Let's talk about Syracuse, NY's phenomenal pop combo the Flashcubes.
From great promise and then sudden obscurity in the late 1970s to their phoenix-like resurgence decades later, the Flashcubes were the great lost power pop group, the little band that could, then couldn't, and then went ahead and did anyway.
The Flashcubes lit the spark of the Syracuse new wave rock 'n' roll scene, inspiring new groups and delighting delirious, giddy fans. Guitarists Paul Armstrong and Arty Lenin, bassist Gary Frenay, and drummer Tommy Allen burned a hole through the roof of every venue the Flashcubes played. From The Loft in rural Middleville, NY to Max’s Kansas City in New York, the Flashcubes blazed a rock 'n' roll trail from Syracuse to Boston to Detroit to Cleveland, to CBGB's, to Los Angeles, and even to Japan. Forty-eight years on, the band still features all four original members.
My forthcoming book Make Something Happen! The DIY Story Of A Power Pop Band Called THE FLASHCUBES will be an oral history of the band. It will offer personal stories related by the 'Cubes and various witnesses, discussing their roots as fans in the '60s and '70s and their formation in the punk rock crucible of 1977. We'll look back on their frenzied live shows with the Ramones, the Runaways, the Police, the Jam, David Johansen, Joe Jackson, the Scruffs, the Romantics, Artful Dodger, 999, and more, their irresistible original songs, their indie 45s, their demo tapes, their breakup at the end of the '70s, and the subsequent recognition that the Flashcubes were legit power pop legends. This growing awareness and acclaim reunited the Flashcubes in the '90s, leading to archival releases and new studio albums, culminating in their award-winning 2023 record Pop Masters.
Pop Masters is a covers album. But the Flashcubes were never just a covers band. I have long wanted someone to put together a Flashcubes tribute, celebrating some of the fantastic original songs written by Paul, Gary, and Arty. The success of Pop Masters made a proper Flashcubes tribute all the more imperative, to remind the world of the wonder of the Flashcubes' own songbook.
With Big Stir Records on board, we solicited Cubic covers from rockin' pop marquee names like Graham Parker and Mike Gent, the Spongetones, Sorrows, the Kennedys, Chris von Sneidern, and the Verbs (with expatriate Syracusan Meegan Voss and Rolling Stones drummer Steve Jordan), current indie sensations sparkle*jets u.k., Librarians With Hickeys, the Armoires, Joe Giddings, Super 8 Featuring Lisa Mychols, Pop Co-Op, the Peppermint Kicks, Dolph Chaney, the Mayflowers, and Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin, a-rockin' and a-rollin' TV stars Tom Kenny (of Tom Kenny and the Hi-Seas) and Robbie Rist (of Ballzy Tomorrow), proven Flashcubes fans the Choosers and Callan Foster, and the cuddly curmudgeondom of Hamell On Trial. All acts rose to the level of lights at their brightest.
The album also needed to include new music from the Flashcubes themselves, and they came through with a trio of fresh and stellar offerings, Paul's "Reminisce," Gary's "The Sweet Spot" (co-written with the late B.D. Love), and Arty's "If These Hands."
I've been a Flashcubes fan for 47 years. The bright lights still shine. The revolution is still loud, and still as clear as distortion allows. The story is still being told. And now, it's being told by other voices as well. And, as Paul Armstrong told me, "It's unreal hearing GRAHAM F***ING PARKER sing a song I wrote!"
As a fan, I share that rush, that thrill, that feeling of validation. And I sing along with the Flashcubes (and now also with Sorrows, performing the Flashcubes' "Radio" on this very album): Pop music is my religion. And I don't mean to preach, but I know it's right.
Yep. Preach away. Time to make something happen.
Carl Cafarelli
Syracuse, Summer 2025
CARL CAFARELLI is the co-host of THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO with Dana & Carl on WSPJ Spark Syracuse Radio, a former writer for GOLDMINE MAGAZINE, and the producer and curator of a number of celebrated various artist collections of which this is the latest. His current writings can be found at his blog BOPPIN' (LIKE THE HIP FOLKS DO).
Various Artists:
MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN!
A TRIBUTE TO THE FLASHCUBES
CD/Digital, September 12, 2025
Big Stir Records BSR-0146
ARTISTS AND TRACKS:
1. THE FLASHCUBES: Reminisce
2. sparkle*jets u.k.: Make Something Happen
3. LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS: Gone Too Far
4. CHRIS VON SNEIDERN: No Promise
5. GRAHAM PARKER AND MIKE GENT: Pathetic
6. JOE GIDDINGS: You're Not Grounded
7. BALLZY TOMORROW: Five Personalities
8. THE FLASHCUBES: The Sweet Spot
9. THE KENNEDYS: Walking Through The Park
10. THE VERBS: I Need Glue
11. DOLPH CHANEY: Girl From Germany
12. POP CO-OP: Wait Til Next Week
13. THE PEPPERMINT KICKS: Muscle Beach
14. TOM KENNY & THE HI-SEAS: Welcome To The Working Class
15. THE CHOOSERS: Christi Girl
16. HAMELL ON TRIAL: Got No Mind
17. THE ARMOIRES: You're Not The Police
18. THE FLASHCUBES: If These Hands
19. ROB MOSS AND SKIN-TIGHT SKIN: Bad Dream
20. THE MAYFLOWERS: Born To Cry
21. SUPER 8 FEATURING LISA MYCHOLS: When We Close Our Eyes
22. CALLAN FOSTER: It's You Tonight
23. SORROWS: Radio
24. THE SPONGETONES: Nothing Really Matters When You're Young
ALL SONGS WRITTEN OR CO-WRITTEN BY THE FLASHCUBES.
Compiled and produced by CARL CAFARELLI
Executive Producers: REX BROOME, CHRISTINA BULBENKO and MICHAEL SIMMONS
Mastered by MICHAEL SIMMONS
Package Design by MARGIE FINER
Cover Illustration by KAME (Japan)
Liner Notes by CARL CAFARELLI
This is a SYRACUSE NOISE production, in association with THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO WITH DANA & CARL
CC SAYS THANK YOU! I swear to Joey Ramone, I am so grateful to each and every one of the stellar artists who contributed their talent, their time, and their creative mojo to this task of paying tribute to the Flashcubes' songwriting. Thanks to Rex Broome and Christina Bulbenko for agreeing that Make Something Happen! had to be a Big Stir Records release, thanks to Margie Finer for designing a pretty package that bursts with power pop, and thanks to Michael Simmons for taking all these tracks and getting them to sing together. It sounds just like when I used to stick my head in the PA at the Jabberwocky Cafe in Syracuse back in '78. But, y'know, in a good way.
Thanks to my lovely wife Brenda Nuremberg-Cafarelli and to my This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio co-host Dana Bonn for putting up with me as this project came together. Thanks to Dave Murray and all of the friends and Flashcubes fans who've expressed support; you are LEGION! Special thanks to Robbie Rist; two years ago, when I said that someone should put together a Flashcubes tribute album, he immediately replied (and I'm paraphrasing): "YOU do it. You know bands! And I'll be on it!" When Robbie speaks, power pop fans listen.
And finally, thanks to THE FLASHCUBES! Tommy, Paul, Gary, and Arty: This one's for you, and it's offered in tribute to a band that has meant so very much in my life. My trinity remains in place: The Beatles, the Ramones, and the Flashcubes. Collectively and individually: YOU da man!
Individual Track Credits:
1. THE FLASHCUBES: Reminisce (Paul Armstrong, Nuneaton Music BMI)
The Flashcubes are: Tommy Allen, Paul Armstrong, Gary Frenay, and
Arty Lenin with guest Mike Gent (of the Figgs)
Produced by Tommy Allen
2. sparkle*jets u.k.: Make Something Happen (Gary Frenay, Cubic Music BMI)
Produced by Michael Simmons
Susan West: Vocals
Michael Simmons: Vocals, all instruments except for:
Jamie Knight: Bass
3. LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS: Gone Too Far (Arty Lenin, Cubic Music BMI)
Produced & Engineered by Mike Crooker & Ray Carmen
Mixed by Mike Crooker at Uneven Tracks, Kent, Ohio
Mastered by Jeffrey Koval at Sta-Level Recording Studio, Akron, Ohio
4. CHRIS VON SNEIDERN: No Promise (Gary Frenay, Cubic Music BMI)
Chris von Sneidern arranged, played, produced at Tape Vault Studio, SF, Calif., April 2025 with Prairie Prince on the drums!
5. GRAHAM PARKER & MIKE GENT: Pathetic (Paul Armstrong, Nuneaton Music BMI)
Produced by Mike Gent
Recorded & Mixed spring 2025 at Gren South Studios - Boston, MA
Vocal overdubs at River Fleet Recording - London UK
Graham Parker - Vocals & Backing Vocals
Mike Gent - Vocals, Backing Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Drums, Percussion, Engineer, Mixing
Simon Edwards - Engineer (GP Vocals)
6. JOE GIDDINGS: You're Not Grounded (Arty Lenin, Cubic Music BMI)
Produced and engineered by Joe Giddings
All instruments and vocals by Joe Giddings
7. BALLZY TOMORROW: Five Personalities (Paul Armstrong, Norm Mattice, Gary Frenay, and Mark Doyle, Cubic Music BMI)
Played, sang and recorded by Robbie Rist at MCK Studios, St Petersburg Florida June 2025
Mixed by Brian Merrill at Studio B. St. Petersburg, Florida.
8. THE FLASHCUBES: The Sweet Spot (Gary Frenay and B. D. Love, Cubic Music BMI/Bonificence Music ASCAP)
Produced by Tommy Allen
Tommy Allen - drums, percussion and backing vocals
Paul Armstrong - guitars
Gary Frenay - Bass, lead and backing vocals
Arty Lenin - lead guitar and backing vocals
Randy Klawon - additional guitars
9. THE KENNEDYS: Walking Through The Park (Arty Lenin, Cubic Music BMI)
Maura Kennedy: vocals, percussion, glockenspiel, acoustic guitar
Pete Kennedy: 12 string acoustic guitar, gut string acoustic guitar, bass guitar
Produced and engineered by Maura Kennedy
Mixed by Tommy Allen
10. THE VERBS: I Need Glue (Paul Armstrong, Nuneaton Music BMI)
Meegan Voss & Steve Jordan/ The Verbs
Arrangement and additional lyrics by Meegan Voss.
Meegan Voss; Lead vocals and guitar.
Steve Jordan; Bass, drums, guitar (solo).
Recorded and produced by Steve Jordan.
Mixed by Dave O'Donnell & Steve Jordan @ Electric Lady Studios (A).
Assisted by Lauren Marquez
Mastered at Sterling Sound NY/NJ by Steve Fallone.
Courtesy of JAY-VEE RECORDS
11. DOLPH CHANEY: Girl From Germany (Arty Lenin, Cubic Music BMI)
Dolph Chaney - vocals, guitars, synthesizers
Nick Bertling - Bass, drums
Produced by Dolph Chaney
Mixed by Nick Bertling
12. POP CO-OP: Wait Til Next Week (Gary Frenay, Cubic Music BMI)
Pop Co-Op:
Steve Stoeckel: lead vocal, bass, guitar
Joel Tinnel: backing vocals, guitar
Bruce Gordon: backing vocals, guitar
Stacy Carson: backing vocals, drums
Mixed by Steve Stoeckel
13. THE PEPPERMINT KICKS: Muscle Beach (Paul Armstrong, Nuneaton Music BMI)
The Peppermint Kicks:
Sal Baglio guitars & vocals
Dan Kopko guitars, bass & vocals
with Very Special Guests:
Napoleon Hashimoto drums
Cesar Ramone “1-2-3-4”
Arranged & Produced by The Peppermint Kicks
Recorded at Hard Kandy Studios Boston MA
Mix & Mastered by Danny The K
14. TOM KENNY & THE HI-SEAS: Welcome To The Working Class (Gary Frenay, Cubic Music BMI)
Produced by Joe Napolitano, Dave “Mustang” Lang and Tom Kenny
Recorded & Mixed by Joe Napolitano
Lead Vocals: Tom Kenny
Backing Vocals by The Damselles: Jillinda Palmer, Brittney Wescamillo, Lupé Carranza
Drums: Mark San Filippo
Bass: Jake Gideon
Piano & Organ: Dave “Mustang” Lang
Guitar: Andy Creighton
Percussion: Joe Napolitano
Tenor Sax 1: Kyle O’Donnell
Tenor Sax 2: Evan Soloman
Baritone Sax: Stephen Taylor
Recorded at Sunset Sound - Studio 2
Assistant Engineer: Zach Zajdel
15. THE CHOOSERS: Christi Girl (Arty Lenin, Cubic Music BMI)
Recorded at Teenarama, Sapporo by Kei Sato & Kaoru Motoi
Drums Recorded in the basement on a TEAC 244
Kaoru Motoi: Drums
Kei Sato: Guitar
Jun Seino: Bass
16. HAMELL ON TRIAL: Got No Mind (Paul Armstrong Nuneaton Music BMI)
Produced and performed by Hamell on Trial
Recorded on my iPhone 14 in my apt in Austin
17. THE ARMOIRES: You're Not The Police (Gary Frenay, Cubic Music BMI)
The Armoires are:
Christina Bulbenko, Rex Broome, Larysa Bulbenko, Clifford Ulrich and John M. Borack
Produced by Michael Simmons
18. THE FLASHCUBES: If These Hands (Arty Lenin, Cubic Music BMI)
The Flashcubes are:
Tommy Allen, Paul Armstrong, Gary Frenay, and
Arty Lenin
Produced by Tommy Allen
19. ROB MOSS AND SKIN-TIGHT SKIN: Bad Dream (Paul Armstrong, Nuneaton Music BMI)
Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin - Bad Dream, written by Paul Armstrong
Rob Moss - vocals, guitars
Tom McNally - bass, backing vocals
Steve Naff - drums, percussion
Recorded by Rob Moss and Tom McNally
Mixed by Tom McNally
20. THE MAYFLOWERS: Born To Cry (Gary Frenay, Cubic Music BMI)
Osamu Satoyama, Lead & Backing Vocals, Electric & Acoustic guitar, bass, synthesizer
Koji Kimura, drums
Guest Voice: Pero (Cat, passed during recording)
Her final meow lives on in Born To Cry.
Mixed & Recorded by Osamu Satoyama.
21. SUPER 8 featuring LISA MYCHOLS: When We Close Our Eyes (Arty Lenin, Cubic Music BMI)
Lead Vox by Lisa Mychols
B.Vox, Instrumentation, Arrangement: Paul “Trip” Ryan”
Mixed & Produced by: Paul “Trip” Ryan
22. CALLAN FOSTER: It's You Tonight (Gary Frenay, Cubic Music BMI)
Aleeya Jones: Engineer in Newhouse Studio 3
Callan Foster: Everything else
23. SORROWS: Radio (Paul Armstrong and Gary Frenay, Cubic Music BMI)
Arthur Alexander: Guitar & Vocals
Ricky Street: Bass & Vocals
Joey Cola: Guitar, Drums & Vocals
Mixed by Joey Cola
24. THE SPONGETONES: Nothing Really Matters When You're Young (Arty Lenin, Cubic Music BMI)
The Spongetones:
Jamie Hoover: lead vocal, guitar
Steve Stoeckel: backing vocals, bass
Pat Walters: backing vocals, guitar
Eric Willhelm: backing vocals, drums
Mixed by Jamie Hoover
If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar. You can also become a Boppin' booster on my Patreon page.
My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.
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, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. You can read about our history here.
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