(from left to right Dave, George, Kenny and Al)
The city of Hamtramck was recently voted (in the May 2003) issue of Blender magazine as one of the top rock & roll cities in the country. This honor was well deserved, due both to the long history of rock & roll in Hamtramck as well as the many live music clubs that this tiny city has managed to support over the years. Everybody is familiar with the long and proud history of Lili’s and the success of the Romantics, but the whole point of this exercise is to finally bring the spotlight of the current Detroit rock renaissance on the Reruns!
The Reruns were part of the original wave of bands that spearheaded that influential early Detroit “punk scene” in the late 1970s. The true story of this exciting era in music is yet to be written, but places like Lili’s & Paycheck’s in Hamtramck, Bookie’s & the Red Carpet in Detroit were soon hopping to the sounds of a whole new generation of bands, whose influence extended far beyond those tiny little clubs. The Reruns were an important part of this early scene and more importantly, their music is just “too damn” good to be forgotten.
The Reruns were a band from Hamtramck and they never let anybody forget that. Their overriding characteristic was a sense of humor that managed to permeate everything they ever did. An short interview in White Noise from 1979 managed to cover the all of the following topics: the closing of the Dodge Main plant in Hamtramck, a stabbing at a recent show, movie host Bill Kennedy and the goofy last names that the Reruns use to protect their real identity. The Reruns musical legacy was fairly brief: a couple of singles that are now virtually impossible to find and one song that was included on the “Detroit on a Platter” compilation, which is slightly less than impossible to find. In keeping with the Reruns tradition, “So So Alone” managed to get included on a couple of compilations without anybody realizing it.
The Reruns music was pigeonholed as being “power pop” and it got lost in the shuffle with all of the punk music being put out during that time. However, a listen to the Reruns today goes a long way toward dispelling that misconception. The Reruns sound just as vital today as they did back at Lili’s.
Actually, the Reruns just didn’t vanish off the face of the earth after 1981. After the Reruns broke up, Dave, Al and Kenny their aliases and formed the Polish Muslims, whose brand of humor and music has been entertaining fans to this very day. Since we all love happy endings - I can only end this with a scene from the Hamtramck Labor Day Festival of 2003. Early in the evening I strolled along Joseph Campau and headed over to the stage to see a band with an unlikely name as the “Earworms”. Dave Uchalik, Kenny Kondrat and Al Phife have returned with a new band playing all original material. They hadn’t reformed the Reruns, but their great show finished up with a rousing version of “So So Alone".
Discography
· “Since You Gotta Cheat” / “So So Alone”, Spider Records,1978.
· “Bored To Tears” / “She Hates Me Now”, FTM Records, 1980
· “Dial My Number” included on Detroit on a Platter, Automotive Records, 1981
Notes
"So So Alone" was also included on the 1997 vinyl compilation Screaming Fists, Vol.1 from France as well as the CD compilation called "Shake Some Action, vol. 2".
Lineup
Dave Bodine: Lead Guitar& Vocals
Al Phife: Bass Guitar
Kenny Haskell: Rhythm Guitar & Vocals
George Ricardo: Drums
Listen to the Reruns
(Thanks to Heidi for the Reruns photos)