BIG STIR RECORDS and THE FLASHCUBES announce the next in a series of collaborative singles bringing the Syracuse power pop titans together with equally legendary peers for new versions of the songs the band (and their fans) love like their own. This time it's North Carolina heroes THE SPONGETONES on board as both Power Pop Hall Of Fame-enshrined

BIG STIR RECORDS and THE FLASHCUBES announce the next in a series of collaborative singles bringing the Syracuse power pop titans together with equally legendary peers for new versions of the songs the band (and their fans) love like their own. This time it's North Carolina heroes THE SPONGETONES on board as both Power Pop Hall Of Fame-enshrined bands tear through a new version of The Spongetones' “Have You Ever Been Torn Apart?” with glorious results. It's out and streaming everywhere on Friday, May 27 and up for pre-order at www.bigstirrecords.bandcamp.com now.

The current run of singles from THE FLASHCUBES – still going strong in their 1977 vintage lineup of guitarists Paul Armstrong and Arty Lenin, bassist Gary Frenay and drummer Tommy Allen – has been a power pop fan's dream. Having already covered Dwight Twilley, Pezband (with the group's Mimi Betinis on board) and Shoes (featuring the band's entire classic lineup), bringing The Spongetones into the fold for a run at their 1984 classic was a natural. Flashcubes drummer Tommy Allen explains:

“We've been fans of The Spongetones forever. In fact, when I was the entertainment booker at the China Club in NYC, one of the first things i did was book them! Our friend Pat Pierson memorialized the evening by taking a photo of all four of us in The Flashcubes staring at the stage while The Spongetones blew us all away! Years later at a gig in LA, we had learned 'Have You Ever Been Torn Apart' for our set, but as the night was running late our slot was shortened and we never got to it! Needless to say the song and the band have been near and dear to us for decades! When I began to record our version of this Beatles-inspired song, I asked my friend Frank Agnello (of The Fab Faux) to help out with the authentic Merseybeat sound, and Randy Klawon (from The Choir) helped to get the whole thing started. In the process of recording, I reached out to The Spongetones' Jamie Hoover and asked if he'd like to join us on it, and suggested to him that we'd like the band's Steve Stoeckel and Pat Walters as well, and much to our delight, they all said yes!”

Stoeckel – just off a new release from his project Pop Co-Op and working on a solo album for Big Stir at this very moment – picks up the story: “When Tommy called and asked us to be a part of this, we of course jumped at the chance. Having shared the stage with these guys and then sharing a song? Well, of course! We were honored, pleased, chuffed even! When you hear all of us on this, you'll be able to tell: It. Was. Fun.” The Spongetones, who celebrated their 40th Anniversary onstage at The McGlohon Theatre in Charlotte NC last year, would also like to dedicate their participation to their longtime drummer Chris Garges, who passed away earlier this year after a battle with cancer.

The music goes on, for The Spongetones and their members, and most assuredly for The Flashcubes as their extraordinarily popular series of singles continues on Big Stir Records. Far more than covers or tributes, these new versions of the classics are a window into the too-often-overlooked power pop renaissance that gave birth the The Flashcubes, The Spongetones, and all the bands who've been included, with more yet to come. Look through that window and you'll find not only proof that these songs stand the test of time, you'll see a veritable party: The Flashcubes have invited their friends over to play, and with friends like these, the music is guaranteed to be phenomenal. Enjoy “Torn Apart”, and stand by for much, much more!

The Flashcubes are: Tommy Allen: drums/percussion/vocals Paul Armstrong: guitars Gary Frenay: bass/vocals Arty Lenin: guitars/vocals

The Spongetones are: Jamie Hoover: guitar/vocals Steve Stoeckel: vocals Pat Walters: vocals

Additional guitars: Randy Klawon Frank Agnello

New York State power pop legends THE FLASHCUBES continue their exciting string of Big Stir Records singles paying tribute to – and featuring guest performances from – their contemporaries from the halcyon days of the guitar pop revolution, this time uniting with the full classic lineup of SHOES on one of the pioneering band's most beloved tunes. “

New York State power pop legends THE FLASHCUBES continue their exciting string of Big Stir Records singles paying tribute to – and featuring guest performances from – their contemporaries from the halcyon days of the guitar pop revolution, this time uniting with the full classic lineup of SHOES on one of the pioneering band's most beloved tunes. “Tommorrow Night” – out March 18 worldwide but exclusively available now at www.bigstirrecords.bandcamp.com – sees the same 'Cubes lineup that first hit Syracuse stages in 1977, joined by the prime movers of Shoes since their debut album Black Vinyl Shoes the same year. Fans of both bands won't want to miss this one.

It's a meeting of power pop royalty, and part of an ongoing series of peer-to-peer collaboration singles from The Flashcubes that shows no sign of stopping. Displaying the creative drive of a band less than half their age and a community spirit that we at Big Stir simply adore, The 'Cubes started down this road last year with a cover of Pezband's “Baby It's Cold Outside” featuring the band's Mimi Betinis. They've since paid tribute to pop titans throughout the decades by issuing ace covers of classics from Dwight Twilley and The Posies, and more and more of the original artists are signing up to participate in the ongoing series.

“Since we began recording some of our favorite songs, and really since Mimi said yes to our invitation to join us for the Pezband cover, we've been asking the original artists to participate,” explains Flashcubes drummer/producer Tommy Allen. “While Dwight Twilley declined to play, he did correct us on some lyrics, and his full-throated endorsement was the cherry on top! When we were halfway through Shoes' 'Tomorrow Night', I reached out to founding member Jeff Murphy, and he was eager to have the opportunity to sing and play on his classic tune.”

By the time of the final mix of the tune – an underground pop standard from Shoes' 1979 masterpiece Present Tense whose chorus sports one of the most indelible riffs of the genre (or any other) – it featured all three essential founding members of the band, joining the seminal Flashcubes lineup of guitarists Paul Armstrong and Arty Lenin, bassist Gary Frenay and drummer Tommy Allen. Jeff Murphy takes the lead vocal on the second verse and tackles the fiery guitar solo, while he and co-founders John Murphy and Gary Klebe all contribute the instantly recognizable Shoes harmonies over the 'Cubes' tight new instrumental rendition, faithful in spirit but with enough new twists to make it their own.

In an age where every single seems to require an endless list of “featured” artists, here's a real rarity: a track from one band featuring another band! That would be unique enough in itself, but when the bands in question are as rightly revered as THE FLASHCUBES and SHOES, and the song is a treasure as finely crafted as “Tomorrow Night”, the results are inevitably one for the ages, and the airwaves. The only question is which legends might pop up on the next single in the series as THE FLASHCUBES continue their journey through the past, serving up some of the best music of today. Only time will tell, and we can't wait to find out!

THE FLASHCUBES are back! Once again the power pop legends are paying tribute to another titan of the form, and this time it's DWIGHT TWILLEY! After a few months of being discretely previewed on the airwaves by top tier broadcasters like THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO with Dana and Carl and THE MUSIC AUTHORITY with Jim Prell, the new track from the

THE FLASHCUBES are back! Once again the power pop legends are paying tribute to another titan of the form, and this time it's DWIGHT TWILLEY! After a few months of being discretely previewed on the airwaves by top tier broadcasters like THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO with Dana and Carl and THE MUSIC AUTHORITY with Jim Prell, the new track from the long-running Syracuse band – a thrilling cover of Twilley's classic “Alone In My Room” – is seeing official release via Big Stir Records. Under the title The Flashcubes Do Twilley, the new single is out this Friday, January 14. It's up for pre-order now at www.bigstirrecords.bandcamp.com and will be streaming everywhere worldwide on release day.

THE FLASHCUBES are as venerable and vibrant as they come, bursting out of Syracuse, NY in 1977 with the same lineup they have today – guitarists Paul Armstrong and Arty Lenin, bassist Gary Frenay and drummer Tommy Allen. During their initial lifespan of 1977-1980, the Flashcubes released only two singles, "Christi Girl" and "Wait Til Next Week," on their own Northside Records label. They always seemed on the brink of bigger things - everyone who knew them just presumed The Flashcubes would become stars. And while those big things never materialized, their legend only grew, so that by the time the band reunited in the '90s, as powerful and poppy as ever, they were recognized as the heroes they'd always been. They haven't looked back since, with a string of acclaimed albums and a reputation as a world-class live act to their credit and no end in sight.

Along with being a cutting edge power pop band, The Flashcubes are, and have always been, massive music fans and record collectors. Card-carrying members of the Power Pop Hall Of Fame, the 'Cubes are on a roll of paying tribute to others who bear the same honor. Fresh off the success of their last such project – a hit cover of Pezband's “Baby It's Cold Outside” featuring that band's Mimi Betinis – our heroes felt that a tribute to Twilley was the next natural move, and what they've done with “Alone In My Room” proves them resoundingly right. It bears Dwight's own stamp of approval, and the success of its early preview run makes Big Stir Records confident it'll win yours as well.

For more on THE FLASHCUBES, stay tuned to Big Stir Records for new release news, and follow the band at their Facebook page www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100047014851326 and around the global airwaves!

We at BIG STIR RECORDS are thrilled to cap a star-studded week with another surprise release: our first single from Power Pop Hall of Famers THE FLASHCUBES. Sweeter still, it's a landmark collaboration with MIMI BETINIS of fellow PPHOF inductees PEZBAND, on a loving and boisterous cover of that band's “Baby It's Cold Outside”. The new single is

We at BIG STIR RECORDS are thrilled to cap a star-studded week with another surprise release: our first single from Power Pop Hall of Famers THE FLASHCUBES. Sweeter still, it's a landmark collaboration with MIMI BETINIS of fellow PPHOF inductees PEZBAND, on a loving and boisterous cover of that band's “Baby It's Cold Outside”. The new single is officially out July 30, but it's up for preorder at www.bigstirrecords.bandcamp.com now following a surprise premiere on the July 18 edition of This Is Rock 'N' Roll Radio with Carl Cafarelli and Dana Bonn, part of an amazing run for BSR that included a single from Steve Stoeckel of The Spongetones (yep, another Hall of Famer) and the announcement of a new album from NY guitar-pop heroes Sorrows. With THE FLASHCUBES and MIMI BETINIS leading the charge, it's almost like the heyday of hooks, harmonies, and pop that goes crunch is starting all over again.

THE FLASHCUBES are as venerable and vibrant as they come, bursting out of Syracuse, NY in 1977 with the same lineup they have today – guitarists Paul Armstrong and Arty Lenin, bassist Gary Frenay and drummer Tommy Allen. During their initial lifespan of 1977-1980, the Flashcubes released only two singles, "Christi Girl" and "Wait Til Next Week," on their own Northside Records label. They always seemed on the brink of bigger things - everyone who knew them just presumed The Flashcubes would become stars. And while those big things never materialized, their legend only grew, so that by the time the band reunited in the '90s, as powerful and poppy as ever, they were recognized as the heroes they'd always been. They haven't looked back since, with a string of acclaimed albums and a reputation as a world-class live act to their credit and no end in sight.

Along with being a cutting edge power pop band, The Flashcubes are, and have always been, massive music fans and record collectors. When Cubes’ drummer/producer Tommy Allen suggested they cover The Pezband’s “Baby It’s Cold Outside” (a record they all had in their personal collections), the rest of the band jumped at the idea. For two bands who both started in the late-70’s and were inducted into the Power Pop Hall of Fame in the same class of 2019, it was a perfect match! And the cherry on top, was the participation (guitar AND vocals) of Pezband founder - and the song’s co-writer - Mimi Betinis. While the original single was a classic, The Cubes have put their own spin on it with this newly-recorded version. The Flashcubes and the Pezband; together for the first time! It's an auspicious occasion indeed and, with a little luck, not the last we'll hear from this magic combination. Big Stir couldn't be happier – or more grateful to the band (and Carl and Dana) – for letting us be a part of it.