BeatRoute Magazine AB Edition March 2019

TANJA TIZIANA
I mean, yeah man, the
fucking apocalypse is
coming. Get ready!”
Lead singer, Stefan Babcock
k CONTINUED FROM PG. 25
felt something was off so they went to a clinic at Johns Hopkins
Hospital. This is where he would meet the doctor who would be
the source of inspiration for the album name when she uttered
the four words no artist ever wants to hear — “The dream is
over.”
But in actuality, PUP’s journey was just beginning.
Babcock recalls: “She was like, ‘Just go home, this band thing
is over for you.’ So, all of us being very defiant in the face of that
stuff, we decided to just keep going and we ended up getting
through five weeks of that tour, which was crazy.”
The actual crazy part is that when they finally landed back
home in Toronto on week five, Babcock’s
voice had finally had enough.
“In our home market with the
most pressure and the most fans and
everything, just before we went on, I
literally couldn’t make a sound,” Babcock
continues. “It just wasn’t there
at all. And we played that day and I
PUP
With Pkew Pkew Pkew
and Brass
Tue, March 2
Commonwealth (Calgary)
Wed, March 27
Starlite (Edmonton)
SOLD OUT
was just croaking. After that I went to another specialist in
Toronto and found out I hemorrhaged my vocal chords. Essentially
the cyst burst apart and filled my vocal chords with
blood.”
Vocal chords have to meet to make a sound and the blood
was preventing Babcock from using his voice so he had no
choice but to stop. After weeks of silence and months of healing,
Babcock eventually trained himself to sing again. It was
a total of four months recovery before the band could even
start thinking about playing shows again. While their future
was never certain, the band persevered.
From the “Dark Days” Babcock sings about on their 2013
self-titled debut to the “dark thoughts,” as heard on the track
“Scorpion Hill” from their soon-to-be-released Morbid Stuff,
the band has always maintained their emo composure blended
with pure punk rock sensibilities, but the reality is PUP is thriving
in their nihilistic tendencies that have carried them all over
the world many times over.
Are things really that bad though?
“Yeah, pretty not good,” Babcock says. “But music is what we
do because it’s fun. That’s why we play in a band and that’s why
we quit our jobs to make no money and it’s a really positive way
for us to deal with a lot of negative garbage in this world.”
It makes sense then that one of the pre-orders for Morbid
Stuff is the “Annihilation Preparedness Kit,” complete with an
inflatable boat.
“I mean, yeah man, the fucking apocalypse is coming. Get
ready!”
I
n the meantime, PUP have three already-sold-out west
coast shows scheduled for Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.
You could say the band is road testing their new
album in some tried-and-true Canadian markets before
they leap over the pond for a string of dates throughout
the UK, France and Germany.
“It’s funny because when we do something cool like
play smaller shows, all it does is make people pissed at us because
they couldn’t get tickets. We get so many angry messages
and try to reply to as many of them as we can,” Babcock says
with a genuine smile on his face. “Sometimes bands make decisions
selfishly because we want to play a smaller show. We’ll be
back and play a bigger room and everyone will get the opportunity
to see us eventually, but if we don’t do these kind of things
for ourselves once in a while, we’re fucked.”
Regardless of the size of shows they’re playing, PUP has succeeded
at capturing the DIY work ethic of the new millennium.
Babcock knows things are fucked but it’s through embracing
them with a sense of humour and humility that they’re able to
rise up and persevere. Having climbed the ranks of the music
industry in a most respectable way, Babcock cut his teeth in the
all ages scene, playing in a ska band called Stop Drop ‘N’ Skank
(it was a different time back then, okay?), and eventually found
himself working music industry odd jobs, including marketing
for Toronto-based indie imprint Arts & Crafts. He was even the
manager for METZ at one point in time and has been known to
offer grant writing tips and assistance to younger, less experienced
bands.
Music is a lifestyle but punk rock is a commitment that ultimately
chooses you. And while PUP continues to climb the
ranks of the music industry and gain notoriety through their
catchy songs and impressively executed music videos, they’ve
never forgotten where they came from because they’re still active
members of the same scene they grew up in.
“As much as we’ve all been a part of building a community
since we were 15 playing in bands, all of the people who have
helped us along the way have really inspired us. It made us realize
that once you get a little bit of traction as a band, it’s your
duty to help other people.”
Later on that night, three active and notable Toronto bands —
Casper Skulls, Greys and Chastity — are playing a show at a venue
in downtown Toronto. In the middle of Chastity’s set, looking out
into the sea of fans, you can see Babcock wearing the same clothes
he was in earlier that day during our interview, rocking out with
ear plugs in and a huge pint of beer in his hand. The big smile on
his face suggests he’s clearly surrounded by friends and you can
tell he wouldn’t rather be anywhere else. Because no matter the
weather, it’s the music and the community you’re a part of that
carry you through those dark winter nights. ,
26 BEATROUTE MARCH 2019