History

   If you weren't a disaffected kid living in the sleepy Central New York town of Syracuse, NY in the late 70's, then you can be forgiven for not knowing the FLASHCUBES. After all, the band was only together for a few years, and they never caught on outside their home town.

   They played showcases as far a field as New York City, Boston, Philadelphia and Detroit, and released two 45s on their own, but they never snagged that ever-elusive record deal, never made that grand grab for the brass ring, and they were history by the time Ronald Reagan made it to #1 on the political pop charts. If you’ve even heard of them, it’s probably from their first single, “Christi Girl”, which scored a berth on a couple of new wave compilation albums.

   You weren't there, and you'll never know what you missed. But if you were there, you remember. The FLASHCUBES were our band, and they were gonna rule the world. We were sure. We were so sure.

   In late August of 1977, the #1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 was occupied by the Emotions’ “Best Of My Love”, which remained in the top spot for five weeks. It followed a four-week run at #1 by Andy Gibb’s “I Just Want To Be Your Everything”, and surrendered the spot to Meco’s “‘Star Wars’ Theme/Cantina Band”. M eco, in turn, gave way to a ten-week stay at the top of the pops by Debby Boone and “You Light Up My Life”. This was the state of pop music in 1977. You could argue about the relative merits of the above records, but few could deny they were sorely lacking in pure power or passion. They were slick, they were professional, and they were stiflingly boring. So much for excitement on the pop charts or on AM radio. FM radio wasn’t much better, as many stations seemed more concerned with their own laid-back, self-conscious hipness than with genuine rock ‘n’ roll energy.

   But there were rumors that something exciting was going on. There were stories of outrageous groups in England, wearing safety pins and pounding out some loud, primal noise. There were tales of a new rock ‘n’ roll scene forming down in New York City, showcasing at clubs like CBGB’s and Max’s Kansas City. There were records coming out, some only as imports, records that might not have found their way onto radio playlists, but which did find their way into the hands, heads and hearts of eager soon-to-be-fans. The music was beyond categorization, but “punk” was the label that stuck. And, against all odds, its influence was felt even in Syracuse.

   On Thursday, September 1st, 1977, the Flashcubes took the stage for the first time, debuting at the Brookside Inn in the Syracuse suburb of DeWitt. They opened their set with a charged-up cover of the Beatles’ “Hold Me Tight”, and it was like shock treatment. Syracuse, against its will, had suddenly been jolted awake.

   The Flashcubes themselves consisted of guitarists Paul Armstrong and Steve “Arty” Lenin (née Steve Miller), bassist Gary Frenay and drummer Tommy Allen. They were occasionally supplemented on guitar by one Buddy Love (real name Mark Roberts, then a professor of English at Syracuse University, and no relation to the NYC pop group Buddy Love).
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