One of the main ways punk musicians write songs is by channeling their frustrations and struggles into music. It’s one of the pillar topics that songwriters of the genre have used for generations. Max Autunno is no exception to this longstanding punk tradition.
Autunno is from Bristol, Conn. and the guitarist and singer-songwriter for Don’t Go Outside!, an up-and-coming band bringing their hard-edged sound to the Connecticut scene. As the group’s frontman and main songwriter, Autunno has become known for his songs featuring raw lyrics and in-your-face arrangements.
Autunno started as a drummer and bassist, but soon picked up the guitar in December 2019. The instrument became his main focus during the pandemic as he started writing songs. He noted that while he’s continued to learn about writing chord progressions and melodies, his songwriting process still comes down to “just me with a guitar and a great concept I have in my head.” But turning ideas to music can be a varied process, saying that “sometimes you’re just in that mode and sometimes it’s just not happening.”
“Sometimes it takes over a year, it depends from song to song,” he said. “I decide what the song is going to be about and just let it unfold naturally. If it doesn’t unfold naturally, then maybe it’s not the best idea because I’ve had some songs that write themselves.”
Autunno said that he’s always written songs with the approach of envisioning them as part of a larger body of work with a concept, noting that “it’s very hard for me to write a one-off song without it being a part of some bigger idea.”
This approach is what led him to write the songs that would later become Don’t Go Outside!’s debut EP, “Under Control.” Autunno wrote the record over a two-month span leading up to his 18th birthday in 2022 as a release from the frustration he was feeling at the time.
“The concept put itself together and it was perfectly inspired by all the shit going on in my life at the time,” he said. “I was pissed off at people, I was turning 18, becoming an adult, I was in this school that I didn’t want to be in, it’s a prime example of the art making itself.”
After writing the songs, he initially didn’t do anything with them. Instead, he joined a band with drummer Caleb Miller during the Summer of 2022. After that band broke up, Autunno and Miller formed Don’t Go Outside! during the early months of 2023. The two were inspired to start the band by their shared frustrations of their first year of college and wanted to channel that into a punk band. This led to the release of “Under Control” in October of that year, which was Autunno’s mission.
“It was a whole year where I knew what I had to do,” he said. If the EP didn’t come out that fall, then it would have never come out [and] I would have probably given up on it.”
The band’s discography currently consists of the EP and four songs released as singles. Autunno noted that it’s hard to pick a favorite amongst them, as each of them have their own important meaning to him.
“I haven’t had that moment where I’m singing a song and I get emotional and think ‘oh wow, this song just brings me back,’” he said. “I don’t have that kind of thing with my music. Maybe it’s because I’ve been performing the same songs for like a year now. But they all mean something.”
Autunno and the band have also taken on a consistent gigging schedule doing shows across the state, including venues like Crunch House in West Haven, Conn., and Meriden Weapons Factory International in Meriden, Conn. He said that the show in Meriden in January 2024 was one that stood out to him since he got to meet and share a bill with some notable bands in the Connecticut music scene, including Sol Gyres, Symposia and Go Home, You’re Drunk.
Truly, I don’t know what my life would be like right now without the band
Max Autunno, Guitarist and Singer-Songwriter for Don’t Go Outside!
Autunno recently performed in Storrs in September 2024 at Moon Club, where the punk trio set up on the Great Lawn to share their music with UConn students. Autunno had attended Moon Club events in the past and said he was “excited to do our own thing that night.” He also pointed out the difference between performing there and at other venues.
“There’s something about Moon Club because it’s outside of the music scene a bit since it’s more of a UConn thing,” said Autunno. The kids are nice and chill a lot of the time and not like hardcore shows.”
As the band approaches its two-year anniversary, Autunno expressed how important the group has been to him as a way to express his feelings.
“Truly, I don’t know what my life would be like right now without the band,” he said. “I would not have an outlet to just get all this shit out of my head, and it’s really given me that.”