Q: Who is web master/main contact for this site?
A: This web site is owned and maintained by Rob Ross (that would be me).
Q: Who owns Synchronic Entertainment? Are you part of another company? Who does your distribution?
A: I am the sole proprietor. While it would be nice to have greater financial backing other than my own (and that's minimal, at best), I would prefer to stay this course for the time being. I have viable distribution networks (i.e. The Orchard, CD Baby, etc.). and this has helped move considerable units for The Punch Line's CD.
RECENT QUESTIONS (Winter 2009/2010):
Q: How is the album coming along?
A: It's going well. Three new songs completed and by "new", I mean newly-written. There's also a video for "Things We Never Said" in the plans. I'm looking forward to it, as it's a new area for me. With these recent songs, the track listings and artwork now need to be revamped--Last Stop On The Arlington Line is definitely evolving!
Q: Are you ever in touch with the other members of The Punch Line?
A: Yes, I've had a few nice e-mail exchanges with Chris Collins over the last year or so.
Q: Do you ever miss your former bandmates?
A: At this point and time, no, not really. That isn't meant in a negative way. I don't think about it all that often.
Q: Would you ever play in a band again? More specifically, would you ever play with The Punch Line again?
A: Yes to both questions.
Q: What are you listening to these days?
A: These last few months have led me back to The Beatles, The Who and the music I loved most when I was young.
Q: If you could play alongside anyone, who would it be?
A: Since I'm a realist, I'll tell you who I'd love to work with--a great drummer, who I've known for 15 or so years, Paul Andrew. A musical, thinking drummer, if you understand what I mean. Nick Celeste--an incredible voice for golden harmonies and an equally warm acoustic guitar. Richard Barone--I think it goes without saying. Brett Marshall Lefferts--an all-around talent. Peter Holsapple--one of my favorite songwriters. Those gentlemen would be a formidable and ideal collective, be it in a studio or live setting.
Q: What do you hope to achieve with the album?
A: In a word, satisfaction. I know that may sound extreme, but I have always found one or two things that bother me about recordings I've been involved with. I always feel a sense of loss or regret that it never seems to be 100%. That's strictly my hang-up; it's the perfectionist in me. I don't want to over-analyze the process of this album, but I've been trying to lessen my self-imposed pressure. I would like, in the simplest way possible, to walk away from this and say "yes, this is good" and that be the entire final word!
Q: Are there any songs that you wrote for The Punch Line that will be on this album?
A: At the rate it's been going, I don't think there would be either a need or a reason to fall back on my catalog. That was the big mistake with ...to get to the other side. I went backwards instead of forwards. Songs like "Let It Go" or "Train Of Thought" were already 18, 19 years old when they were finally re-recorded and released for that album. The "newest" song was "Beauty Lies" and that had been lying around for something like 7 years at the point it was recorded; in fact, I wrote it at a time when I wasn't even thinking about being in any band, let alone The Punch Line.
Ideally, what I should have done was to write fresh material, rather than record (or re-record, in some cases) songs that no longer had any relevance; it was my responsibility as leader and songwriter. To me, that record belongs in 1987, when the majority of it was written, not 2006. Sadly, it's dated. I maintain that I should have followed the blueprint of The Undertones, The Buzzcocks and Wire, who came back from lengthy splits with exciting, updated sounds instead of walking the old, familiar path. I can't undo what's been done; that's the most honest answer I can give you.
At the same time, I don't want anyone thinking my views are sour grapes--on the contrary, I think it's a very good album for what it is, given the time, conditions and circumstances under which it was recorded.
Q: Do you have a favorite Punch Line song?
A: I think probably "Train Of Thought" is my overall favorite, and I'm well aware of the "legend" that goes with it (laughs), but I do like the album version. There are a few nuances about it that still rub me the wrong way but as a whole, it's a great track. I'm also fond of "Tearing Me Apart" and "Beauty Lies".
Q: How do you see your new music, since you haven't been recording or playing since The Punch Line broke up?
A: I'd like to think it's made by someone who is 45 years old; comfortable in his musical skin and headspace and is in the here and now, not re-tracing the previous steps he'd walked in his youth. I have no delusions of adequacy to become a "rock star" at this late age. I'd like whoever hears or sees me play to enjoy the songs and find a place for it in their minds. It's a simple and realistic criteria, albeit a hopeful one!
