Collective Scream presents: a conversation with CHOKED UP
Erin Quinlan
Choked Up is a Brooklyn-based pop-punk trio, or, according to themselves, “A Pop-Punk Telenovela”. Cristy Road fronts the band and writes lyrics in both English and Spanish. Their latest releases came out on Don Giovanni Records, a label known for hard-hitting punk rock bands like Waxahatchee, Laura Stevenson, The Ergs! and RVIVR.
Cristy reached out to us at Collective Scream earlier this year with an idea of putting on a benefit for undocumented folks. At the time, we had just started seeing ICE kidnap people off the streets and felt this was an urgent issue to focus on. Months later, it is only getting worse, and we are grateful to be able to support NYSYLC with the proceeds from the upcoming benefit show this Saturday 11/22 at The Gutter in Williamsburg.
We talked to Cristy about what it’s like to be an artist in this current climate, and why supporting undocumented folks feels important to her.
Why is supporting this month’s organization important to you?
There is very present and very aggressive deportation taking place at the hands of ICE. It’s all during a time of multiple genocides in Palestine, Sudan, and Congo, along with the demonization of Venezuela, Islamic countries, and my family’s country — Cuba. It’s my duty as a first-generation Cuban from Miami, whose family received asylum during their migration, to show up for undocumented communities and the state’s unlawful arrests. It’s horrifying, whether or not the youth are resilient or empowered.
How do you think music can be and is important in difficult or turbulent times?
It provides hope and clarity, like an electric shock or a revelatory moment — when music resonates and fills you with purpose, it’s like a subtle rebirth, or reminder of why you continue to fight. It’s powerful and fragile, and always the first to get censored or cut for a reason. It’s also a vessel for communicating anecdotes or truth, a lesson or solidarity.
What is one unique thing about being an artist in the NYC music scene right now?
I think it still is a self-sufficient community of so many underworlds and cesspools and cultural and subcultural diversity. I’m 43 and from Florida, but started going to shows here around 2001, and there was something so special about the blur between punk and queer nightlife. That’s one reason I moved here, along with the Caribbean diaspora and the Latin art and music scenes that have come and gone. It’s a world of its own and I need that to be an artist avoiding the microscope….
What surprises or challenges can come with being a local musician in NYC?
RENT RAISE AND EMPLOYMENT!!! That and the whole economy. I think it affects us everywhere. I keep blaming social media and the people's interest or reliance on trends – the antithesis of doing anything whatsoever when I started writing zines in 1996. But this hellfire means fewer temp jobs, less time, less resources, and more of a need to monetize music without the resources to, say, throw punk fests with money we saved on our own or raised as a collective. For now it’s clear that any surplus needs to go towards benefiting larger humanitarian projects, or our own survival.
If you had to get a NYC-specific niche tattoo, what would it be?
NUTS 4 NUTS
Please let us know about any new or upcoming releases, tours or other projects people should be on the lookout for!
Sink Or Burn is my (Cristy Road) illustrated dystopian romance novel coming out in 2026. Our bass Player Albert is a part of the PIGEON PACK, an amazing collective who organize punk and underground events, social justice initiatives, as well as providing resources to local musicians like recording and rehearsal space. Adam is our new drummer and he is in a million great bands-- namely the bassist and singer for The Challenged, great melodic punk who we've played with several times in the last 10 years. Sometimes he also drums for the great new pop-punk act, Hasty. And last, we have some new songs we will be recording next month!
