from ye ole christmas party...

Punchline "Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer" Live from Joshua Bakaitus on Vimeo.

Wonderful iPhone Pictures.

I learned Tom Petty's "It's Christmas All Over Again" for the Christmas party this year. Pretty excited for that, Belan and I need to go over our 20 song set! I have been tweeting a lot. We are playing Indianapolis tonite, it is Pj's birpdah. He finally got his wall back. I am very proud of him. Ok, check out the pictures.


This was in a bathroom in Grand Rapids, MI. Amazing.


Who is that, Ralph Nader?


My awesome birpdah pumpkin roll.


Ashley and I at my first ever Steelers game! Box seats baby.

did you hear? punchline xmas sale

PUNCHLINE CHRISTMAS SALE

37EV

not sure why but i put this together just now...

37 EVERYWHERE


1. Flashlight 3:07

2. Don't Try This At Home 3:40

3. The Getaway 4:01

4. Green Light 3:34

5. Caller 10 3:36

6, For The Second Time 4:13

7. The Fake, the Snake and the Birthday Cake 3:32

8. How Could You 2:15

9. Wars Will Always Happen 2:52

10. They Are Strong Hands 2:57

11. Exactly 4:45

12. The Dane Song (Japanese bonus track) 3:17

ringtonez!

go download yourself a free punchline ringtone! "somewhere in the dark" is free just to get you hooked. then you will pick up the whole album of ringtonez. just say yes?

More from Punchline at Myxer

these are my shows!

dear judge judy,

Dear Judge Judy,

My band, Punchline, hired artist Lisa Alisa to design and deliver the album cover/artwork for our latest album entitled "JUST SAY YES". After a few exchanges of communication, she stopped returning emails and calls. We paid her a deposit of $400 to do a service which she did not do. She has said countless times that she will refund the money, but has yes to do so in the last 6 months. We are a struggling rock band and she took advantage of us. We want our money back!

What a (ten hour) trip.

True Or False...

Chris did his first ever beer bong on Less Than Jakes' bus on his birthday.

We once fled a girls house in Missouri after her enraged baby's daddy/ex-boyfriend show up unannounced interrupting us passing out to Forrest Gump.

Chris once puked on screen in front of 20,000+ people.

Paramore opened for us while touring Japan.

Tommy Tutone (singer of 867-5309 Jenny) once called PJ and asked him to play drums for him.

When Belan was younger he thought that PJ's name was "Sancho".

Shortly after seeing Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine), we found our van broken into by what a witness called "a red-haired freckled-faced freak who lives in a cave and sells wild flowers."

I made Katie Holmes laugh from across a crowded room.

We were killed in Denver by a gay zombie.

Chris Carraba watched our entire set once and then told us that we sing very well.

The singer of Unwritten Law warmed up his voice in our van and then drank a beer and smoked a joint five minutes later.

I was on stage singing with the Get Up Kids at the very end of their last show ever in Hollywood.

Chris once danced on stage in his underwear in front of 1,000 people.

We stayed at the governor of Pennsylvania's home.

Just Say Yes was recorded in the same studio as tracks from Nirvana's Nevermind.

We walked by Paul McCartney's English home and saw him standing barefoot on his front porch waving goodbye to the car that was leaving.

THEY'RE ALL TRUE!


It would have made so much more sense for us to just tour with the Aggrolites.


Frozen dudes section.


Belan just wants to fit in.


New disturbing graffiti from the block!


This is my friend Damien. He wants to be your friend. I told him I would find him a lucky lady.

what a wonderful world.

i woke up at 8 am this morning and made this collage to welcome our new president Barack Obama.

a serious read

To anyone that is willing to listen...

For those of you that do not know me my name is Steve Soboslai (pronounced Sub-Oz-Lee). I play guitar and sing in the band Punchline, which I have done so for the last 11 years since the 10th grade. I learned to play guitar with this band and have a more complete understanding of what music is alongside my band mates.

Maybe we musically jumped the gun on getting national attention? I think we scared some people away with what I feel was premature pop-punk... Some people say that this was our best music - I disagree. How could it have been, especially with having so little experience and seeing so little out there in the world. There is finally a story to tell.

We've been lost in the streets of Japan. We've stayed at the governor's house. We've lost band members to extreme serious issues that I'd rather not get into. Seen awful bands rise through the ranks by just saying what people want to hear. We've even written over 100 songs as a band. There is no doubt that it has taken 10 years for us to make our best album.

Just Say Yes was self released last month on our own label called Modern Short Stories. It was written and recorded from the heart. No record label was telling us when and where to record it or what to shoot for. The album is real and without a doubt the most genuine album we've ever made. I see right through so much of the music that comes out of this scene! Maybe when they turn 28 they will understand.

Getting to the point...

Outside of reviews from the critics (which have been quite amazing), we have had less feedback from fans and listeners of music than I had anticipated. The feedback from those who HAVE given it a chance and listened have had excellent things to say about it, but it seems as if most people just aren't hearing our music.

Money is tight. Music is easy to find for free for those who want it badly enough. Thus, I have decided to give out 100 copies of our downloadable CD for free today ALONG WITH a few extra songs - some songs you have definitely never heard, some that people have been wondering why they didn't make the cut, and some that people have been asking us to put into circulation just so they can have them on their ipods.

Please give this album an honest listen. Play it for your friends when you find the song that moves you. Please let us know what you think of the album by emailing me personally at steve@modernshortstories.net.

Thanks for your time,

Steve Soboslai
::PUNCHLINE::

Here you go - http://www.sendspace.com/file/yw8rfk enjoy.

I feel good. I knew that I would.

MY BIRTHDAY WISHLIST

1) Read the post above this.

2) I want more followers on Twitter! www.twitter.com/modernshorties

3) I want you to listen to Justin Oliver's "There Is A Rug" on his Myspace page and make it your profile song! www.justinolivermusic.com

4) I really want the 2nd season of Lost. Once I finish The Wire I am going to get started on that.

5) I want this artist Lisa Alisa to refund us the $400 she took from us after hiring her to do the album art for Just Say Yes. She completely flaked on us and refuses to refund our money. Thief! www.lisa-alisa.com

6) These headphones.

7) Some free studio time would obviously be incredible.

8) Complete restoration of the 400 or so contacts I accidentally deleted on my iPhone.

I don't think that's asking for too much!


Chris made this for me last year. He is my good buddy...

new york twitty

i started a twit: twitter.com/modernshorties

we signed Mae! Well...

we encountered a Greg Wood look-a-like this weekend in Allentown. I took a picture of him from the distance. We will from here on out refer to him as Evil Greg Wood.

i met duncan sheik. he was speaking along side other creators for the play "spring awakening" to which he wrote the music for the soundtrack. my question to him in front of an auditorium half full was "how did you approach writing for theater for the first time, because i know if someone handed me a guitar and said "write a country song" that i would mimic themes and chord progressions from what i've heard on the radio." i was so nervous that i don't remember what he said. an empty stomach on red bull. my nerves were a plenty.

i sat on a panel of speakers at CMJ discussing what not to waste time with on the internet when promoting your band via web 2.0 elements. i don't know if the crowd took anything away from our comments, but i made them laugh, and i can live with just that.

I met a street musician that covers the gin blossoms and freedy johnston. he goes by "laust cauze". if you see him in the subway system you should request "bad reputation" and give him 2 bucks. I had a free pass to see 400 or so bands last week and i only saw one: Recover. I didn't see any famous people unless you consider Laust Cauze to be famous, but I don't think he's there (yet). I am now back home and hibernating. bears.

x
steve

fcp

i really wanna get final cut pro... and the new beck album. that is all. x steve

barrel full of blippits

Justin Oliver is the new artist on Modern Short Stories - his new album will be released in early 2009. Please go listen to "There Is A Rug" on his myspace page, its incredible.

We bought a fog machine this weekend. We used it at the show, the after party, and we'll keep it on full blast for all upcoming Punchline practices.

I just booked my train ticket to NYC for next week. I'll be there Monday evening thru Friday morning for CMJ.

I sold my telecaster. Case closed.

I am finishing up season 3 of The Wire this week, it is an intense show. Why do I like police detective based entertainment so much? It all started with the Commish. I watched the Departed last nite... definitely in my top 10.



Oh, Halloween. What a strange, strange holiday. October is the month of strange holidays. Happy Columbus Day. I hope you all got what you wanted. My mom got me a barrel full of spices.

sneak peak

here is a sneak peak at the new artist we're signing to modern short stories!



he is a singer/songwriter. he was once hit by a train and has lived to tell all.

x
steve

...more like nick and norah's infinite urban outfitters commercial.

yeah.

these are the some good memories....

for halloween

I think this year I'm gonna be a dog dressed up like yoda. Yeah, that's it.

x
steve

self untitled

we headed to the studio, 15 minutes late. i hate being late. we are on the northside in the hazlett theater recording a cover of "what a wonderful world". pj and dave our engineer are setting up the drums in the middle of the actual theater. chris just explored the basement and found the best part of the theater which is the room in the basement that just has a desk and an old woman sitting at it putting a puzzle together. why do I have so much energy?  before the guys picked me up I was able to clean up my house. I feel really good about it.  I get in the van and they are listening to derek white and the monphobics.  good band.  Saturday night was so much fun.  I wish I had taken pictures from the after party.  special thanks to the travelers - amanda yu, gabe, katy, jodie, sara, melanie, erin, linda, courtney, marci, mike, hilary, the indiana crew, and anyone else who made the voyage.

chris - "dude cheaters wasn't on last nite!"
belan - "yeah i know i was pissed"

i just saw a story on the news about police looking for a group of guys from arizona who were chugging milk and then throwing up on moving cars. i need to get the triggers album and the matt pryor record.

i think i'm gonna sell my telecaster. not the semi-hollow one - the one pictured below... email me if you're interested. steve@modernshortstories.net

x
steve

i heard you were talking hit

the hit is here.

snug as a thug on a drug.

VIBES

You can now watch the Punchline video for "The Hit" over at www.absolutepunk.net!

The Mod Squad made its television debut 40 years ago today.

When is Pumpkin Pie day?

I still need to see the season premier of Heroes.

My jam of the week is: Superdrag - "Feeling Like I Do"

We went to visit our friend Eric Mikula in the hospital yesterday and he's making great progress! He was in a very serious car accident 1 month ago today.

I really don't think people change. That was a quote from ER today that I agree with. Ok some people do, but for the most part nah brah.

we saw an amazing infomercial the other night for The Best Of Guy Penrod. Amz.



this is us from one of our recent shows. what a good time!


this is pretty cool although i think ac/dc is totally overplayed... even in my blog!

you're probably driving

driving from philadelphia to pittsburgh, pa. i wonder how many times we've made this trek? we just listened to the bayside album, now we're listening to the whole valencia album. good dudes. chris is driving. belan is petting his beard. pj is laying down. there are sparks flying off of the back of the truck ahead. not sparks the alcoholic energy drink. that would just be too good. i mean, i don't think i've ever had that drink, but i love free drinks as much as the next guy. this is why i'm pretty happy about having a house full of free cases of vitamin water. i like orange. i don't know what its fancy name is... probably "health juice". i think they should just call it orange. i enjoy the relation between fruit and colors. this thing tastes blue. now its time for nada surf. here are the songs i've fancied the most so far this year...

1 nada surf - "do it again"
2 the killers - "when we were young"
3 ben folds - "you don't know me"
4 justin oliver - "heaven and breakfast"
5 the avett brothers - "murder in the city"
6 bob mould - "stupid now"


The one thing I learned tonite is that Barack wears a size XL Punchline hoodie.

bout damn time.

its finally here.   and you know it feels good.

papyrus

i went to the baseball match today. the pirates just might have the worst record in the league.. but they won. actually i left before the game was over so i don't know if they did, but they were up 7-2 in the 7th. yeah i know my lingo.


this store at the mall specializes in scary life-like fake babies.


asm poster by Brian Reddy. Thanks Brian. Well played.

Apple Honeypot

i love the names of networks that i pickup around my house. like "SuckMyBalls" for instance... I always wondered what it would be like to be connected to the "Apple Honeypot" too.

Mark Green dies tomorrow.

New Barely Blind is gonna give you chills.

I played my new guitar tonite at our surprise show in California. Rides like a dream.

lean on me.

this is a sea crow.  he's been pretty cool lately.

i finally made a good video to put on my youtube page.

x

steve

well look what we have here

i just got my copy.  when are you gonna get yours?

http://www.punchline.me

sundys really make you think

my friend Eric Mikula was in a really bad car accident two weeks ago and we're all staying positive and keeping strong that he will make a full recovery.  he's the one in the picture above wearing the punchline shirt.  he is one of our biggest supporters!  go to his facebook group and leave him a message!  do it.

sneak peak at the new bayside video behind the scenes.  i love how a lot of bands i'm friends with shoot their videos in pittsburgh.  they used mostly the same crew as we did for our video for 'the hit' which we're going to post soon.  

go steelers.

here is a good song from the late 90's.  me and pj had the biggest crush on the singer.

ladies and gentlemen, the strangest video i've seen in a long while.

one of my favorite songs.

x

steve

9 days until Just Say Yes.

the world is a plate

i went to eat breakfast with nick today.  greg used to make fun of him saying that 'the world was his plate' because he would set a sandwich down on the curb to tie his shoe.  i finally have proof of this.  toast on an outside table.  the world is indeed his plate.

on a complete whim i buckled and decided to to buy my dream guitar yesterday after seeing a good deal on good old craigslist.  it is in perfect condition.  hopefully i can keep the scratches to a minimum.  just say hell yes.

we played the longest set of our careers last friday night at sweet briar college in virginia.  we played 20 songs.  

i played with my roommates band gene the werewolf this morning on the pittsburgh classic rock station WDVE.  i got to play bass.  i got to get up at 6:30 am.  silly morning show.  too early for rock music.

ok i'm gonna go somewhere else thats not here.

x

steve

before the one

just what do they mean by 'speed enforced from aircraft'?  really?

just say yes.  2 weeks from today.

i know i'm late on the blog scene, but i just had to do it... 

x

steve