An Interview with Punchline

Earlier this week we did a review of Punchline's new album Delightfully Please, which you can still read all about and pick up to listen for yourself. Now, as promised, we have a full interview with a member of the band. Bassist Chris Fafalios was kind enough to answer my questions and give you all the details about the new album Delightfully Pleased.

How did the band first get its start?

We have been a band for well over a decade now. We started as high school friends and never stopped. We learned how to play music in Punchline, and we're still in our first band.

You guys have that alternative pop/punk vibe which has always been a popular thing, how do you stay in touch with your fans?

We're all over the internet. We're facebookin' and tweetin' all the time. Staying in touch with people who like your band is easier than ever. People are often surprised when I know their first and last name. I'm good like that!

You're releasing an album on August 10th, how does it differ from your other albums and how is it the same?

Its still us. We like to play upbeat and feel good music, and we put out another album full of those types of songs. This one is different though because its our best album. Its our strongest collection of songs in every aspect – musicianship, lyrics, structure. We are very excited that these songs are now out in the air.

The artwork for the album is really beautiful and complex, what's the concept behind it?

We were inspired by a lot of art that depicted the idea of a "hell mouth", basically a mouth that rises up to take you to Hell. The cover has character representations of each of the four of us about to take our journey into Hell. As you'll notice, we're not afraid at all. We've all been through hell and ended up just fine.

How long did it take you to write and record the album?

Every song is its own story. Some took years to finish, some took one practice. We recorded the album over a 3 week period in May in Steubenville, Ohio. We had 2 rooms going at once, so we would be able to do things like record back up vocals upstairs while Cory recorded drums downstairs.

What comes first, music or lyrics?

For us, its usually the music. We are always writing lyrics, but we're pretty much in consensus as a band that we can really pick out when bands write lyrics first, and its not good. Bands that do that end up having awkward sounding lyrics because they're trying to fit words in and not paying as much attention to the melody.

Favorite song on the album

My personal favorite is "21 Forever". I think its the best Punchline song ever.

Favorite song to perform?

"The Reinventor" off of Delightfully Pleased has been my favorite to play lately. It has a fun bassline and a really great feel to it.

If you could create a super tour with you and three other bands who would it be? The bands can be broken up.

I'd like to tour with Ween, They Might Be Giants, and The Flaming Lips. I think that would be a tour where we'd learn how to put on the greatest show ever, and also how to be a successful band for a long time.

Any plans to tour in the fall to support the album? If so, can you give away any info on where you'll go?

We will be doing a lot of shows throughout the Northeast and Midwest throughout the fall, as well as a Japanese tour in November with Rufio. We are excited to get out there with a new album!

Thanks a lot for interviewing me 🙂