Drawn from previous posts, this is not part of my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1).
An infinite number of tracks can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Today, this is THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE!
Written by Gary Frenay
Welcome! Now...let's get to work.
Tom Kenny is an international treasure, and he was born 'n' bred right here in my beloved Syracuse, NY. You may know him as the voice of SpongeBob Squarepants, Plastic Man, The Penguin, and a zillion others across a zillion animated credits. In live action, he was the evil Binky the Clown in his hometown buddy Bobcat Goldthwaite's 1991 film Shakes The Clown. To my daughter, he was the voice of both the Mayor and the narrator on The Powerpuff Girls. I tell that story here.
But as I like to point out and repeat: Before Tom Kenny was your SpongeBob Squarepants, he was our Tomcat, one of us, a participant in the same boppin' late '70s/early '80s local music scene that we loved so much, the scene that gave the world the Flashcubes, Maura Kennedy, Chris von Sneidern, the Penetrators, and many others. He found fame as a talented and celebrated voice actor; to us, he's so much more than that. He's a music fan from way back, and he channels that passion as a stupendous live performer. From local faves the Tearjerkers in the early '80s through the simply sublime Tom Kenny & the Hi-Seas today, international treasure Tom Kenny remains solid gold on stage and off.
So yes, of course we wanted Tom to record a track for our Flashcubes tribute album Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes. Credit 'Cubes bassist Gary Frenay for suggesting his song "Welcome To The Working Class" as the perfect Cubic choice for Tomcat and his superlative and uber-tight band o' Hi-Seas and company to tackle; a more perfect match of artist and material will not be found anywhere. Not even in Bikini Bottom, nor in Townsville, nor Gotham City itself.
I have heard that "Welcome To The Working" was the first recording the Hi-Seas completed since the November 2024 passing of their music director, the great Andy Paley. Beyond the blow of personal tragedy, having to overcome the loss of Paley's enormous talent was no doubt a daunting task. From this bittersweet transition, one hopes there will be many more new Tom Kenny & the Hi-Seas recordings yet to come.
As card-carryin' members of the working class, there are reasons why we listen to pop music. Some of the reasons are simple and obvious: We want to dance, we want to sing along, and we want to experience that exuberant rush that a perfect pop tune can provide. For many of us, though, there is a deeper, stronger, and palpable connection between our inner selves and the music we love. The bond transcends genre and demographics, eludes categorization, and laughs mockingly at attempts to understand it in cerebral terms. It isn't a subject for study; it just is. We feel these songs as much as we hear them, and they move our souls as much as they move our feet. It ain't just the beat, nor just the lyrics, nor just the blissful (or agitated) union of all of these things. It's intangible, but it seems as solid and physical as a kiss, a slap, a teardrop, a sob, or a smile. It's as real as love and hate, as euphoria and misery, as triumph and heartbreak.
And it's catchy, too.
Let's go back a bit for our hero's secret origin. In the '70s and early '80s, Tom was a kid from Central New York, a voracious music fan, a budding star that everyone liked, a guy everyone rooted for, and whose success today is a boundless source of pride and content for anyone who ever encountered him. Syracuse's favorite son? Yeah. Oh yeah. Without question. He worked for it. He earned it.
For an entertainer of such immense talent, it's frankly a bit disturbing how humble Tom Kenny is. He has always been a consummate (and riveting) showman. His great success as a voice actor may have obscured the fact for some, but folks in Syracuse have known for decades that Tom is a born front man.
In 2022, Tom returned to Central New York to be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by The Syracuse Area Music Awards, inducted into The SAMMYS Hall of Fame. His incredible party combo Tom Kenny and the Hi-Seas performed at the SAMMYS, and at a club show the next evening. Members of the Flashcubes also joined Tom for a couple of numbers on each night, and it was all just amazing. What a magic weekend. I am so, so glad I was able to witness it.
But you wanna about my best enduring memory of that weekend? It was the sight of Tom Kenny's lifelong friend Bobcat Goldthwaite, sitting on the floor in front of the stage area, looking up at his pal Tom and just freakin' beaming. For hours. He seemed so happy to be there.
That's friendship. That's the connection we can all have through music, art, camaraderie, and any other shared passion, from sports through food, through laughter and commiseration.
Connection. We're all friends here. Bobcat's smile said it all.
There are reasons why we listen to pop music. And there are reasons why we go to see and hear bands play live. The band we see in a bar can become something greater than just a band in a bar. Just as favorite pop songs can be an emotional tether to scattered moments we can't or won't relinquish, a favorite band can be a friend. And the members of that band can be your friends even if you never quite get around to saying hello to them, to buying the guitarist a beer, or sharing a smoke with the lead singer in the men's room at The Firebarn. It's a connection that might (or might not) seem alien to drunken punters shouting out requests for "Free Bird," but it's a connection Tom Kenny understands, a connection he sparks, and a connection he embodies.
Welcome to the working class. And when we clock out, Tom Kenny has just the song your wage-slave soul needs for catharsis. A Flashcube wrote it. A Tomcat sings it. We all appreciate it. And we all feel welcome.
So here's to an international treasure. Welcome indeed. Best day EVER.
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I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here. 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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