COVER STORY : PUP During the Summer of 2021 , Toronto punks PUP

Stefan Babcock along with Nestor Chumak , Zack Mykula , and Steve Sladkowski entered an “ American Horror Story style mansion ” to turn Babcock ’ s impromptu pandemic-induced writing into an album : THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND . And they didn ’ t leave the house for five weeks . Fast forward to March 2022 . Babcock is in his hometown of Toronto preparing for a spring tour and gearing up for the release of the new album . Though he admits March 2020 was a hard time , he manages to find the silver lining in it .

“ As awful as the last few years have been , it was kind of a wonderful thing for me ,” he says . “ I don ' t want to diminish the situation or how much it affected other people and even really affected some of us , but the four of us laugh about it because I sort of believe if we had kept doing what we were doing , which is pretty much touring ten months of the year , we wouldn ' t be a band right now . If we didn ' t have this forced hiatus , we would ' ve burned ourselves out and murdered each other . This forced break maybe saved the band in some respect .” Ashley Perez-Hollingsworth spoke to one of Canada ’ s finest exports .

HELLO MY NAME IS JAMES OF BIFFY CLYRO

Scottish heavy rockers Biffy Clyro have returned to North American shores for their first US time in five years . It doesn ’ t sound like a long stretch of time , but the constant delays , cancellations through the pandemic make it feel like an eternity . The band is opened their tour in Chicago last month , but bassist James Johnston is even more excited to make connections with people , something he ’ s been craving these past few years . Though Johnston is eager to play music every night for thousands of people , he ’ s looking forward to chatting with people , whether it be fans , a random taxi driver , or even a music journalist in Chicago . Before we can get down to business and talk about Biffy Clyro ’ s new documentary , Cultural Sons of Scotland , we chat about vacation plans , what concerts we ’ ve seen post-pandemic , and must-see Chicago spots . Though he ’ s nearly 4,000 miles away in Scotland , Ashley Perez-Hollingsworth felt like they were having a virtual drink together in a pub .

PAGE 20 : PUP

File

Biffy Cylro ’ s James Johnston .

Cinemascopes

Late Spring film preview .

Spins

Jack White , Tears for Fears , Kevin White and the Kings and more .

Media

WGN Radio ’ s Dave Plier .

Calendar

1250 shows and 2100 bands , live music is coming back .