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Raptors Road Diary: Part 2 of a month-long conversation with Steve from PUP

A watching-the-Raptors-on-the-road diary from PUP’s Steve Sladkowski.

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Alps. Photo by Steve Sladkowski.

Steve Sladkowski (@sladkow) is the guitarist for the Toronto-based punk band PUP. They are awesome, and Steve is among the best guitarists in the world. He’s also among the biggest Toronto Raptors fans, to the extent that PUP’s touring schedule finds Steve watching Raptors games at all hours of the night, in whatever venue will have him (or give him Wifi). With PUP on the road for an entire month – a pivotal month in the Raptors’ chase for the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed – Steve has decided to kind-of journal his trip and his attempts to keep up with the Raptors from Europe.

To facilitate, we’re exchanging emails with him throughout his travels and publishing them here, unedited except in the case of the F word or egregious typos, which the 3am timestamp on some of these emails have opened the window for. You can check out Part 1 of the email exchange here.

Steve Sladkowski (Feb. 6, 1:43 am)

Ahh touring. So much for best laid plans. We were shoutout of the Frankfurt B&B (hotel chain, not accommodation type) because of a processing malfunction with the automatic check-in. If robots truly do ever come to replace us, I hope they’re more efficient than the machine that just tried to check us in. Something like this happens once a tour and it’s usually when there’s a big game on. However it’s Best Western to the rescue and a reliable wifi connection with a few minutes left in Q1.

I love the hustle and the intensity going on here and I’m really hoping we can get some further evidence to prove my theory about the Raps being better-conditioned than most teams in the league. As Q2 begins, and after all of that hotel madness, I decide to crack the bottle of Glengoyne 15 year old I bought in Glasgow. My nerves… they need the “complex depths and bright tropical notes — with a spicy oak finish.” The #BENCHMOB looks great tonight with CJ seemingly doing a little more facilitating than usual — couple of nice passes and layups to really space the 3 for himself — and Poeltl is workin’ the goddamn offensive glass. FVV, CJ and Delon have shown up from behind the arc thus far.

As a showing of cosmic justice paid forward for these German hotel mishaps, I would like the basketball gods to exact retribution on Theis and the Boston Celtics. It seems only fair given that I am in his homeland and in need of satisfaction after sitting in a cold Frankfurt street on hold and forced to listen to dogshit piano muzak.

As #BENCHMOB came off in favour of the starters, Jack made a point on the broadcast that resonates in me but may land badly with some readers: the crowd is taking their performance for granted. This is the same sorta attitude that lags in empty platinum seats for the first three minutes of Q3; the same sorta attitude that lags in crunchtime of a close game when every goddamn spectator who is able to do so should be standing; the same sorta attitude that generations of mediocre Toronto sports teams have passed on to their children and that this year’s Raptors fans need to rise above. We gotta make the ACC a madhouse every. single. game.

Have C’s figured something out against the starters? Raps starting 5 struggled in November too. Is it a pacing thing? Just the matchups? Am I overthinking this? There was a hockey assist sequence around the 2:15 mark of Q2 — JV to DeMar to FVV for three — that was… TOOOOO SWEET. Let’s get some straight appreciation for JV’s pass there. Jonasssssss!!!!! I love this first half. I am HERE for the game.

Steve Sladkowski (Feb. 7, 9:36 am)

DeMar bodying Aron Baynes to really get Q3 started was a glorious thing to behold. Raps haven’t backed down when the C’s have tried to get scrappy and I think it’s a great show of character. Anytime Aron Baynes gets dummied is a good time imho.

Is there anything to the idea that playing the C’s is a bit of an anyone-but-Kyrie-beats-us baseline defensive plan? Which is to say, Kyrie is gonna get his averages but it’s about containing the rest of the roster around him. Feel like the Raps did this sorta thing very well tonight. Is there any word on Jonas’ ankle? That was a scary moment. You’ve gotta figure if he misses even a short amount of time that sorta makes the trade deadline a moot point, right? You need Bebe if JV needs to stay off the ankle.

Speaking of injuries: haven’t seen the Porzingis injury yet but I feel for the dude and for Knicks fans. What a bummer. Bill Simmons made a sorta-interesting point on one of his 47261849 podcasts a month or two ago essentially arguing that the Unicorn point-centre movement is exerting a massive amount of physical strain on some of the biggest guys in the sport. We’ve lost Boogie and Porzingis this year and Joel Embiid can barely stay on the court… are we worried about this trend and its longterm affect on some of the game’s most transcendent stars?

Anyway, I wanted to give you a rundown of my Q4 which was spent in total darkness, save for my phone screen, with headphones in and reacting emphatically, but with dead silence, to #BENCHMOB absolutely burying the Massholes. Even with 3:31 left in Q4, and the game so obviously over that I could still catch 7 hours of sleep (a rarity on tour), I can’t stop watching. I decided to switch to the Celtics broadcast to end my scotch nightcap with a chaser of schadenfreude (German is so useful at expressing these sorts of emotions). What a great win. Raps played unselfish basketball and just went with whoever was open. They created off defense and they got us the revenge for November and, for me personally, some justice for the hotel shenanigans.

Couple days off and then we get the Knicks. What do they do in NYC without Porzingis?

Blake Murphy

So much for us keeping the second installment of this exchange brief. But to be honest, when the Raptors stomp the Celtics in such a fashion, it’s difficult not to go thousands of words deep, anyway. That was amazing. And I got to re-live it a little Wednesday when Will Lou landed back from his vacation and I immediately got a DM that just said “yesssssssss.” It’s disappointing you missed the first few minutes, though, if only because they were the only competitive minutes of the game (re: the starters – different set of starters here than in the Nov. meeting with the Norm/OG swap, I think it’s a matter of Boston gameplanning well for DeRozan and Valanciunas; the Raptors had a gameplan to exploit Lowry-vs-Irving and involve Valanciunas often, and one of those things worked).

You and Jack weren’t the only ones to raise concerns with the crowd. At first I thought maybe it was just an anxiety not wanting to get too high beating Boston early, but there wasn’t a tremendous energy other than the second quarter and the early fourth (when Poeltl destroyed poor Abdel Nader at the rim) before they all filtered out early. It’s the dog days for the crowd, too, I guess? To their credit, the ACC really DOES have a reputation among other teams’ players and coaches as a tough place to play. Everyone knows what it’ll be like come playoff time, and the home record right now isbest in the league.

Valanciunas’ ankle is fine, per Casey post-game. With that said, the Knicks will play Thursday with no Porzingis (sigh, and re: the extra toll on bigs, read this), no Kanter, no Noah, no Baker (and thus no Wichita State battle at the point), no Hernangomez (bye), and no O’Bryant (also bye). It would make plenty of sense to just sit Valanciunas – or whomever is banged up – down. A lot of people made jokes about this now being a trap game, but the Raptors are 20-3 against sub-.500 teams and 11-1 against them at home, the one loss being a Utah team that won’t be sub-.500 for long.

How was the Glengoyne? I assume it pairs well with 20-point beatdowns and Tommy Heinsohn excuse-making, but I’m not a connoisseur or anything. Where are you guys now? Anything interesting beyond the booze? I saw from the PUP account it looks like another real night of sleep could be in the cards. Decline it, give us stories.

Steve Sladkowski (Feb. 8, 12:32 pm)

We played last night in Karlsruhe, Germany — the ancestral home of Mercedes Benz and apparently where the first commercial motorcar was sold (sorry Detroit) — and now we are off to Zurich, Switzerland. I heard a funky WWII-era conspiracy theory about Switzerland which is worth mentioning (I swear I’m not Alex Jones). Virtually every entrance to Switzerland involves driving through a mountain, right? Apparently the Swiss were so obsessed with neutrality and self-preservation during WWII that they did that to ensure easily-blocked paths of invasion from all sides; if any army tried to get in, the Swiss would blow up the tunnel. It’s probably not true but it sounds totally maniacal. Very into it. Also very into all of the outlet malls on the German-Swiss border. Carhartt Work In Progress, baby!

Interesting that the article you pass on about Boogie has to do with fatigue. Fatigue is real, man. I’m by no means under the stresses or demands that face elite professional athletes, however I can absolutely sympathize with the feeling. Fatigue is exactly where I’m at right now. It’s funny… for as much as we’ve toured these past few years, it’s been a while since we’ve been out for this long… and it’s important to remember the different kinds of demands that it has on your body. What you eat becomes even more important — luckily even the fast food in Europe, when we are forced to eat it (which is rare), feels a bit higher quality than in North America — and the amount of sleep you get, water you drink, and level of personal hygiene all has a serious effect on both your physical and mental health. Like professional athletes, I guess, thinking about that sorta stuff has a really significant affect on your performative ability. It’s a lot easier to play well for people who bought tickets to see you — this is maybe the highlight of their week or month — than it is if you’re not sleeping and constantly eating and drinking like shit. Respecting oneself is the way to respect one’s audience. It’s very important.

It’s deadline day! By the time I’m offstage tonight — right around the deadline — the NBA could be very different. I’m hunkering down for Woj bombs. How are you feeling about it? Do we think Louis Williams stays put now that he’s been extended?

Blake Murphy

There is a Switzerland-Cavaliers joke to make here, I just can’t find my way to wording it properly. Anyway, I hope LeBron blows up the tunnels and leaves Dan Gilbert in a pile of smoldering rubble.

That’s good advice on fatigue management. It’s something I’ve done a terrible job of lately and is a big goal between the deadline and the start of the playoffs. Speaking of deadline – I don’t have much to say until after 3 p.m. today since anything we talk about could be entirely blown up by then. Lou Williams is staying put, but it sounds like overnight the DeAndre Jordan-Cavs talks got some late life, and there are sure to be a few surprises. I’m going to predict (insert Raptors trade here, and I’ll double back and fill it in later so I look like a genius for guessing correctly; wait, no, not even on editing could I have predicted they’d trade my sweet boy).

Any chance you’re gonna get to watch the four minutes of Raptors-Knicks that will be semi-competitive?

Blake Murphy

Good god, what a deadline. I want to know your reaction as your phone kept blowing up with more and more Cavs trades, and whether you thought it was another marijuana-less fever dream. Also, BRUNO. Sigh. Pour one out for our guy tonight.

Steve Sladkowski (Feb. 8, 12:10 am)

No chance I watch the game tonight unfortunately. Not with a 6+ hour drive through the Alps to Bologna, IT tomorrow.

Deadline madness! I’m still not sure how I feel about the Cavs’ moves. It honestly feels like it still might not improve their D in any meaningful way? Rodney Hood is one ankle injury away from missing another eight-plus games this year. I like Larry Nance as a whole Cavs legacy and future pick but he still is one of those guys that is figuring out the league. I’m high on him but… with this short a timeline? My pops mentioned that the CBA prohibits practice during All-Star? So like, how much rhythm are these new-look Cavs going to find? And honestly, I dunno much about Jordan Clarkson other than those allegations made against him and Nick Young. So who knows?

DWade Miami Vice jerseys are gonna look sick, for the record. Doug McBuckets to Dallas is great. The further away any Gerald Henderson All-Stars are from Toronto, the better; although I don’t know why the Knicks don’t just give Frankie Smokes the keys now that Porzingis is done for the year. Seems redundant to have another guy cutting into those minutes. But the Knicks, right?! Denver making even more time for Jamal Murray makes sense too. There are so many small trades that I had no idea happened with players I’ve… mostly not heard of.

The venue in Zurich was a bunker with no cellphone reception whatsoever and some very convoluted wifi access. By the time I was logged on, it was time to say goodbye to BRUNO. I’ll never forget that Bucks game. But again, what Masai did was best for the team and in the last exchange, I said I would be happy with that. So goodnight, sweet Brazilian prince — may the cap room you freed up bring us more points than your NBA career did. And hey! Guard depth in return! Sure!

How are you feeling dude? Does the landscape of the Eastern Conference feel different at all with Cleveland like this? Will DWade torch the Cavs in the first round? And please: give me some of those buyout dreams.

Steve Sladkowski (Feb. 9, 3:16 pm)

Is it…. is it time to talk about Vince Carter?

Blake Murphy

You’re not alone in being skeptical of the Cavs’ moves. Personally, I think they had to do something drastic, even if it was just to excise the problems in the locker room. Building chemistry is a concern, but they’ve already improved from negative chemistry to zero chemistry with the moves, so that’s a positive. Individually, there are questions – Hill and Hood both have reputations for being a little soft, Clarkson has been just plain bad in L.A., Nance is great but as you point out, a young role player – but taken together I think the Cavs are better now than they were before the deadline. Which is all they really could have hoped for with that mess.

Don’t get me started on Jamal Murray. My son.

I’m still sad about the Bruno experiment coming to an end before I got a book deal to write about it. Otherwise, I understand the moves, though I was underwhelmed diving into Richardson video this weekend. Vince is a possibility, though I’ve heard it’s a little less likely that he gets bought out than we’re all making it seem. It would be a lot of fun, though. And possibly cathartic. Belinelli and Seven-Time All-Star Joe Johnson are off the board, Boris Diaw, sadly, might not be coming through that door…is there anyone else you’d like to see land here? Ilyasova? A surprise buyout candidate?

How was that drive through the alps? One of those things that sounds way cooler than it ends up being? Where are you guys now for this 6 p.m. (for you) dream of a Raptors tip-off time?

Steve Sladkowski (Feb. 12, 4:08 pm)

Hello from Budapest! A well-earned day off after seven gigs in a row which finished yesterday in Vienna, Austria. The venue wifi was decent enough that, combined with an early tipoff in Europe, allowed me to watch three quarters of basketball before going onstage. Truly a joy. Although the game never really felt close which is… a different kinda joy. I feel bad for Kemba, man… Feels like the Raps are trying to win games in three quarters in order to let the starters just… make gatorade cup binoculars for all of the fourth, eh? Love to see it!

I had never considered Ilyasova as a buyout candidate but, truthfully, he seems like he’d be an interesting fit… pretty long so maybe switchable on D?, he can shoot the three, he can rebound… I’m not even sure who else is on the block to be bought out. Do we know of any rumblings?

What underwhelmed you about Richardson? He’s still young, right? I believe in Coach Stack!

The drive through the Alps was outstanding. We passed through The Dolomites in Northern Italy which is a UNESCO World Heritage site and coasted down into Bavaria, into Munich, and then back through to Vienna. I am very excited to be in Budapest now; my maternal grandfather’s family came to Canada from Hungary and, even though I never knew ‘em, it’s cool to be so close to some of my ancestry. Gonna be doing some sightseeing tonight and tomorrow, so I’ll send along some photos. This was theview from the front seat of the van (a Benz Sprinter!) in the The Dolomites of the Alps in Northern Italy.

And remember buddy: you got this. Make sure to take care of your mind and body throughout all this crazy freelance sportswriting life. Don’t forget to take some downtime so you don’t lose sight of yourself, OK? Talk soon.

Blake Murphy

It was an extremely fun game, made all the more fun by the Celtics getting pasted right after. Lowry and DeRozan and Ibaka aren’t going to know what to do with all of this rest. Post-All-Star break, the bench might need to start punting quarters to keep the starters in a groove.

No rumblings to speak of here. Everyone seems in kind of a chill-mode until All-Star, would be a little surprised if anything materialized this week. There’s no real rush for buyouts with March 1 being the drop-dead date to waive a guy and still have him playoff eligible. There’s a negotiation process on the dollar amount, and guys might not be super motivated to budge until they’ve figured out a landing spot and know the paychecks will be coming in again soon. Regarding Richardson, he’s actually only three months younger than Bruno, as he was an overage freshman. It’s not necessarily him – he’s big for a two, can shoot a bit, uses his body well – but the Kings stink might take some time to rinse off.

Sounds like it’s been a really rewarding stretch of the trip of late. Are you going to see anything in particular in Budapest, or just kind of absorbing that feeling of home/not-home. It’s like the opposite of hiraeth, from the sounds of it. I get it when I visit Newfoundland, too – there’s no significant tangible attachment and I’ve only spent weeks there at a time, but it still feels like there are roots there.

And thanks man, you too. How’s the sleep and grind been to you? Energy still high? What’s the Red Bull count at? I really enjoyed your IG most about your ancestral home. Hope it’s been a rewarding couple of days. And hey, the Raptors hung on through some ugliness! Maybe you got lucky and fell asleep before the fourth against the Heat. Bulls tonight, and then the break. This would be tied for the Raptors third-longest winning streak ever at seven games, if you can believe it.

Steve Sladkowski (Feb. 15, 2:25 pm)

It’s been a strange couple of days.

Budapest was truly amazing and a life-changing experience. On top of what I wrote about on Instagram, there were four people from Minsk, Belarus at the show who were asking about my dad’s family. My dad’s family are ethnic Belarusians who fled Eastern Europe as WWII was ending and Stalin was consecrating power across the region. I recounted my family’s history to one of the gentlemen from Minsk over a beer and we marvelled at the strangeness of the world. About the same time as this sharing of family history was going on, my grandmother passed away.

I’m not a particularly spiritual person, Blake, but that is some kind of weird transcendentalism.

My grandmother lived a long life — ninety-four years — but in her later years she was struggling with Alzheimer’s, so I am grateful that she’s no longer in pain. But it’s difficult to face the reality that I can’t make it home for the funeral; it’s unbelievably expensive, even with bereavement fees, and the reality of touring life means I would be flying into and out of Toronto from two different places. Unfortunately, airlines don’t make it easy for anyone to get home from abroad, let alone someone who is in and out of cities in a half-day’s time. My grandmother wouldn’t have wanted me to fly home on her behalf, of course, because she was a stubborn Slav whose love for family was only eclipsed by her work ethic. Missing gigs wouldn’t be acceptable to her.

This is an unprecedented event for me in touring — but it’s further proof, I suppose, that the realities of what’s going on in the average touring musician’s life is a lot more different than one might expect.

It’s also got me thinking a bit about the function of music, of basketball, and generally of our hobbies and passions. In times of mourning, we obviously find solace in positive memories of the loved one who has passed and above everything else it’s a time to be with family (very grateful for FaceTime and, surprise surprise, reliable venue wifi) — but it’s nice to have the cathartic power of music, the unexpected outcome of a close basketball game, of the security of a good book to help you process the complexity of loss. It’s not escapist, per se, but just a way to sit back and relax. Maybe I’m not making any sense.

The van keeps rolling, just like the Raps, onto Nuremberg, Germany today and I am looking forward to a weekend of gigs and the Slam Dunk Competition.

It is with a heavy heart that my family announces the passing of our Baba, Aleksandra Sladkowski. Please find all details in the link. In lieu of flowers, our family is asking for donations to the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada. Some of you may have seen something I wrote a few days ago regarding family history in Budapest. At that same show, I met four people who had flown from Minsk, Belarus for the gig. They knew of my Baba and Dzadek’s Belarusian heritage and asked about my family. It appears very likely that I was talking to these people about her and her life when she passed. It’s nice to think that she may have been there with me as I recounted her life story and our family’s history to some of her fellow countryfolk. I spent yesterday, Valentine’s Day, in total shock in the back of the van driving from Budapest to Leipzig. It’s difficult to describe what it’s like to be so far away from my family at this time. I’ve only today begun to process and reflect; to grieve and weep for my grandmother’s life and loss. Throughout all of yesterday’s rollercoaster ride, Brooke — who has been on the most badass life-changing trip to Hawaii with her mom — was patient, loving, empathetic and radiant — truly my rock — which helped me so much more than I was able to express at the time. She made an altar for my Baba in Hawaii and, although neither of us particularly buy into Valentine’s Day, it means so much to have her amazing presence in my life; to grow with her and appreciate our love in a way that is still expanding and showing new realities to us whether we’re in the same city or half a world apart. I love you and miss you babe @brookeisloom

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Blake Murphy

Man, I’m so sorry to hear about your Baba. I’ll be thinking of you and the family these next few days. I’m glad, at least, that you’ve been able to leverage FaceTime, find some peace in your surroundings out there, and use the things you enjoy around you to decompress. Your perspective on the entire situation is really admirable.

I suppose this is as good a time as any to put a pin in the correspondence and reconvene after the Dunk Contest, yeah? The All-Star break, by the way, sees your Toronto Raptors on the third-longest winning streak in franchise history, with their best record to this point ever, and atop the Eastern Conference with a two-game cushion.

Steve Sladkowski (Feb. 15, 6:08 pm)

Thanks pal. It’ll be a tough couple days but that’s life, isn’t it?

Kind of glad we’ve got this email correspondence going. Never done anything like this and it feels like a series of new experiences. Appreciate you going on this journey. As for that second paragraph? Good to know that basketball is extremely good in Toronto.

Steve will be back again sometime after the All-Star break.

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