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PUP stays honest and true to their roots in 'The Unraveling of PupTheBand'

PUP
Vanessa Heins
/
Courtesy of the artist
PUP

As long as punk bands have existed, there has existed, alongside, a quandary: How do you deal with success without betraying your values, without changing who you are? Canadian band PUP formed over a decade ago, and that name — PUP — is an acronym, courtesy of one of the band member's grandmother, for Pathetic Use of Potential ... which has proven to be untrue, as they've seen a lot of success over the last decade. Today, you'll hear me talk to frontman Stefan Babcock, whom I've known since back when they started out years ago, practicing in a cramped Toronto basement. We chat about how they've kept themselves honest and true to their roots — partly by spending more time together than ever before while making their latest album, The Unraveling of PupTheBand. Plus, you'll hear them perform live.

Copyright 2022 XPN

Raina Douris, an award-winning radio personality from Toronto, Ontario, comes to World Cafe from the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), where she was host and writer for the daily live, national morning program Mornings on CBC Music. She was also involved with Canada's highest music honors: hosting the Polaris Music Prize Gala from 2017 to 2019, as well as serving on the jury for both that award and the Juno Awards. Douris has also served as guest host and interviewer for various CBC Music and CBC Radio programs, and red carpet host and interviewer for the Juno Awards and Canadian Country Music Association Awards, as well as a panelist for such renowned CBC programs as Metro Morning, q and CBC News.
Since 2017, John Myers has been the producer of NPR's World Cafe, which is produced by WXPN at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Previously he spent about eight years working on the other side of Philly at WHYY as a producer on the staff of Fresh Air with Terry Gross. John was also a member of the team of public radio veterans recruited to develop original programming for Audible and has worked extensively as a freelance producer. His portfolio includes work for the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, The Association for Public Art and the radio documentary, Going Black: The Legacy of Philly Soul Radio. He's taught radio production to preschoolers and college students and, in the late 90's, spent a couple of years traveling around the country as a roadie for the rock band Huffamoose.