Hailing from Detroit Colleen Caffeine is a familiar face on the punk scene both sides of the Atlantic. A free spirit that fronts the band Choking Susan in the same way she goes through life, by following her own unique path. Back at Rebellion after a five year gap Caffeine talked to Gary Trueman about being back, being herself and above all being shameless.
It’s been a while since you last played Rebellion. What are your feelings on being back?
“It’s so exciting. It’s been five years since we’ve been here. Covid took a couple of years out of everybody’s life and put things on pause. So to come back here and see everybody is like time has stopped and everything has gone back to the beginning. It feels so good.”
Have you noticed that there are a lot of new faces because of that five year gap, and also that there are some familiar people not here too?
“I am seeing a lot of the same people but unfortunately we lost some people too. I’m missing a lot of faces. I haven’t seen too many new faces but that’s probably because I’m drawn to the people I’ve needed to do five years of catching up with.”
There are still the older bands but there are a lot more newer ones too, and a lot of women are playing this year, more than ever.
“Rebellion is famous for being female friendly. They’ve always put a lot of female bands on. I’ve noticed a lot of them on the RIS (introducing) stage where I’ve been for a lot of my time. I saw one yesterday, such high energy, Deaf Devils.”
Punk is a wider range of music now than ever and that’s reflected in the bands playing, we’re seeing a lot more electronica, and crossover acts, a lot with hip hop mixed in.
“I love hip hop. I saw Gogol Bordello the other day and it’s hard to describe them as any kind of punk but they still fit don’t they? Most people I know seem to like a wide variety of music, not just one style or one genre. I think that’s what Choking Susan does. Our songs are a wide variety of sounds.”
A lot of that is how you access music now isn’t it? You’re not forced to buy a whole album.
“That’s true. When I was young it was buy the album, study the album, learn the album and all of the songs. Now it’s just pick a song, and pick lots of songs. Music is at our finger tips, any style.”
Your album ‘Punk And Shameless’ hasn’t been out that long. It’s fitted in well timeframe wise though hasn’t it?
“Yes. I know a lot of people that wrote during Covid because we had so much time. We actually didn’t write during Covid. We didn’t do anything except eat and make sour dough bread like everybody else. And drink a lot. We wrote that after. I think we were uninspired during Covid. We weren’t feeling any kind of energy so when life started happening again we started getting a little bit more creative again. ‘Punk And Shameless’ came out of, well I wrote two books and one is called ‘Drunk And Shameless’, and shameless has been a big theme because I get criticised a lot for what I look like and my stage show. I just wanted to bring that to light. Shameless, I don’t care what people think, I’m having fun in a nice way. I think the words to the album are appropriate for that and they coincide with my book. A lot of the lyrics were written first in the form of poetry and then they became songs. ‘Punk And Shameless’ it is what it is. When you’re punk you have to be shameless and just do your own thing.”
From the perspective of people seeing you, especially young women seeing you, it’s like yeah that’s right we can wear what we like and no one should criticise us for it because it’s our bodies.
“Exactly. It’s our bodies. If I wear a bra and lingerie on stage it doesn’t mean I’m inviting anybody to touch me. Any women will tell you it’s not an invitation, it’s a form of individual expression and it means nothing besides that. I’ve have people, kids, people in their 20s, and I’m well over that age, say that I’ve been an inspiration for their individuality, for self-expression and a positive example. They say they have noticed my energy and they know it’s a natural form of energy that doesn’t come from drugs, it doesn’t come from anything except music. If I can be an inspiration for healthy living as well as freedom for individual choices then I’m all for that.”
With all the press generally from the Me Too campaign right through to Rebellion’s posters with ‘No is a sentence’ and other slogans, men are getting it more now, the ones that didn’t?
“I would say yes aside from the fact I had a slight incident where somebody in a very crowded bar was standing in front of me sideways with his arm pressed very firmly into my cleavage. If you know what I look like you’ll know you’ve got to get pretty close to me in order to slightly violate me. I had to put my arms between me and him. So I would hope men get it but I don’t think they are, not all of them.”
There’s still plenty of work to do?
“Unfortunately yes, and I’ve got a mouth, and loud women has a mouth, and no has a mouth, and we all have our own bodies and we’re going to make it work.”
You are instantly recognisable in the scene, and out of it with your glam punk look and those amazing outfits you wear. Where do you source them from?
“I get most of my stuff second hand. I don’t like to spend a lot of money on my stuff because I sweat in it and I get bored of it. So a lot of my outfits are under £10. I’m glad you categorise me as glamourous haha, I don’t feel like that all the time. It’s just individual and what I want to look like.”
Are you aware of your iconic status in the scene. You have a lot of people look at you and think wow, and that in a way you are a bit of a role model too?
“No not at all. I’m taken aback by people that notice me and people that recognise me and I’m taken aback by somebody who will want my photo or autograph. I feel that I’m just a punk fan lucky enough to be playing sometimes on stage. I’m just an audience member and if somebody thinks I inspire them then it’s humbling and I’m grateful.”
Who influences you image wise?
“Oddly enough probably somebody like Cher or Dolly Parton. I don’t necessarily like their music but I think that they walk to their own beat, they look how they want to look and they do what they want to do. They say what they want to say and they’re both beautiful but not vulnerable. I think they’re pretty cool.”
There are a lot of people talking about Choking Susan being back at Rebellion. For the people that have followed you for many years and are excited, and for the people maybe just discovering you this weekend is there anything you’d like to say to them?
“Yes, you know how when bands get successful and they come out with a new album and nobody wants to hear that, they want to hear the old classics? Because the new stuff is no good. But Choking Susan has never been successful so our shit keeps getting better and better every year. So thank you.”
Interview And Photos By Gary Trueman