The Modulators

The Modulators were a New Jersey-based power pop band and local legends in the ’80s, and in time developed a passionate following among pop obsessives despite never catching the brass ring nationwide. The group was founded by Joe Riccardello, a music buff with a taste for the Beatles, the Byrds, and the newer pop sounds that emerged as the new wave began to spread. Riccardello struck up a friendship with Rob Roth, who owned a record store in Irvington, New Jersey called Vintage Vinyl. Riccardello landed a job at the shop, and before long he and Roth began writing songs. In 1980, the pair decided to commit two of their tunes to vinyl; Riccardello handled all the instruments and vocals, and using the group name the Modulators, they released a 45, “Girl Trouble” b/w “Amplitude Modulation,” which Roth released on his newly formed Vintage Vinyl label. With the single as a calling card, Riccardello turned the Modulators into a proper band, with Riccardello on bass, Mark Higgins and Jim Gordon on guitars, and Fran Barbone on drums. The Modulators began playing out, and soon found a home at the Dirt Club in Bloomfield, New Jersey, where they became a frequent attraction. Before long, Barbone and Gordon left the band; Ron Cassel became their new drummer, and Gene O’Brian took over as bassist while Riccardello switched to guitar. Cassel and O’Brian didn’t last long with the Modulators, and when the band was asked to contribute a song to a Dirt Club-organized compilation album, Riccardello and Higgins had to record the track as a makeshift two-piece. With the addition of drummer Mark Westlake, who joined Higgins on guitar and Riccardello on bass, the Modulators finally had a stable lineup, and they gigged steadily in New Jersey and New York. In 1982, they dropped their second single, “She’s So Cynical” b/w “Dream Girls.” When an A&R representative from A&M Records approached the Modulators, they began writing and demoing material in hopes of moving up to a major-label. The A&M deal fell through, but the new music found a home on the Modulators’ first full-length album, Tomorrow's Coming, which was released by Vintage Vinyl in 1984. The album earned college radio airplay and strong local reviews, and the band expanded to a four-piece with the addition of Jim Brennan, who handled bass and vocals allowing Riccardello to return to guitar. A low-budget video for “Spin Me Around,” full of period video effects, also made the rounds on local TV. The band continued playing East Coast clubs before quietly fading out by the end of the ’80s. In 2009, the Modulators reunited to play the International Pop Overthrow Festival in New York; their set was well-received, and they appeared at 2010 and 2011 IPO events. In 2015, the Modulators returned to the studio to cut their long-awaited second album, Try Try Try, which was released by Kool Kat Music. In 2017, Manufactured Recordings reissued the long out of print Tomorrow's Coming in an expanded edition with 19 bonus tracks. ~ Mark Deming