Dave Ahl of the “Sub-Commandos” sings “She” by the Monkees at the Jay’s Longhorn Reunion at First Avenue on May 16, 2015.
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The first time I sang onstage was with the Hypstrz on Halloween night, October 31, 1977, at the Burnsville Bowl. I was dressed as “Dr. X,” a masked professional wrestler who I grew up loving and hating, as did my friends in the Hypstrz, Billy and Ernie Batson.
Yipes! was a rock/power pop combo from Milwaukee, Wisconsin that used to play 3- or 4-night stands at Jay’s Longhorn during the early days of the club. I loved them! They did cool, rather obscure covers and they wrote wonderfully poppy originals — my favorites being “Out in California,” “Hangin’ Around,” and “East Side Kids.”
I'm The Gun from Mark Engebretson on Vimeo.
Flamingo opened Jay’s Longhorn on June 1, 1977. Already veterans, the band started as Prodigy and performed at venues across Minnesota, including the Blitz Bar, which was located across the street from Jay’s Longhorn. “We used to play together in a band called Prodigy and even back then, before Flamingo, we were doing original stuff,” said Robert Wilkinson. “This scene was ready for something new to happen and when everything exploded like out in New York … it all coincided here, too.”