Earlier this year, I was asked to provide a supplemental rant for Pop Masters, the fantastic forthcoming new all-covers album from Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse THE FLASHCUBES. I was delighted to comply.
Patrick Pierson wrote the main liner notes for Pop Masters. I added this celebratory rave about the transcendent power of digging music. It applies specifically to the Flashcubes, and it applies specifically to ME as I've listened to the Flashcubes and been inspired to do that thing I do. Whatever that is. I can't sing, I can't play, but I can write, and I can co-host a radio show. Inspiration will go where inspiration will go. Creation will follow to the best of its ability.
Throughout the many mutant creative pursuits into which I've stumbled in my life, each was sparked in some way by something special to me. Books. Comic books. Movies. TV. Theater. Girls. Records. Radio. Radio. Radio. Batman. The Beatles. The Ramones.
And for damned sure the Flashcubes. I don't become whoever I am without all of these bright lights casting a benevolent glow upon my long and winding road.
I'm the kid who heard a song on the radio. No: I'm one of many kids who heard a song on the radio. Our reward awaits. The Flashcubes' Pop Masters is due from Big Stir Records on August 11th. Fresh inspiration is at hand.
Lemme tell you about it....
THE FLASHCUBES: POP MASTERS
The kid heard a song on the radio.
The kid liked the song. The kid liked the song a lot. A few days later, the kid saw a band play that song on TV. The kid was twice entertained by them: right then, and again in the second part of the show.
Inspiration.
The kid got a guitar, or some drums, or whatever. The kid's path was illuminated by bright lights. Music? Yes. Let's make music. Let's make music right now!
I offer the above as a snapshot of the Flashcubes' secret origin. It could just as easily be Chuck Berry's story, or the story of King Elvis I, Carole King, Bashful Bob Dylan, the Beach Boys, Aretha, Hendrix, the Who, the Ramones, Joan Jett, or Public Enemy. The kid heard a song on the radio. That's how magic happens in the first place.
All musicians start out as fans of other musicians. If there are exceptions to that rule, I don't think I wanna hear 'em. In the beginning, inspiration prompts imitation. But imitation is itself instructive: it's learning by the simple act of doing. With the right inspiration fueling time, work, and talent, the whole shimmering thing evolves into sweet, sublime creation.
True pop masters acknowledge their influences. Before the Flashcubes wrote a bunch of original tunes that became some of my all-time fave raves, the very first song the 'Cubes ever performed in public was the Beatles' "Hold Me Tight." The 'Cubes have covered everyone from the Supremes to the Sex Pistols, the Yardbirds to Big Star to the Bay City Rollers, while still retaining their unique power pop identity. The Flashcubes have built an incredible body of work. The Flashcubes have never forgotten the importance of the sounds that built them.
Pop Masters is the Flashcubes' thank-you note to some of the artists who crafted those sounds. Whether it's an early influence like Eric Carmen's '60s combo Cyrus Erie, formative-era radio and turntable touchstones like Slade, Pilot, and Sparks, or rough contemporaries like the Dwight Twilley Band, Shoes, Pezband, the Spongetones, Chris Stamey, the Motors, the Posies, and the Paley Brothers, the Flashcubes embrace it all. And the Flashcubes know precisely when, where, and how to turn that sucker UP. The results are reverent, but properly Cubicized. Ain't anything here that can be dismissed as a mere copy.
The Flashcubes remain fans, and they didn't accomplish Pop Masters alone. Whenever possible, the 'Cubes invited talented friends and members of the original acts to join in, to revel collectively in the redemptive thrill of rockin' pop music. Man, can you imagine if a great British Invasion act had an opportunity to do an album with Buddy Holly or Little Richard? I'm not saying this is the same thing...except to the extent that is. Creation is its own reward. Participation is its own reward. Music is everyone's reward.
The kid heard a song on the radio. The kid is grateful. This kid is, anyway. Let's hear some more songs on the radio. Pop masters? Yeah yeah yeah...!
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Carl's new book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is now available, courtesy of the good folks at Rare Bird Books. Gabba Gabba YAY!! https://rarebirdlit.com/gabba-gabba-hey-a-conversation-with-the-ramones-by-carl-cafarelli/
If it's true that one book leads to another, my next book will be The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). Stay tuned. Your turn is coming.
This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.
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