NIGHT LIGHTS: a collection of previously unreleased Punchline songs.

This Tuesday, December 1st marks the release of the first ever Punchline b-sides album called "Night Lights". We have held out for a very long time without putting out a b-sides album, but the time has finally come. We have decided to release it digitally only, as to not confuse people and make them think that this is indeed the new Punchline album. Sometimes, b-sides albums can end up being one of a person's favorite albums by a band...two really good ones I can think of are Nirvana's "Incesticide" and Ween's "Shinola". Being as there are 20 songs spanning the past 6 or 7 years, I really think there is a good chance that people who like our band will really like this collection.

We are releasing the album the same way we put out our song "Heart Of Gold". Basically, it'll work like this: You can have the first 6 songs of the album for free, and you can have the other 14 for a donation of at least 6 dollars. We are leaving the option to donate more if you feel generous, because all of the money we make from this will go toward the recording of our new album. We started our own record label with the release of "Just Say Yes" called Modern Short Stories, and since the release of the last Punchline album we have also released a book (Whistle Pig) and an amazing album by a solo artist from Massachusetts (Justin Oliver's "For Rose"). Whether or not we release the next Punchline album on our own label or another label is still up in the air, but we surely NEVER IN OUR LIVES want to try to impress record label people and try to convince them to PLEASE PUT OUT OUR ALBUM and MAKE US BIG. What we do want to do is go and record our best album on our own terms, and if a team of people want to invest their hearts and budgets into it because they absolutely believe in it, we'll consider doing that. If not, we'll put it out on our own label again, because our label is awesome anyway.

Basically, I want to say thank you in advance for your donation should you choose to get "Night Lights". A lot of my personal favorites are included on this collection, including "Changing Lanes", "Pretty Petty", and an acoustic version of "Battlescars" which rivals the real version in my opinion. Another favorite of mine which never saw the light of day before this collection is "Behind The Scenes", a demo that we recorded for 37 Everywhere which we decided was a little too different to be included on that album. We'd definitely love to hear your feedback on the album as well...maybe a song that didn't make the cut years ago can be given a second chance if people think it should.

We are playing a show on December 29th in Pittsburgh in which everyone who was ever a part of Punchline will be playing together. This should be a very special night. Steve and I will also be putting together the stories behind each of the songs on Night Lights, in case anyone is interested in reading about the writing, recording, and possibly even the meaning of each song.

We have been a band for 12 years, and we look forward to being a band for another 12 years. We hope you enjoy our b-sides album, and we look forward to recording a new album very soon. Thanks for listening, because we love to make music!

I wonder if I'll ever stop getting the Christmas morning feeling before we play a Pittsburgh show. We got to the hotel last night around 3:30 AM, and I was awake this morning by 8 because I am already filled with adrenaline. I am always happy to be able to play music in front of a room of hometown folks. I am also happy that I woke up so early because I got to enjoy a Continental Breakfast. I had myself a belgian waffle, a blueberry muffin, and a banana. Bananas are my favorite fruit.

We had a very great show in Louisville, Kentucky last night. In all our years of touring, we have never played in Louisville before. Obviously it was great to hear people singing along and see people enjoying themselves. We certainly enjoyed ourselves. We even had a van party before we played. Paul and I hid from Steve in the back of the van. We basically act like we're 8 sometimes, which I think is incredible. I wish I had a bed tent to set up in the back of the van. Remember bed tents? I had a He-Man one. On the late night drive, we discussed the Universe and things like Black Holes and the Speed of Light. In case anyone didn't know, we're also geniuses.

Its pretty crazy and pretty awesome that there are no days off on this tour. I am actually happy about that. As much as I would like a day off to go to the movies and see "The Blind Side", I am totally cool with a show every day.

Can't wait to see "The Blind Side" though.

SO MUCH SALMON

We had a show last night in East Lansing. Oh man, I ate SO MUCH salmon there! It was a very cool show other than the fact that we were competing with a Taking Back Sunday/All-American Rejects show in the same town. Do you think that stopped us whatsoever from rocking? No way. I also ran 3 miles again this morning on the "Elliptical Machine", which should probably make up for my mass consumption of salmon last night. Paul and I hung out in the van and listened to good music after Steve and Pat "hit the hay". I like listening to Derek White recordings and being amazed by them. We are heading to Pontiac, Michigan today. I hope that Green Day isn't playing Pontiac tonight too. I don't think they are. I like this tour a lot, and I also like this hat a lot.

THE BLOG IS BACK!

Back to tour means back to blogging! We kicked the tour off in Cleveland last night. I can't imagine a better place to start a tour. Obviously we had a fantastic set playing for lots of great people in Cleveland. It kind of felt like a friend convention. I liked it. I also like the bands we're touring with, so far all good dudes. This blog is so generic so far. I liked when I was a kid and we'd use the word "generic" as a really derogatory term. Here's an example of how it could be used:

"Hey, do you like the Green Bay Packers?"
"No man, the Packers are GENERIC!"

That's a true story.

So far on this tour, I have been eating like a child who was left at home and ate whatever he wanted. I ate candy and chocolate bars and taquitos and burritos. I drank beer and Red Bull. I'm going to change that today. I'm in search of the PERFECT SALAD (which often times is an Olive Garden salad, although that thing tastes way too good to be good for you). I woke up at 8 AM this morning and ran 3 miles on an "Elliptical Machine". Its the first time I ever used one of those. I'm not sure if it worked. We'll see if I'm really ripped in a few hours.

Playing our first show with Paul in like 5 years was very monumental. I enjoyed his singing, guitar-ing, and v-neck t-shirt. He needs to get caught up on some good music though, I think I'm gonna make him a mix CD.

I think I'm gonna try to find some food before I drive to East Lansing, Michigan. I'm going to scavenge like a vulture. My Mom gave me a big box of candy bars to take on tour. I'm going to resist the urge to eat a Baby Ruth right now. "BABY RUTH!" - Sloth.

Here are some pictures of my friends.