The Reruns - So So Alone

A. So So Alone


B. Since You Gotta Cheat


THE RERUNS (Hamtramck, MI)
So So Alone b/w Since You Gotta Cheat
Spider (SPDR-102), 1978

Ken Kondrat, Al Phife and Dave Uchalik all attended school together at St. Florian High in Hamtramck. While there, Al and Dave formed a band that didn't last long. After graduation they decided to give it another go. Following several line-up changes, Ken joined the ranks and they became the Reruns in August 1977.

They went on to share bills with heavy drawers like the Romantics and Mutants. In 1978, they released their first single featuring the power pop classic "So So Alone" and a punker called "Since You Gotta Cheat." It was put out on Spider Records, a label that released the first Romantics single shortly before this one. The single was accompanied with a mock TV Guide lyric insert (shown below). Though the record received little distribution, it still managed to sell extremely well locally.

As the Romantics started to receive national success, their managers (who also ran the Spider label) were out of town more and more. So when it came time to put out another record, the band went with FTM, which was run by their friends in the Mutants. "Bored To Death" is a solid pop tune while the flip, "She Hates Me Now," is in a class that stands right up there with anything the Romantics ever did. Unfortunately, major labels never took notice.

Ken, Al and Dave still play together to this day. They have a parody/cover band called the Polish Muslims as well as an original band called the Earworms who still perform "So So Alone" and "Since You Gotta Cheat."