History

   Arty had previously been in a hard rock band called Talisman, Gary had played with a group called Fieldstone, and Paul had been a very early member of Rochester band New Math (whose first single was on CBS-UK, later released an EP on San Francisco’s 415 label, and eventually evolved into the Jet Black Berries).

   Paul was born in Nuneaton, England; Gary, Arty and Tommy were all native Syracusans (Tommy’s claim to be from Beverly Hills notwithstanding). All four grew up in the Syracuse area. Tommy, Arty and Paul knew each other since they were kids, and Arty used to amaze his friends in grade school when he brought in his guitar and played tunes like “Secret Agent Man” for them. Paul met Gary in the mid-’70s, when both worked at Gerber Music, a local music store.

   Paul was the catalyst for the Flashcubes’ formation. Paul visited England and returned to Syracuse abuzz with the sounds of the early British punk scene, and groups like the Sex Pistols, the Clash, the Jam and Eddie and the Hot Rods. Arty was a fan of New York City bands like Television, and Gary and Tommy were passionate devotees of the melodic rock ‘n’ roll that would later be called power pop: Big Star, Badfinger, the Dwight Twilley Band and, most especially, the Raspberries. All four of them loved the energetic rock ‘n’ roll of the mid-’60s British Invasion.

   All of these influences were combined in the Flashcubes’ sound. Although the early Flashcubes were certainly brash, irreverent, rude and trendily punk, they were never simply a nihilistic punk band. Sure, they covered the Sex Pistols and sang songs about needing glue more than needing you, baby baby baby, but there was always something more going on. This was both a part of their appeal and their commercial Achilles’ heel, as they were considered too pop to be punk, but too punk to be pop.

   They were, in fact, too punk for Syracuse by some estimates. Many people flat-out “hated” the Flashcubes–hated their music, hated their image, everything. Their early press was, at best, condescending, and many club owners and booking agents would have nothing to do with them. To some, the Flashcubes were a joke. But this joke laughed back, “sneered” back.

   Alongside the spirited covers (of the Jam, Television, the Raspberries, the Knickerbockers, the New York Dolls, the Kinks, the Who, Big Star, Badfinger, the Hollies, Eddie and the Hot Rods, the Yardbirds, even Shaun Cassidy), the ’Cubes played more and more of their own original songs. At first, many of these songs were simple proto-punk ditties like “I Need Glue”, but the songwriting matured quickly. “Power pop” was their label of choice, and the Flashcubes wore that label as proudly as one would wear a heart on one’s sleeve.

   Paul, Arty and Gary were all prolific writers; Tommy never wrote for the ’Cubes (though he did have the others convinced for a short time that he’d written “Tonite Is A Wonderful Time”, which he’d actually swiped from an April Wine LP). Paul specialized in angry, aggressive punk tunes like “Damaged Beyond Repair”, “Student Rape” and “Got No Mind”, but he also tried his hand at a more pop style with “Misunderstanding” and “Radio”, the latter co-written with Gary. Arty’s songs ran the gamut from the ultra-pop of “Christi Girl” to the alienation of “I Don’t Want To Be A Human Being”. Gary’s forte was pure pop; he could write a memorable pop song better than anyone this side of Eric Carmen.

   This mix of styles suited Flashcubes fans just fine. The fan base grew, as did the number of bands catering to those fans. Buddy Love and guitarist Charlie Robbins (who had been in Fieldstone with Gary) formed their own group, Buddy Love and the Tearjerkers; a much later edition of the Tearjerkers was fronted by Tom Kenney, now a stand-up comic and film and TV star. (Buddy Love, incidentally, is now an English professor at California State, and a published author and poet under the name B.D. Love.)
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