Being In A Band During The COVID-19 Pandemic
Catching Up With Chicago's 'Aftermath'
June 10th, 2020 • Pandemic Band Interview #22
Metal Pulp And Paper: Hello Charlie. Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions for Metal Pulp And Paper. We appreciate it. So, how have you been holding up during this global pandemic and lockdown?
Kyriakos "Charlie" Tsiolis: I have been working. You know some of us are essential and some aren’t. The virus discriminates.
MPAP: 2020, the year when almost every concert or music festival has been postponed or canceled until 2021. And 2020 was supposed to be the year of some big reunions. Everyone was excited to see the Rage Against The Machine and the My Chemical Romance tours. So, let’s back up and go over the first five months of 2020, the beginning of a new decade. There was the possibility of World War III happening. There were deadly bushfires in Australia. Then we had the acquittals in the Trump impeachment trials. Prince Harry and Meghan decided to step away from the royal family, and NBA legend Kobe Bryant, and his daughter, along with seven others, unfortunately, died in a helicopter crash in California. The worldwide deadly COVID-19 virus. And then, get this, we even had the Pentagon officially releasing UFO videos. So, what did you have planned for the year before all this madness began? Before all the toilet paper hoarding?
Charlie: Well if you read the lyrics on our latest album called There is Something Wrong, I was waiting for something like this to happen.
MPAP: This coronavirus has been devastating to everyone around the globe. By mid-March, the coronavirus pandemic had brought the multibillion-dollar concert industry to a screeching halt. Now two months later, Sammy Hagar, from The Circle, ex Van Halen, says concerts can’t wait for a COVID-19 vaccine. Of course, every band wants their fans to be safe, but when your only source of a major income is concerts, it hurts when you have to postpone or cancel a tour. A vaccine could take 12 to 18 months. Do you think he’s right for saying concerts can’t wait any longer?
Charlie: I believe the entire lockdown, shelter in place, social distancing and mask wearing nonsense should have never been implemented as a response to this. I hate to agree with Sammy on anything because I’m a real Van Halen fan, but he is totally right on this. The so-called experts have been full of shit from the beginning. This crisis fits a narrative and is part of their plan. But, if you assume it isn’t part of the elitist plan and assume it is a virus as they claim, then they really fucked this up. The entire bat story is bullshit. The initial infection period timeline is bullshit. The anticipated infection and death rates are bullshit. The infection by touching cardboard is bullshit. The peak periods were bullshit. The lack of ventilators was bullshit. The overwhelmed hospitals was… You should be getting my point. The entire 'don’t wear a mask', then 'wear a mask' is such a joke. So, if this isn’t a plan to vaccinate the world and require certificates of vaccination and it really is an unforeseen pandemic, then the experts are idiots. I say that because all their modeling and projections are way off. Their changing narrative is proof of their stupidity, or it exposes their lies. Either way it’s not good.
MPAP: The experts warn there will be no moshing or crowd surfing when concerts finally return. (Laughing) Who are these experts, and obviously they have never attended a metal music show, right? They say moshing and crowd surfing are violations of social distancing and must be absolutely prohibited during this pandemic. What are your thoughts? Can you have a metal show with no moshing and crowd surfing?
Charlie: You can have a metal show without both. They did it in the 1970s.
MPAP: Do you think the fans even follow those rules?
Charlie: I don’t see how they can enforce it. The security can try and stop it. In a small club it will be easier, but in a huge venue it would be really difficult.
MPAP: With the exception of a megaband like Metallica, or even Iron Maiden, the coronavirus is hitting most musicians pretty hard, what have you or your band been doing to get through this crisis?
Charlie: We haven’t been impacted like many other bands. We didn’t need to push back a release date or cancel a tour. We released a cover of the John Lennon classic "Give Peace a Chance" at the beginning of this entire thing. The message in that song is perfect for what is going on now. We also recorded an original track right before this thing and we are getting ready to release that sometime this summer.
MPAP: Lzzy Hale, frontwoman for the American rock band Halestorm, recently posted on her social media, saying, 'most bands won’t make it out of this.' Do you agree with this? Do you think some bands will go out of business like a lot of restaurants are during this pandemic?
Charlie: It depends. The larger bands will have no problem getting past this. The ones that rely on touring and merch sales to make a living will have a hard time getting past this if things don’t return to normal soon. The wedding bands and cover bands will really be hurt by this in the states that take months to allow those crowds to return.
MPAP: Well, that wraps things up. We hope this all ends soon, and we can all get back to a venue and watch some good live music while having an overpriced beer. We hope you stay safe and stay healthy. On behalf of myself, and Metal Pulp And Paper, thank you, Charlie, for doing this interview. One last question before we bring this to a close. Are you prepared for the murder hornets that have recently entered the US? Geez, we are only halfway through the year so far, can only imagine what’s next, right?
Charlie: I am prepared for all the nonsense we will be fed. All of this is a scare tactic. If you listen to our last record you will hear about all this shit. All the things they have planned going into 2030. The United Nations and their Agenda 2030 requires a scared and divided planet. They will rollout one event after another and each one leads closer to their goal of ultimate control. We need to resist and get educated to their ways. A lot of you will think this is just crazy internet conspiracy theorizing. To you I say, if someone told you last year that the entire world would be shut down and governments would threaten to arrest you for trying to make a living you would think that was a conspiracy theory. Well it happened. The masses bought into it. Those that question it are called crazy and the plan is working for the elite. But, it is also being challenged by many – probably more than they anticipated. So yeah I am ready for the killer bees, or murder hornets, or whatever they rollout next, are you?
Catching Up With Chicago's 'Aftermath'
June 10th, 2020 • Pandemic Band Interview #22
Metal Pulp And Paper: Hello Charlie. Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions for Metal Pulp And Paper. We appreciate it. So, how have you been holding up during this global pandemic and lockdown?
Kyriakos "Charlie" Tsiolis: I have been working. You know some of us are essential and some aren’t. The virus discriminates.
MPAP: 2020, the year when almost every concert or music festival has been postponed or canceled until 2021. And 2020 was supposed to be the year of some big reunions. Everyone was excited to see the Rage Against The Machine and the My Chemical Romance tours. So, let’s back up and go over the first five months of 2020, the beginning of a new decade. There was the possibility of World War III happening. There were deadly bushfires in Australia. Then we had the acquittals in the Trump impeachment trials. Prince Harry and Meghan decided to step away from the royal family, and NBA legend Kobe Bryant, and his daughter, along with seven others, unfortunately, died in a helicopter crash in California. The worldwide deadly COVID-19 virus. And then, get this, we even had the Pentagon officially releasing UFO videos. So, what did you have planned for the year before all this madness began? Before all the toilet paper hoarding?
Charlie: Well if you read the lyrics on our latest album called There is Something Wrong, I was waiting for something like this to happen.
MPAP: This coronavirus has been devastating to everyone around the globe. By mid-March, the coronavirus pandemic had brought the multibillion-dollar concert industry to a screeching halt. Now two months later, Sammy Hagar, from The Circle, ex Van Halen, says concerts can’t wait for a COVID-19 vaccine. Of course, every band wants their fans to be safe, but when your only source of a major income is concerts, it hurts when you have to postpone or cancel a tour. A vaccine could take 12 to 18 months. Do you think he’s right for saying concerts can’t wait any longer?
Charlie: I believe the entire lockdown, shelter in place, social distancing and mask wearing nonsense should have never been implemented as a response to this. I hate to agree with Sammy on anything because I’m a real Van Halen fan, but he is totally right on this. The so-called experts have been full of shit from the beginning. This crisis fits a narrative and is part of their plan. But, if you assume it isn’t part of the elitist plan and assume it is a virus as they claim, then they really fucked this up. The entire bat story is bullshit. The initial infection period timeline is bullshit. The anticipated infection and death rates are bullshit. The infection by touching cardboard is bullshit. The peak periods were bullshit. The lack of ventilators was bullshit. The overwhelmed hospitals was… You should be getting my point. The entire 'don’t wear a mask', then 'wear a mask' is such a joke. So, if this isn’t a plan to vaccinate the world and require certificates of vaccination and it really is an unforeseen pandemic, then the experts are idiots. I say that because all their modeling and projections are way off. Their changing narrative is proof of their stupidity, or it exposes their lies. Either way it’s not good.
MPAP: The experts warn there will be no moshing or crowd surfing when concerts finally return. (Laughing) Who are these experts, and obviously they have never attended a metal music show, right? They say moshing and crowd surfing are violations of social distancing and must be absolutely prohibited during this pandemic. What are your thoughts? Can you have a metal show with no moshing and crowd surfing?
Charlie: You can have a metal show without both. They did it in the 1970s.
MPAP: Do you think the fans even follow those rules?
Charlie: I don’t see how they can enforce it. The security can try and stop it. In a small club it will be easier, but in a huge venue it would be really difficult.
MPAP: With the exception of a megaband like Metallica, or even Iron Maiden, the coronavirus is hitting most musicians pretty hard, what have you or your band been doing to get through this crisis?
Charlie: We haven’t been impacted like many other bands. We didn’t need to push back a release date or cancel a tour. We released a cover of the John Lennon classic "Give Peace a Chance" at the beginning of this entire thing. The message in that song is perfect for what is going on now. We also recorded an original track right before this thing and we are getting ready to release that sometime this summer.
MPAP: Lzzy Hale, frontwoman for the American rock band Halestorm, recently posted on her social media, saying, 'most bands won’t make it out of this.' Do you agree with this? Do you think some bands will go out of business like a lot of restaurants are during this pandemic?
Charlie: It depends. The larger bands will have no problem getting past this. The ones that rely on touring and merch sales to make a living will have a hard time getting past this if things don’t return to normal soon. The wedding bands and cover bands will really be hurt by this in the states that take months to allow those crowds to return.
MPAP: Well, that wraps things up. We hope this all ends soon, and we can all get back to a venue and watch some good live music while having an overpriced beer. We hope you stay safe and stay healthy. On behalf of myself, and Metal Pulp And Paper, thank you, Charlie, for doing this interview. One last question before we bring this to a close. Are you prepared for the murder hornets that have recently entered the US? Geez, we are only halfway through the year so far, can only imagine what’s next, right?
Charlie: I am prepared for all the nonsense we will be fed. All of this is a scare tactic. If you listen to our last record you will hear about all this shit. All the things they have planned going into 2030. The United Nations and their Agenda 2030 requires a scared and divided planet. They will rollout one event after another and each one leads closer to their goal of ultimate control. We need to resist and get educated to their ways. A lot of you will think this is just crazy internet conspiracy theorizing. To you I say, if someone told you last year that the entire world would be shut down and governments would threaten to arrest you for trying to make a living you would think that was a conspiracy theory. Well it happened. The masses bought into it. Those that question it are called crazy and the plan is working for the elite. But, it is also being challenged by many – probably more than they anticipated. So yeah I am ready for the killer bees, or murder hornets, or whatever they rollout next, are you?
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