Punchline (band)

Infobox musical artist
Name = Punchline
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Img_size = 250
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Background = group_or_band
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Origin = Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania, USA
Genre = Pop punk
Rock
Years_active = 1998–present
Label = Modern Short Stories
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URL =
Current_members = Steve Soboslai
Jon Belan
Chris Fafalios
PJ Caruso
Past_members = Greg Wood
Paul Menotiades
Notable_instruments =

Punchline is a pop punk band from Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania, formed in 1998. Fans of Punchline are referred to as "Punchkids" by the band and themselves. The band have recently recorded "Just Say Yes", the follow-up to 2006's "37 Everywhere", aiming to release the album on September 16, 2008 on Modern Short Stories.

History

1998-2002: Early career

Punchline began with the meeting of lead singer/guitarist Steve Soboslai, bassist Chris Fafalios and drummer PJ Caruso, who attended high school together; they formed Punchline when Chris was a senior and PJ and Steve were both juniors. As a three-piece in 1998, Punchline played local shows and recorded poppy and sometimes ska-influenced punk, especially notable on the band's first release "How to Get Kicked Out of the Mall".

In 1999 the band self-produced and self-released the full-length "Punchline", and co-produced "Major Motion Picture" with Billy Rossi for an August 2001 release after the trio was joined by guitarist/vocalist Paul Menotiades. The four recorded "The Rewind EP" in 2002, again collaborating with Billy Rossi. By this point the band's sound had shifted from the previous ska-influenced punk to a more solid pop punk style.

2003-2005: Gaining popularity

In 2003 the band signed to Fueled by Ramen Records. "The Rewind EP" was remixed and remastered by Shelly Yakus for its Fueled by Ramen re-release, the early pressings of which included "The Rewind Documentary" DVD.

On February 2004's full-length "Action", produced by Sean O'Keefe, Punchline set itself apart in the over-saturated world of pop-punk music with bright three-part harmonies and unique melodies, catchy riffs and a strong rhythm section. Soboslai, Menotiades, and Fafalios all contributed vocals to the disc, and this release's early pressings also included a DVD, entitled "The Action DVD".

During a tour, guitarist/vocalist, Paul Menotiades left the band. The remaining members enlisted long-time friend Greg Wood to fill in on guitar and vocals for the remaining shows of the tour. Wood, who previously performed as a solo artist and was a member of Connecticut's now defunct West Beverly, later joined the band as a permanent member, and plays keys/piano in addition to guitar on Punchline's 2006 release "37 Everywhere".

TDR Records (formerly known as To Define Records) released an Over It/Punchline split 7 inch vinyl in 2005 featuring two exclusive songs. The Over It side features an acoustic version of "Partner in Crime," while the Punchline side features a previously unreleased acoustic version of "Battlescars." [ [http://www.punchkids.com/web/splitinfo.html Discography ] ]

2006: 37 Everywhere

"37 Everywhere", produced by Shep Goodman and Kenny Gioia, was released by Fueled by Ramen Records on April 11, 2006. The album is dedicated to the life and times of John "Beatz" Holohan (1974-2005) of Bayside.

As made evident by the title, the theme of the album is based on the theory suggesting that 37 is the most commonly seen number. The album's liner notes state that "the number 37 is everywhere. It is in your daily routine and it will surprise you. Look for it and it will look for you." The liner notes are said by the artist/designer Jason Sho Green to contain 37 instances of the number 37.

Album track "The Getaway" is said to be about ex-band member, Paul Menotiades. While the album does contain songs referencing him, this is not one of them. The title of the album's tenth track, "They Are Strong Hands," is a reference to the track "They Looked Like Strong Hands" on Bayside's 2005 album "Bayside", which features guest vocals from Punchline's vocalist and lyricist Steve Soboslai.

The album features guest vocals from Anthony Raneri, lead vocalist, and Jack O'Shea, guitarist, of New York's Bayside. It also features Ryan Mendez of Yellowcard and Staring Back playing guitar on the track "Don't Try This at Home", vocals from John Johansen of the defunct Stryder on "Caller 10", and Josh Bonner of the defunct Unsung Zeroes on "Wars Will Always Happen".

On August 28, 2006, the band announced the departure of Greg Wood. Wood is said to be in good standing with the band, and left the band to pursue other interests, specifically a solo career and teaching guitar. Long time Punchline friend Jon Belan, previous member of The Berlin Project replaced Greg Wood for his first tour with the band, the "Better Than Knowing Where You Are Tour". This tour featured Spitalfield, Over It, Valencia, and Boys Like Girls in addition to Punchline. As it currently stands, Belan is a permanent member of Punchline.

2007: The present and future

Punchline is currently in the studio recording the follow-up to "37 Everywhere". Part 1 of the new album was recorded at Room Sound Studios in Tempe, Arizona with producer Jamie Woolford (formerly of The Stereo, now member of the band Let Go). Part 2 of the new album is being recorded at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin with Sean O'Keefe, who previously produced Punchline's "Action" album.

On "37 day" March 7, 2007, Punchline posted a 30 second clip from a new song on the website [http://www.heavy.com/video/8960 Heavy.com] .

In May 2007, Punchline toured the UK for the first time as a support act on the Good To Go Tour 2007 with Wheatus, MC Lars and Army Of Freshmen as rotating headliners.

2008

In February 2008, Punchline toured the United Kingdom for the second time with MxPx and The Get Go on the fourth instalment of the Good To Go Tour.

On February 7th, 2008 the band announced their departure from Fueled By Ramen records. They were looking for a new label before establishing their own. On July 11, 2008 Punchline announced that the name of the new label is Modern Short Stories. They created Modern Short Stories using their winnings ($25,000) from Heavy.com's Contraband Contest.

On "37 day" 2008 (March 7, 2008), Punchline announced in their AIM chatroom that the new album would be titled "Just Say Yes". [ [http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=302190 AbsolutePunk.net "Punchline Album Title"] ]

"Just Say Yes" debuted on September 16, 2008. Many of the album's songs reckon back to older Punchline albums such as "Action."

Touring

Punchline has toured the United States with bands including Bayside, Less Than Jake, Hidden in Plain View, Hellogoodbye, Mest, Reel Big Fish, Hawthorne Heights, The Juliana Theory, No Use for a Name,The Fold, and Sullivan, among others. The band embarked on their first proper headlining tour, "The Now or Never Tour," in Spring 2005.

Internationally, the band once toured Japan with the then Fueled by Ramen labelmates Fall Out Boy in the summer of 2004. The band headlined a Japanese tour in June 2006 with support from Paramore and October Fall.

Members

*Steve Soboslai – guitar, vocals
*Jon Belan – guitar, vocals
*Chris Fafalios – bass, vocals
*PJ Caruso – drums

Former Members

*Paul Menotiades – guitar, vocals
*Greg Wood – guitar, vocals

Discography

Albums

EPs

Compilations

*"Icicles" was featured on the Christmas compilation album, "A Santa Cause - It's A Punk Rock Christmas"
*"Round Here" was featured on the tribute album, "Dead and Dreaming: An Indie Tribute to Counting Crows"

Trivia

*Punchline fans are known as "Punchkids".

*The band has a strong relationship with their fans, particularly online. They make their online sceennames available to fans, and are said to be one of the only bands of their size to reply to messages sent to them by fans on social networking websites such as MySpace.

*Punchline bassist Chris Fafalios hosts several short series on the video sharing website YouTube and currently HEAVY.com including the Chris Fafalios show and a cartoon called "Texas Toast" which he cowrites and edits.

*The band has a chatroom on AOL Instant Messenger named punchlinechat. The chatroom was used for fans to speak to the band during the recording of "37 Everywhere". The band members occasionally make an appearance in the chatroom.

*Punchline wrote a song about their friend, drummer John "Beatz" Holohan of the band Bayside, who died in a car crash when Bayside's van hit a patch of ice and flipped over on October 31, 2005. The song is titled "They Are Strong Hands" in reference to a Bayside song Steve Soboslai (lead vocalist) had sung guest vocals on, "They Looked Like Strong Hands".

*The song Green Light is featured in the film "" as well as on the picture's official soundtrack. The same song was featured in the first episode of "The Real World: Denver" in November, 2006.

*The band were the winners of the $25,000 grand prize from the Heavy.com contraband contest. This was announced by the band on their official website on June 28, 2007.

References

*cite web | title=Fueled by Ramen - Bands - Punchline | url=http://www.fueledbyramen.com/bands/index.php?id=28 | accessmonthday=August 3 | accessyear=2005
*cite web | title=PunchMania | url=http://www.punchmania.net/ | accessmonthday=August 4 | accessyear=2005
*cite web | title=Antidote Apparel | url=http://www.antidoteapparel.com/ | accessmonthday=April 8 | accessyear=2006
*cite web | title=Press | url=http://www.gregwood.net/press.htm | accessmonthday=April 8 | accessyear=2006
*cite web | title=Illout.com - Punchline Interview from pittpunk.com | url=http://www.illout.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41895 | accessmonthday=April 9 | accessyear=2006

External links

* [http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=1986492 Punchline on Myspace]
* [http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=118923414 Punchkids on Myspace]
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* [http://www.sweet-calamity.net/punchline Punchline Fanlisting]