GARY FRENAY & ARTY LENIN

As an enthusiastic fan of pop music, I have a number of all-time favorite songwriters, from Chuck Berry through Lennon and McCartney, Ray Davies, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Smokey Robinson, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Alex Chilton, Pete Townshend, Brian Wilson, Paul Simon, Lieber and Stoller, Otis Redding, Graham Gouldman, Bashful Bob Dylan, and a list of genius tunesmiths that goes on and on. The hits just keep on coming. You can't have great pop music without songwriters creating great songs first.

Both Gary Frenay and Arty Lenin have been charter members of my personal Songwritin' Hall O' Fame for more than four decades. The songs they've written as solo artists and as members of The Flashcubes, Screen Test, The Neverly Brothers, and The FabCats occupy permanent slots in that giant jukebox that plays constantly in my head. Frenay's "No Promise" is one of the all-time classic power pop gems, Lenin's "Nothing Really Matters When You're Young" is one of the all-time heartbreaking retrospectives of teen alienation, and that's just picking one sublime song from each of them. There are nearly 300 more songs where those came from.

This Wednesday, May 29th, we have a chance to hear some of those songs in a unique showcase of the combined Frenay and Lenin songbooks, as The Listening Room At 443 presents an evening with Gary and Arty singing their own songs only. The $5 cover charge is the only relevant cover; Wednesday night belongs exclusively to music written by either Frenay or Lenin.

As working musicians, Gary and Arty play a lot of covers during their usual gigs. And that's fine; they are really, really good at performing the music of The Beatles and all of our other pop heroes. But the songs they've written are in that rarified class of the stirring and the unforgettable, and it's such a treat to plan on attending an event solely featuring their own compositions. I wouldn't miss this show for all the gold records in the known world.

You shouldn't miss it either. If you're a fan of jangle and swoon, and you're anywhere near the Syracuse area this Wednesday, The Listening Room has a pure pop treasure in store for you. Two pure pop treasures, actually. Gary Frenay. Arty Lenin. Singing their own songs, playing with the gifts they've bestowed upon us. I hope to see you there.

FRENAY & LENIN, Wednesday May 29th from 6:30 to 9:30 pm at The Listening Room at 443, 443 Burnet Ave, Syracuse. Event info here. Let the bright lights shine.

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Our new compilation CD This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4 is now available from Kool Kat Musik! 29 tracks of irresistible rockin' pop, starring Pop Co-Op, Ray Paul, Circe Link & Christian Nesmith, Vegas With Randolph Featuring Lannie Flowers, The Slapbacks, P. Hux, Irene Peña, Michael Oliver & the Sacred Band Featuring Dave Merritt, The Rubinoos, Stepford Knives, The Grip Weeds, Popdudes, Ronnie Dark, The Flashcubes, Chris von Sneidern, The Bottle Kids, 1.4.5., The Smithereens, Paul Collins' Beat, The Hit Squad, The Rulers, The Legal Matters, Maura & the Bright Lights, Lisa Mychols, and Mr. Encrypto & the Cyphers. You gotta have it, so order it here. A digital download version (minus The Smithereens' track) is also available from Futureman Records.