Best Old Bands Volume I: Flamin' Oh's

The first in a series on Twin Cities music's most lasting artists and architects.

The Flamin’ Oh’s going on Five-Oh: L-R Terry Isachsen, Bob Burns, Ben Kaplan, Robert Wilkinson, Jenny Case.

GRIT AND GRACE

Though he’s now viewed as a local rock modfather, Flamingo/Flamin' Oh’s frontman Robert Wilkinson is sounding and feeling better than ever in his 55-year career.

By Jim Meyer, December 6, 2024

It’s a steep stairway to the Whittier apartment of longtime band leader Robert Wilkinson. At the top lies a stack of Ampex reel-to-reel tape boxes that one assumes contain multi-tracks of an album project. Could they possibly be some musical lost treasure ripe for reissue?

Not exactly.

They’re the ashes of an abandoned 1983 album project by Wilkinson’s band Flamin’ Oh’s. Producers in Florida wanted to bring in song doctors and different players from the Jim Carroll Band for the Oh’s third – and hopefully biggest -- album. But after too much musical meddling, the creative vibes turned sour. Eventually, Wilkinson walked away from both the album sessions and the adjoining record deal, and possibly his and the Oh’s last shot at national fame.

Forty years later, it looks like Wilkinson is home for good, but Minneapolis may be a better place for it, and he’s definitely in a better head space. Even longtime fans who experienced the Oh’s up-tempo explosion onto our scene in the late ‘70s (when they were known as Flamingo) feel the group may have reached another peak of late. The band will demonstrate as much Friday when headlining the Cabooze Bar’s ongoing 50^th Anniversary Grand Re-opening Series.

" The first time I saw Flamingo in 1978 I was instantly drawn, then as now, to Robert’s inextinguishable flame on and off stage,’’ writes veteran music reporter and artist Jim Walsh. ``I love his boundless curiosity about rock ‘n’ roll and spirituality, and that’s always present in his songs. I saw them recently at Mears Park and I think they rip harder and hookier than ever."

That stack of yellowing tape boxes may be an apt metaphor for Wilkinson’s view of his 55-year music career that started just after graduating Osseo High School. There have been bright moments, sad tragedies, star turns and wrong turns. (He regrets not sticking with legendary Twin\Tone Records that launched the Replacements among many others.)

And like those tapes sitting out in open air instead of in a vault, the past is worth keeping, but not overly cherished. These days, he’s much more about the present, and being present. Since giving up an admittedly destructive drinking habit, he’s focused on gratitude more than rock-star attitude.

``Life goes by in a blink of an eye,’’ says the man who’s lost four band members too soon through the years. `` I’m so very lucky and blessed I can still do this at my age. And people still come out so I must be doing something right.’’

The current iteration of his 48-years-old group floored me this summer at a Parkinson’s Foundation Minnesota benefit under the outdoor canopy at Hook and Ladder in Longfellow. I went primarily to check up on dynamo actress/music artist Annie Enneking (Annie and the Bang Bang), then stayed to see if the Oh’s had anything left in the tank. On the contrary, the five-piece group was overflowing with assurance and melodic strength that’s now too rare among younger bands, who often seem more focused on making home recordings than moving a live crowd.

In many ways, Wilkinson and the Oh’s are like a local version of Ringo’s All-Starr Band; Every few years sees the addition of another acclaimed player. Longtime Oh’s keyboardist Bob Burns is a mainstay, but Wilkinson’s good friend Ben Kaplan rejoined last year, always steady on drums. Guitarist Terry Isachsen is in constant demand (Lolo’s Ghost, Gini Dodds and the Dahliahs to name a few). Now on bass, it’s the fresh face of Jenny Case (The Maneaters, ABBAsolutely Fab). She may be better known as the director of She Rock She Rock music school.

``She’s a star in her own right for all she’s done to encourage and empower hundreds of young women at the school’’ Wilkinson extolls. ``But she’s also a great multi-instrumentalist and singer. Sometimes I look around the stage and think `what the fuck, dude?’ I am so grateful to play with these guys.’’

With a lineup full of well-known players and all-around cool people, the Oh’s are easy to root for. But the secret to enduring success is their leader’s dedication to a tight rhythm pocket and unmissable melody and spirit. With a voice that’s soaring without straining, you know a Robert Wilkinson song when you hear it. He could have been a hired frontman for a band in need, but then we might have been deprived his other gift for strong songwriting. Tunes that seem simple on the surface progress through unexpected chord twists, phrasing changes and touching observations, the marks of a music lover who’s listened well to a half-century of enduring pop and rock.

Bookends of Bar Openings: From Jay’s Longhorn to the new Cabooze

Hanging prominently in his cozy apartment is a large, framed photo of Rolling Stones survivor Keith Richards. Like old Keef, Wilkinson’s in fighting shape long past expectations. On June 1, 1977, Flamingo was the first band to play the vaunted Longhorn Bar that’s considered the cradle of the Minneapolis original-music uprising. This week he’ll help rebuild the Cabooze, rising from the literal ashes of nearby unrest fires, the pandemic, and changing tastes around the West Bank.

With an inspiring mix of both true grit and newfound grace, Wilkinson’s enthusiasm still burns bright, but he’s just as eager to pass the torch. You’ll often see him out scouting music friends’ bands, or even relative newcomers, such as this weekend’s featured guest Faith Boblett. ``She was my personal choice to open the show’’ Wilkinson says with awe. `Just a great writer and singer. Self-confident, with great lyrics. Great band. The total package.’

Younger musicians have welcomed him into their world, too. The thrill in Wilkinson’s voice is palpable when he describes playing quieter matinee duos with washboard specialist Mikkel Bee, who just ended a 40-date European tour with rising folk and blues star Charlie Parr.

As our get-together wound down, he turned me onto his current favorite book on mindfulness, Resilient by Rick Hanson, Ph. D. I think Wilkinson could write his own best-selling life guide. . .on the back of a matchbook: `Just don’t be a dick,’ he instructs as I explode with laughter at another of his trademark punchlines about life. ``And don’t overthink it. Be a good person, you know. Leave a good vapor trail.’’

Photo: Jim Meyer

Looking around the apartment, it seems he’s not attached to many possessions other than some cool artwork and a couple guitars and amps, but he has held on to a framed City of Minneapolis ``Robert Wilkinson Day’’ proclamation. He still gets a laugh about it, but the inscriptions shook this crusty old rock critic as I read out the words through watery eyes and a cracking voice.

``Whereas: He plays with a full heart, sweaty hands and a reckless joy that comes from making great rock ‘n’ roll…He never wants to blow his own horn, but he’s always ready to shake hands or show support for any fan or co-musician. He proves that nice guys can finish first.’

Signed Mayor Betsy Hodges, Sept. 24, 2016, near the band’s 40^th anniversary comeback. Though it was a special day, Wilkinson takes them one day at time now, starting each morning with a simple serenity drill including meditation and prayer, giving much thanks, and asking protection for loved ones, foremost his two sparkling daughters. Wilkinson says, `Who do I pray to? Whoever’s listening. For people who might struggle with prayer, just think of it as singing a little song to the universe. I do believe in higher powers. Music is one of them. Connecting with the audience, with other people, is another.’’

I don’t have a daybreak ritual, myself, but I say a little prayer for Robert Wilkinson and his many friends that they all make it to the Flamin’ Oh’s big Five-Oh.

--30--

The Flamin’ Oh’s with Faith Boblett, Friday, December 6, Cabooze Bar, Doors 7:30, Music 8:15, 917 Cedar Ave., $18 advance online, $25 day of show. Also, Robert Wilkinson Residency with Mikkel Bee, Sunday, December 15, 3-5 pm, 331 Club, 331 13^th Avenue NE. (Also February 16 and April 20.)

www.flaminohs.com

Minneapolis native Jim Meyer was a music reporter at City Pages, Star Tribune, and Sam Goody/Best Buy a century ago. He’s a willing patron of the arts but won’t turn down gig invites, free demos or story ideas at meyerforhire@yahoo.com.

For more history of the early Minneapolis new wave, see Twin\Tone Records co-founder Peter Jesperson’s 2024 memoir Euphoric Recall (Minnesota Historical Society Press) and the 2019 documentary Jay’s Longhorn: Let’s Make a Scene by Mark Engebretson (Silverteens). About | Jay's Longhorn