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| ::Interviews:: |
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| review & interview content, as well as web site graphics & design, copywrite 2003-2004 Euphonia Online. use of materials granted only with reasonable purposes. |
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| interviewed by robby sumner |
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| Interview with Chris September 27th, 2005 |
Chris Fafalios - Vocals, Bass Steve Soboslai - Vocals, Guitar Greg Wood - Guitar, Vocals P.J. Caruso - Drums |
| E: Chris, playing for Punchline, do you think your career could be chopped up into specific periods? How do you think your relevance to the music scene is distributed amongst them?
Chris: Wow. That's a hard question... I don't even really understand it. E: Hey! you said I could ask anything! Chris: *Laughs* You can! But I can't promise I'll understand the question. I'm kind of retarded. E: Is Punchline just one long ride for you? Or do you think you have different periods it can be put into? First starting out... first signing... first headlining... if you were to split up your career and analyze the pieces, how would you separate the times? Chris: Hmmmm... it's been part of my life for a long ass time. Since I was sixteen. I've always been in the same band. There are so many periods... periods of sanity, periods of insanity, and all the times in between. *Laughs* That's too hard of a question, so I guess I'm done. Ask me a new one! I like questions, though. E: I'll throw out some easier ones, I guess. *Laughs* Chris: Yeah, I'm retarded. E: Do you ever find Punchline's style restrictive--any desires to write something a lot different than what you can usually put out with Punchline comfortably? Chris: Aw, no restrictions at all. We have 32 new songs for our new album, and I am fucking psyched. We write about lions! And the draft. And [we] write weird songs about whatever we want. I hate restrictions. We're not restricting ourselves at all. No restrictors. Or constrictors. E: With all the new bands getting signed to Fueled By Ramen, do you see the label's direction as being different from when you were first signed to them? Chris: No way! Labels are awesome. They got direction, and their direction is to sell albums. And that's the shit. I like Fueled By Ramen records. We are on the label, so I guess I have to. But I still like it a lot. They got good bands. E: How do you think your music is affected by the length of each song? Can the same effect or energy be achieved in a song under three minutes as one that could take five or six minutes to play through? Chris: Fuck yeah! Length doesn't matter--it's quality. A two minute song can be way more powerful than a thirty minute song. The prime example is TV theme songs. They are all 58 seconds long, and they are all so powerful! Take the "Perfect Strangers" theme song. It's so amazing. It packs so much into 58 seconds. I love TV themes so much. I hate long songs. Except for maybe one or two. But yeah. Length has no bearing on how powerful it is. I would like to hear a twenty second song that was super powerful over a real long boring twenty minute song. Fuck yeah. E: With the musical abilities you utilize to create Punchline tunes, do you think you could easily transition into playing for a different sort of band--say, a classic rock band? Chris: Nah, fuck classic rock. I like country though. Steve wrote a real good country song. About the drought. Let's talk about country music. 'cause I love it. Did you ever hear "Skydiving"? I went skydiving. I went. I went rocky mountain climbing. I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fu Manchu. I love that song. I would love to become a country band someday. I think country is amazing. That's the effin' truth. E: With a constantly touring band like Punchline, how important is time spent at home? Chris: I love being home. I hang out with dogs. Gamble too much. Do stuff that's bad. It's freakin' sweet. I like kickin' back. Sometimes I work for my dad. He owns a scrap metal yard. I put things like aluminum siding and other metals into a baler. Make bales of things like that. It's pretty cool. My dad is the Man. I am so broke. E: Next question--are you completely drunk right now, or just sort of? Chris: *Laughs hysterically* I have had a few cocktails. But! Keep in mind... interviews are better this way. E: Sharing vocals with Steve, do you ever think your songs come out as two different insights from two people? Or do they remain pretty solid songs? Chris: We do whatever we think sounds good. I like to sing, but I hate my voice. It's kind of like when you watch a videotape of yourself, and you are like... I really look like that? Yeah, same thing with singing. I love to do it, but hate hearing it, because I am majorly self-conscious. One of these days, I'm gonna say "Fuck that," and just grab the mic and sing like Seal. Yeah, like Seal. You heard me. E: Watching Fall Out Boy, a band with a similar sound and heritage, make its way into the magical world of MTV, do you ever sit back on the couch and go, "Hey, maybe we're next."? Chris: Nope! E: That was inspiring. Chris: Nah, we aint an MTV band. Although I'd love to have that much money. But MTV is for retards. I watch that channel, and I wonder what kind of retards watch it. It has shows seriously aimed for twelve-year-olds. But I would love to play music on it, no doubt. Big props to my boys in FOB for playing music on it. E: Do you consider yourself pretty seasoned as a musician, or do you figure you're still young? Chris: I don't know... I have played for a long time. I'm okay at bass... I like to write songs. I like to jump around with my instrument and play shows and record albums. I think true veterans are those who served in wars. Not me--a retard who plays bass. Wait! You didn't even say "veteran." Let's strike that from the record. You said "seasoned." I'm a big retard. I like this interview, though. E: *Laughs* Chris: I'm soooooooooo sorry. Seriously, I'm drunk as fuck. To be honest. But I like this. I think it's a good interview. E: So much for "a few cocktails." Chris: I'm so sorry. E: *Laughs* That's okay, this way maybe I can get you to start saying bad things about famous people. Controversy gets page views. Chris: *Laughs* E: Quick, who do you hate in the music industry? Chris: Well... *Laughs* I don't know enough about the music industry to hate anybody. Hate is bad. I'm not into hate. I'm into dislike, though. Here's what I hate--when people talk about the record industry. Especially bands. If a band talks about labels, I want to spit on them. And beat them. I hate when people talk about that shit. It's retarded. Play music. Have fun. If your band gets big, congratulations. You're a fucking douche! Oh, not you. But your band that's big is. I hope someday to be a douche. E: Do you think your next release will house more anticipation than the last? Chris: I hope so! I hope people like songs about animals. 'cause I love animals. I want to tour with Dave Matthews. I had a dream last night. That I was at Dave Matthews' house. And there was this hot girl there. We hooked up while listening to Dave Matthews. And he was building a new house. So yeah. I think so. We have played for more people across the country and world since our last release. I hope people like us. If not, I'll just make music for me. To make me happy. E: Well, thanks a lot... anything else you want to say? Or in your case, ramble on about? Chris: I think you are cool. For interviewing me. And caring enough to do that. I think that's amazing. 'cause I'm just an idiot. Who plays bass. And, hmm.... if you read this interview, please be nice to everyone you meet. Unless they're a dick. In that case, tell them the fuck off. Because they have it coming. Hmm... I think that's all. E: *Laughs* That was fantastic. Chris: Thank you! I have never done an interview drunk off my ass before. This is fun. |
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