On 29 August Syracuse power pop band The Flashcubes, have a new single coming out called “If these Hands”. Plus there’s a tribute album coming out on 12 September called Make Something Happen! with covers of Flashcubes songs by great artists like: sparkle*jets u.k., Graham Parker, The Armoires, Sorrows, The Spongetones, and others. The Flashcubes are guitarists Paul Armstrong and Arty Lenin, bassist Gary Frenay, and drummer Tommy Allen.
The Flashcubes were formed in 1977 in Syracuse, New York. Their sound is inspired by earlier power pop groups like The Raspberries and Badfinger as well as 60s British rock and roll like The Beatles and The Kinks. Fittingly, they opened their first show on 1 September 1977 with a cover of The Beatles’ “Hold Me Tight”. While they never got super famous, they did shows with The Jam, The Ramones, The Runaways, The Police, and The Romantics. In 1978, they released their debut single “Christi Girl”, in the hopes of a major label deal. Two years later, the band broke up and went their separate ways, but clearly it wasn’t the end for The Flashcubes. In the 90s, they reunited thanks to a revival of interest thanks to people trading cassettes, “Christi Girl” appearing on power pop compilation albums, and hearing some great music from a “lost power pop group”. From there, they’d tour Japan and get inducted into the Power Pop Hall of Fame. And now they’re signed to Big Stir Records. If you’re a fan of power pop, you gotta listen to The Flashcubes!
We’re lucky to have Gary and Tommy from The Flashcubes on the blog for an interview.
Angie: How did the Flashcubes get started?
Tommy: We all worked at a music store and shared a love for both pop and punk!
Gary: We were all working at a local music store in Syracuse, Gerber Music, that sold records and gear. Paul & Arty were playing in a local band called Amanda Jones, and Tommy was in a Top 40 band called Harlequin. We all had similar tastes in cool 70’s music like Badfinger, Raspberries, Big Star and Dwight Twilley, and the New Wave/Punk scene was happening and we were all excited about that, too. We started rehearsing at Paul’s apartment first, just Paul, Arty, and I singing Beatles songs, and then in Tommy’s parent’s basement a few weeks later. We all just wanted to be in a band so bad, and it was like a dream come true to be actually be doing it.
Angie: How did you get into British rock music of the 60s and 70s?
Tommy: AM radio.
Gary: I was a Beatles’ kid. Saw them on Ed Sullivan at the age of 11, and started playing guitar a few weeks later. The die was cast. In school, I was always the kid with the guitar. I played in a few high school bands, but it wasn’t until the summer of 1977, when I met the other three future-Flashcubes, that I was in a serious band. But we were ALL serious British music fans. The British Invasion, the Glam Rock of the early-70’s and then, of course, the British punk & New Wave scene in the late 70s.
Angie: What are your favourite albums you own on vinyl?
Tommy: I no longer have vinyl.
Gary: Whoa, way too many to name, but a partial list would have to include The Zombies – Odessey and Oracle, Badfinger – Straight Up, The Move – Shazam, The Hollies – Romany, Beach Boys – Sunflower, The Raspberries’ 1st & 2nd, Big Star – Radio City, the list goes on and on.
Angie: What makes power pop special to you?
Tommy: When it’s done correctly, it provides quality goosebumps!
Gary: It seems to build on what The Beatles, Beach Boys, and The Who started in the 60’s, and brings it forward. I love the energy, the positive feelings and the chord changes.
Angie: What was it like recording your original singles “Christi Girl” and “Wait Til Next Week”?
Tommy: Fun!
Gary: They were both done as student projects at Syracuse University, with student producers, but overseen by the professor, Bill Murphy, who we’re still friendly with to this day. We were all such music fans and record collectors, that it was a dream come true to be in a real recording studio, actually making a record. Still one of my greatest thrills!
Angie: What was it like writing and recording “Reminisce” and “The Sweet Spot”?
Tommy: More fun!
Gary: “Reminisce” is Paul’s song. We did a version of it in the early 90s at a live show, but never recorded it then. He pulled it out recently and wrote new, and better lyrics to it. The song fits our present moment so well, as an older band, looking back with love at all the great times we had together, with other bands, and with our fans.
The main inspiration for “The Sweet Spot” was the book Pulse!, by my brother Bob (Robert C. Frenay – 1946-2007) published in 2006. In the book he talks about the future of technology and how many systems mirror processes in the natural world. One phrase he kept using was ‘the sweet spot:’ that place where everything sits in its perfect place and just feels right. I had that title floating around for years but couldn’t make it into a song. Enter B.D. Love. “Buddy” Love, as he was known when we first met in 1977, was a Syracuse University professor with a taste for rock & roll. He found The Flashcubes early on and would jump onstage during our encores. That led to him starting his own band, Buddy Love & The Tearjerkers (and later, My Sin), and a lifelong friendship – even though, for most of it, he lived 3,000 miles away in Los Angeles. Buddy was a published poet, author and celebrated educator.
We had talked about collaborating for years but we never quite made it happen, until 2022. I told him I was stuck on starting a song with the concept of the Sweet Spot. I asked for help and he said he’d think about it. In fairly short order, he sent me the lyric that expressed my sweet spot idea in three different ways: music, baseball and romance. It was perfect! When I sat down with a guitar, the song seemed to write itself; I didn’t have to change a word. I made a quick demo and sent it to him. He loved it and shared it with everyone he knew, reveling in the fact that he was finally getting to contribute to a Flashcubes song, 45 years on! Unfortunately, Buddy, in poor health later in life, suffered a fall at home in August, 2023. My friend never got to hear our finished recording. After a long hospitalisation Buddy passed away on Memorial Day, 2024. Let’s hope he’s listening now.
Angie: Tell me about the upcoming tribute album Make Something Happen, it’s a huge collaboration between a lot of great musicians. What are your favourite covers on the album?
Tommy: I think they’re all great!
Gary: The album is really the brainchild of our friend and de facto biographer, Carl Cafarelli. He’s the one responsible for getting us on Big Stir Records in the first place (that led to our 21st century renaissance), and he pitched the idea to us, and to Rex and Christina at Big Stir. I really love nearly every track. But the real surprises are bands who did their own thing with one of our songs like sparkle*jets u.k. on the title track, The Verbs on “I Need Glue”, and Sorrows on “Radio”. I honestly think many of these versions are better than our own. As a songwriter, it’s the ultimate compliment to have someone do your song.
Angie: What are your favourite songs to cover?
Gary: On our Pop Masters record, I loved doing Pilot’s “Get Up And Go”, and The Motors’ “Forget About You”. On our Roy Wood tribute, I love the way our versions of “Blackberry Way” & “Forever” came out, and live, I’ve always loved doing “Shake Some Action” by the Flamin’ Groovies and “Do Anything You Wanna Do” by Eddie & The Hot Rods!.
Angie: What caused the band to break up in the early 80s?
Gary: We were young and hungry to succeed. We listened to advice from people we thought were seeing things more clearly than we were, but in retrospect, that was probably a mistake. Letting Paul Armstrong go in 1979 was like putting the brakes on our forward movement. Paul might have been the least proficient musician in the band (even he would agree with that), but he was the best entertainer, a driving force in promoting us, a fan favourite, and a really singular songwriter. Oops!
Angie: What did you do between the original breakup and the reunion in the 90s?
Gary: Tommy, Arty, and I continued on as a three-piece called Screen Test (our two CD’s are available on all streaming platforms) until 1986, when Tommy moved to NYC to manage the China Club. Arty and I continued to do music for a living, playing covers in bands and as a duo.
Angie: What’s changed about the music industry between the late 70s and today?
Tommy: Everything!
Gary: Biggest difference, to me, is distribution. It’s was nearly impossible to get our music heard back then, but now, we can be accessed on every phone in the world. That’s amazing to me.
Angie: What is your proudest accomplishment as a musician?
Tommy: Being able to still do it, and attempting to get better at it!
Gary: The fact that I haven’t had a real job since 1982. All I’ve ever done is play music. It’s a great way to make a living, just not a way to make a great living. But if you’re willing to live with less, it makes for the best like I can imagine.
Angie: What’s next for the band?
Gary: Hopefully continued lifelong friendship, and more recordings!
You can follow The Flashcubes on Facebook. You can follow Garey Frenay’s blog on WordPress.
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