Behind “Roller Coaster Smoke” – Punchline’s Tribute To LOST

The band Punchline, longtime friends of Geekscape and creators (with Jon Belan of Gene the Werewolf) of the Geekscape theme song, have a new album coming out tomorrow entitled Delightfully Pleased. While the album, which features original guitarist Paul Menotiades replacing Belan on guitar and Cory Muro in place of PJ Caruso on drums, is as consistently solid as you’ve come to expect from the band, one song in particular might be of increased interest to Geekscapists, particularly those who still hold warm feelings towards JJ Abrams’ “Lost”. The fifth track on the eleven song album is entitled “Roller Coaster Smoke” and is an unapologetic love letter to the series.

As lead singer and songwriter Steve Soboslai puts it “the song is called “Roller Coaster Smoke” and started out as an idea for a guitar melody that was at least good enough to get me out of bed at two in the morning and record on my phone. I was glad I did when I realized that the riff would be perfect for a song about the show, which we had talked about while working on our new record. I like to think that the song has an island feel. It also has a very Lost-appropriate flashback to an older song of ours from a previous record!”

“Roller Coaster Smoke” by Punchline, a tribute to LOST! from modernshortstories on Vimeo.

The above tribute video was put together by Pittsburgh director Joe DeWitt. It does a pretty good job, like the song, of summing up the parts of the series that made us fall in love with the show early on. “I didn’t realize until I saw the rought cut that the first verse is loosely about Jack, while the second verse is about Locke.  I had no idea that the plot would boil down to the two of them, or maybe we did…?” You can download the song for free here. “We first posted the song on May 23rd, the day that Lost died, or moved on.”

On being a fan of either Jack or Locke’s, Steve says “I would have to classify myself primarily as a Desmond fan, second to being a Jack-in-grunge-mode fan. Favorite episode? If I had to choose one I’d go with The Constant. Desmond was a great soothsayer, if you know what I’m soothsayin’. However, I HATED that picture of him and Penny. It haunts me. We’ve been asked how the song would have changed had it been written post series finale. I don’t think I’d change a thing! I like that the chorus focuses on the others, a more timeless concept of the show (not to mention unanswered). “

And what about the shows controversial ending? You guys know that I’m not a fan, but maybe I should have taken Steve’s approach instead. “It felt like an ending and I can live with that.  I restrained myself from immediately rushing to the forums, fearing that I would read myself out of liking how it ended. Anyhow, I hope you like the song even if you have never seen Lost, heard of Lost, or even heard of The Commish.”

Now that Delightfully Pleased has a song about Lost, are there any more TV show tributes in the future? Or have there already been? “Although this is our only song about TV, we have dedicated our last two records to cast members of the beloved Golden Girls. Shout outs to Estelle, Rue, and Bea!” Now why can’t he put that love in song form?

Punchline’s new album Delightfully Pleased is available August 10th on the band’s Modern Short Stories label in conjunction with TDR. You can get yourself a vinyl or CD copy here!