January 2008:
PRESS RELEASE -
LAST STOP ON THE ARLINGTON LINE:
The first announcement of the new year: "Last Stop On The Arlington Line", the "solo" debut of Rob Ross, ex-singer/guitarist/songwriter for The Punch Line, will be released in the coming months. Recording is underway with 12 or 14 tracks, all original material. There will be guest musicians joining Rob and this looks to be (in Rob's own words) "an even more focused project than the album I did with The Punch Line. The difference here is that there are less people to please and these songs reflect the here and now."
The album will be released on the Spin Cycle/Synchronic Entertainment imprint. Please check back for release date information, along with track listings, etc.
February 2009: A Happy (albeit belated) New Year to everyone. Thank you for bringing this website to over 10,000 hits; it's quite an honor! New
equipment has been added to Synchronic East (including my beloved new Guild acoustic 12-string), so it makes the process a little easier. The album has started with the recording of an instrumental, which I've had for the last 15 years! Until now, it had no title; however, thanks to a still life by a dear friend (who is a most talented photographer), it's called "Savannah Sunrise", which will be the album's kick-off track (naturally).
A few tweaks and edits to the About Us and F.A.Q. pages. New photos to be added soon.
April 2009: You can now reach me/check out what I'm up to regularly on Facebook! Just type in my full name (Robert L. Ross) and there I am, along with...
Video footage of The Punch Line, live at The Hook! You can see it now on this website, Facebook, YouTube and even MySpace! Many thanks to Chris Collins (drummer, The Punch Line) for his valuable assistance in helping me finally get these items available and uploaded. I'm in the process of loading new (old) photos and making improvements to this site. As you can see, I've now added a Media page to hold the video footage and mp.3's.
On the artistic front, I've been writing songs for and producing Lonneke, an exciting, new singer from Haledon, New Jersey. It's a thrill to have been asked to work with her and I'm having a blast doing something completely different!
May 2009: Added new items to check out (blogs, bands, etc.) to the Links page. The first version of "Wild Skies" is now on the Media page in mp.3 form. This was recorded before Bob joined the band in June, 2004. I will continue to find and post "interesting" musical artifacts very shortly.
May 2010: Apologies for the lack of updates; obviously, a lot has been happening in my personal life, with the illness and subsequent passing of my father, so I haven't been as on top of the site and my projects in general. Many thanks go to the wonderful people who have called, sent cards, flowers, etc. - I hope you know how it is appreciated.
More new songs have been written; others are now dropped from the original running order, which is exciting. Added another new member to the arsenal--an Epiphone Les Paul TV Yellow Special. I promise to put up some pictures of the rig, 2010-style! Am beginning to sort through the possibilities of playing with some well-respected musicians in a short time. If you go to the Media page, you will find a previously unseen piece of video footage shot at Chris Collins' home in November, 2003; it is the one and only time that the original four members of The Punch Line had reunited. This is a very nice unplugged version of the legendary "lost" second single, "Well Of Loneliness". Have also joined YouLicense, a music licensing/sales service, which I'm certain will help increase sales and exposure for the new album as well as the back catalog; keep your eyes on their site. Finally, have added tracks to the Discography page for Last Stop...
January 2011: As always, apologies for being lax in updating this site; this has been a year of upheavals, turbulence and major changes in my personal (and subsequently, musical) life. Nonetheless, here is some of what's happening:
2011 is the 25th anniversary of The Punch Line and there is a very strong possibility of the band reuniting for some shows to celebrate this milestone. I will keep you apprised of any and all updates regarding when and where we may play. Chris Collins and I have begun discussions to work together as this new year starts and it is with optimism that we can get things rolling in fairly short order.
I have decided to put "Last Stop..." on hold as I have written a slew of new songs that I don't think would fit the original vision I had for that project. Some of these new songs may go to The Punch Line; otherwise, I have a different album planned, provisionally titled "The Next Sometime Soon". Amongst these songs would be "Wash Away", "Bed Of Thorns", "She Can Hear The Angels Calling", "The Next Sometime Soon" and the highly personal (and by some, eagerly anticipated) "Don't Worry Baby, I'm Not Your Victim". The latter will soon be up on this site in its demo form, recorded at Synchronic East.
I also intend to overhaul the layout of this site--after 6 years, I think it's definitely time for a change.
Finally, this is the year that I will, in fact, be performing acoustic solo shows. I have begun the booking process and this may turn into something of a mini-tour. Please keep checking back for more news
November 2011: As always, apologies, but due to the recent changes in my personal life, I've had to move house, so Synchronic East was down for a brief period. Happy to report, back up and running at 100%. Now that the dust has settled on all fronts, the focus can be re-shifted to music.
