doing everything we could without having to be in a room with each other, and when we were able to meet we tried to make the most of it!  

I’ve been writing new songs non-stop, and a lot of what's been going on in the world politically has been the focus of lots of new material. I write the most when my feelings are most intense, and over the past year the world has not been holding back on things to feel strongly about. 

What have you missed most during the various lockdowns and restricted periods that have been imposed on everyone?

Gigging! And spending time with each other outside of work, we are all so close so not being able to hang out sucks so bad.

 

Do you think that the government have handled the pandemic as well as they could have done? What could they have done better?

The government have done and continue to do so badly. Lifting the first lockdown before it was safe, putting money before people’s lives, neglecting children by voting against free school meals; the list of their consistent fuck ups goes on and on and as a band we hold nothing but hatred for the Tories, and that stance has only been strengthened over the past year. Not to mention Boris’ lack of care for the arts as an industry. There should have been far more funding and help for freelance artists, independent venues and the theatres. We run a real risk of losing some amazing spaces and creators from their lack of care, it’s heartbreaking to watch.

How does it make you feel to see your name on the bill for Attitude Festival 2021?

To be on the lineup for Attitude is so exciting, not only because we’ll actually be performing live again but also because we’re going to be sharing a stage with some insanely cool bands in a city we’ve never played in!                                

      

 There are some incredible bands on the bill, who are you looking forward to seeing at the festival and why?

There are so many amazing bands, just being able to see any live music again is great but we’re all big fans of Bob Vylan and also excited to see our Salford siblings Burnout.

 

Who in the band is the best at cooking? what is their speciality?

Olly’s the bread man, Tom’s bakes sweet treats, Cherry’s who you go to for a wholesome home cooked meal and Ciara… has Deliveroo plus.

 

With live gigs coming back from June 21, have you made any plans to get back out there?

We’re excited for our rescheduled Independent Venues Week gig at AMP studios in London on June 25th! Hopefully we’ll explore a little further from home in the summer too! Keep your eyes peeled!

 

Any new music on the horizon that we can look forward to?

Yeah! We’re itching to share all the new stuff we’ve been working on, it’s felt like its been in the works forever but we can promise that we have some extra juicy content coming very soon

Hearing your music and watching you perform live is a totally different thing, what can people expect from your live performance? 

The most fun you can imagine and then times that by 100! Live gigs are what it’s all about for us; working off the energy of a crowd and not holding anything back. We want people to come to an Oozes gig to forget about all the other shit of life and scream and have a little boogie, maybe a mosh as well!

 

Lastly, I'm doing a survey on cheese (don't ask..), please let me know your favourite and I'll advise the results in the podcast.

Cherry: “I’m a self-confessed cheese fiend! Any soft cheese is a winner for me but a goat’s or Camembert is the way to my heart’’

Olly: “I like a caramelised onion Wensleydale but personally I always fall for a baby bell before remembering they’re actually shit’’

Ciara: “I fucking hate that shit!”

Tom: “I love a blue cheese but I’m vegan now so I vibe with Violife’’

Where can we keep up to date with you on the socials?

@theoozes on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook

www.Instagram.com/theoozes

https://m.facebook.com/theoozes/

www.twitter.com/theoozes

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMey9SssX/

I’d like to personally thank The Oozes for sparing their time to chat to me and I wish them every success for the future and I for one will DEFO be there when they play at ATTITUDE FESTIVAL which will be taking place in the heart of Bristol in September.