INTERVIEW | Punchline's Chris Fafalios Talks About This, That, And The Other

Pittsburgh's punk-pop band Punchline recently dropped their eighth album, called Lion. Known for their dynamic live performances, catchy hooks, and radiant vocal harmonies, Punchline eschews sonic overcompensation and pursues tight, clean music with harmonic oomph.

Popdust talked with Chris Fafalios, Punchline's bass guitarist, hashing over pragmatic topics like influences and songwriting, as well as the more cerebral, i.e., living in the present moment, Bjork's mind-boggling videos, and not letting success divorce you from reality.

How would you describe Punchline?

I would say that we are a group of people that love creating music. We are friendly and sincere dudes that are passionate about all things artistic.

How did the band get together?

We started this band in high school, and this is really the band in which Steve and I first learned how to even play our instruments. Most people would've changed their band name at some point, but we decided naaaaahhhh…let's just be in our first band FOREVER. It's worked out pretty alright for us.

What kind of guitar do you play?

I play a beautiful orange electric Fender Jazz bass. Funny enough, I've never played a lick of jazz on it. "Lick of jazz" is a funny expression that I've never used before.

I'm a fan of crisp, innovative drumming. Who influenced your drummer's style?

I didn't want to speak for him, so I instantly texted Cory and asked him. Here is what he said:

"I grew up listening to oldies like the Beatles and The Beach Boys so that had a heavy influence on playing to the song and the remembering that less is more. As I got older and got into punk, I really was influenced by the "in the pocket" drummers like Derek Grant and Tre Cool."

So there you have it!

What is the most trouble you've ever gotten into?

I have managed to stay out of trouble. I don't know if it's a matter of being smart or being lucky, or maybe just that I tend to mind my own business and respect other people. Sorry for the boring answer there.

What's your favorite song to belt out in the car or the shower?

I think my all-time favorite song to sing very loudly in the car is Lauryn Hill's "Ex-Factor," ESPECIALLY the bridge of it. I also really love to sing along to "Tears Dry On Their Own" by Amy Winehouse and "Ain't It Fun" by Paramore. I really love to sing along to powerful female singers, and maybe it's because my voice tends to sound better in a higher range. Or maybe it's just because the song's awesome.

What musicians influenced you the most?

This list is so expansive that it's hard to narrow it down to just a few. In fact, it's hard to even narrow it down to a particular style of music. I could go the obvious route and say The Beatles, but it's honestly so much more than just them. I was influenced by Boyz II Men and Huey Lewis as a kid. I was influenced by Rancid and NOFX as a teen. Probably the most honest answer is that I was influenced by my bandmates and friends. I don't think that anyone has had more of an impact on me as a musician and songwriter than Steve freakin' Soboslai. He's been my bandmate and bud for over 20 years now, and to try to pretend that John Lennon influenced me more than him is just ridiculous.

How, if at all, do your musical influences shape and impact your music?

When it comes to songwriting, I 100% believe in the free flow of ideas and staying true to whatever comes out naturally. Personally, I never go into a song saying "I want this song to sound like (insert artist name)," but sometimes whatever comes out does have obvious ties to an influence. I think that's the best way to tell if something has truly influenced you…if it has buried itself enough into your subconscious that you write something reminiscent of it even when you don't mean to.

You're tagged as a "punk-pop" band. How would you describe your style of music?

I would describe our music as sincere and heartfelt punk-influenced rock music. Bands always sound so pretentious when describing their style of music, I think. I hope I don't sound pretentious.

Where do you find inspiration for your songs?

This band has always been an outlet for us, and it has made dealing with life's struggles much more manageable. I can't imagine not having this outlet, and there are a lot of things that I feel would have been MUCH harder to deal with in my own personal life had I not been able to write and release songs about it. Do you ever notice how some bands become super huge and then lose touch with everyday hardships, and the music suffers for it? I know that music is all a matter of opinion, but I have definitely noticed that. So for us, I think the silver lining of not being some band that's selling out arenas is that we can relate to everyone that much more. We know what it's like to worry about paying your bills. We can relate to the uneasy decision of deciding whether to pursue a passion or try to live a more "normal" life. We get together in what is basically an old storage facility in a sketchy industrial building and write introspective songs about life. Inspiration is all around us every single day. The day we run out of inspiration will be the day we cease to be a band. Luckily, I don't see that day EVER coming.

What is your songwriting process? Do the lyrics come first, or the music?

It varies with each song, but we are much more of a "music first" band. Lyrics are obviously SO important (and depending on who you talk to, maybe the MOST important part), but I can always tell when an artist writes the lyrics first and then bends the music around the words. I rarely like that. I'd much rather someone pick-up a guitar and sing me a melody of "la la las" then read me a list of lyrics that they wrote. Without awesome melodies, lyrics are just bad poetry.

I really like your music video "Friend From The Future." What's the story behind the song?

The song is about living in the moment and imagining that YOU from 5 years in the future comes back to visit the YOU of now. What would you say to yourself if you could travel back to 2013 right now? That's the basic idea of the song. The only moment that truly exists is RIGHT NOW…the past is over and the future is yet to come. They are just ideas. Live for the now. Yeah, that idea has been out there since the dawn of time I'm sure, but I think that thinking of another you from 2023 coming back to right now is an interesting way to put it into perspective.

There's a quasi-psychedelic flavor to the music video. What inspired you to move in that visual direction?

We're all big fans of visually intriguing art. I am obsessed with Bjork's insane catalogue of mind-blowing music videos. She often uses vibrant colors that really enhance the feel of the music. We were lucky to team up with Keaton Manning on the "Friend From The Future" music video, a truly visionary guy who really saw what we pictured. We wanted a futuristic feel, almost something reminiscent of that funny Back To The Future 2 picture of what the future would be like. Somehow Keaton pulled this off on a shoestring budget, and we couldn't be happier with how it turned out. It complements the music very nicely.

Will you be touring soon?

Yes we will! We head out on the road with The Spill Canvas and Selfish Things in July, and we have some other shows throughout the Summer as well, with artists such as the Gin Blossoms and Dave Hause. All of our tour dates are on our website (which is punchlion.com). Playing live music is the most rewarding part of being a band, so we can't wait to be back on the road in support of LION.

Follow Punchline on their Website, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Randy Radic is a Left Coast author and writer. Author of numerous true crime books written under the pen-name of John Lee Brook. Former music contributor at Huff Post.