Cutting Up the Elephant Interview
altered.fm | August 18, 2026photos by henry thomas [1-2], cigarette junk [3], danny keane [4], amahli v [5-7]
cutting up the elephant [c.u.t.e.] is an oakland-based emo band with members: tony, mox, sai, and anthony.
[ could u tell me a little about how the band formed and how u came up with the band name? ]
sai: met mox at a show at eli’s the day after she moved to oakland from the central valley, we went on a date at stork club the next day, became good friends. saw anthony for the first time at a purple house show- he was double fisting a bottle, vape and poppers hella drunk. our only interaction was of him offering me poppers in the pit. we officially met/hung out the three of us at a show in sf and hit it off. that’s my long lost hermana. we sort of became a band in the back of stork club lol. i think it was sometime in december.. mox had already been making music for years while anthony and i had never even been on stage. i still don’t know how to play a single instrument to this day. but that night anthony went off on this passion speech about an idea for a band and next thing we were a few beers and a box of american spirits in, writing down a list of emo band names. mox jokingly said something like, “wouldn’t it be cunt if we went up on stage and just said what’s up, we’re cute”. we said fuck it and went with that. the acronym cutting up the elephant naturally came afterwards.
[ congrats on dropping ur debut album!! could u tell me a little bit about the concept behind it? ]
anthony: the concept for me was for it to feel a little juvenile and innocent, but with lots of gore and colors. sometimes when you’re young you go through shit and never talk about it. for me this feels like if i was a kid and i grew up as the album progressed and got angrier at everything around me as the album starts to end. shoutout milli and leo for making my vision for the album art come to life and more.
sai: thank u thank u, the concept for me personally was this narrative of adolescence- longing, heartbreak, abuse, trauma, anger and grief. all of our songs are tied to an experience that each of us have been through. i think the meaning behind each song became more painful each time. the project became an outlet to process my feelings as well as an opportunity to prove my existing especially during performances. it’s like a big fuck you to all the bullshit that people have thrown into my face
mox: thank you! i don't know if there was much of a concept for this album, we kind of took it a song at a time. i feel like i write about loss a lot.
[ what media were u guys consuming that might’ve helped inspire u during the process? ]
anthony: a lot of our now friends, i love noragami and i think they heavily inspired a lot of the rawness in emotion when it comes to expressing such anger and sadness in song. checkpoint charlie didn’t have anything released at the time we recorded but i would see a lot of their footage on socials and was so gagged. the lazarus plot, eldritch anisette, arranged in april, in loving memory, yeah i could go on all day…. all the girls. shout out to the #girls.
mox: im kind of always listening to alex g, i think i listened to beach music like 50 times in the process of writing the record. i watched wild at heart a few times, paris, texas too. i got really into PEE this year. i read crime and punishment and that definitely put me in a specific headspace.
tony: youtube shorts, drum and bass & rnb
sai: music by femme fronted bands- flowersforpersephone, foxtails, eldrich anisette. i remember watching linda linda linda when we first started talking about forming the band. also watching live shows on youtube of old hardcore bands.
[ what’s each of your favorite song off the project and why? ]
anthony: smash bros cause it’s the one i wrote lyrics to and kind of personal.
mox: i'd have to say the first song "are you coming back". i wrote it but it just makes me hella sad and thats my shit.
tony: letters and packages. it's really really fun to play and the song i was most hyped on when i first joined
sai: letters and packages - the spoken word was taken directly from my journal so it’s a really vulnerable piece to me. it’s like ripping a part of my heart out and putting it on a plate for the world to see.
[ what’s something offline that ur rlly into right now? ]
anthony: my nephew’s band, dance date with rick dinkle. #shoutout . shows go crazy. and coloring. and brazilian tiktok dances.
mox: im lowkey such a no life rn. idk i play chess and im watching hacks. i go to bars and shows. im on a big edible vibe rn.
tony: smash bros with homies, skating, taking more vacations than i can afford.
sai: i tattoo myself a lot. i love drawing. and also looking at clothes on the internet.
[ open floor to share any funny stories! ]
tony: anthony sent someone to give me a white monster energy when i was touring with another band that played a show in his hometown Imao
mox: one time otw to an out of town show tony and i made sai hold the switch while we played smash for like a solid half hour. it was so sick.
sai: our first show we ever played, i forgot to bring my harmonica on stage, so mid set i had to look for it in my bag, looked for like a good 5 mins while everyone just waited silently and i couldn’t find it for the life of me. i went back on stage and accapella-d that shit.
[ to sign off, any advice u would like to give to other creatives in music? ]
i want every girl in the world to pick up a guitar, and start screaming. - all of us