Jokers Wild

Jokers Wild emerged from Minneapolis as a group whose style bridged garage rock, psychedelia, and hard rock across their active years. Their first release, the 1967 single “All I See Is You” backed with “I Just Can’t Explain It,” fused raw garage urgency with psychedelic touches supplied by electric piano and, on the A-side, a slide whistle. Later sessions showed greater instrumental reach and a deeper psychedelic focus, selections of which surfaced on the 2013 anthology Liquid Giraffe. An even wider survey of their catalog, encompassing previously unheard tracks, arrived with 2024’s Step Outside Your Mind.

The band’s roots trace to a local garage outfit called the Aardvarks that had already issued a single and built a regional following. Vocalist Dave Wagner, also known as Dave Waggoner, and guitarist Gene Balabon departed that group to form a new one. Recruiting Dave Middlemist on keyboards, Denny Johnson on bass, and Pete Huber on drums, they briefly operated as the Gremmies before settling on the name Jokers Wild and working the Twin Cities teen circuit. Balabon soon exited; Bill Jordan assumed lead guitar duties. In 1967 manager and booking agent David Anthony arranged a personnel overhaul that sent Wagner and Middlemist into a fresh project, South 40, alongside three former members of the Rave-Ons. Lonnie Knight, previously of the Castaways—famous for “Liar Liar”—and the Rave-Ons, joined on lead guitar and vocals, while Greg Springer took the keyboard chair.

That same year Jokers Wild recorded their debut single for Metrobeat Records, the same label that simultaneously released a 45 by South 40. Additional material intended for a follow-up single remained unreleased. Jordan left shortly afterward, replaced by Dale Strength, formerly of the City Strangers; Strength’s tenure proved brief, and Danny Kane stepped in. Months later Kane and Springer departed, leaving Jokers Wild as a power trio of Knight, Johnson, and Huber, though keyboardists continued to appear intermittently.

Peak Records issued the 1968 single “Because I’m Free” b/w “Sunshine,” which displayed a harder psychedelic edge and greater space for Knight’s lead guitar. Huber upgraded to a double-bass-drum kit whose heads were painted with artwork, while Johnson and Knight acquired large amplifier stacks that helped establish the band as one of the Twin Cities’ loudest and most visually striking acts. One notable night found the trio and their manager at a Blue Cheer show; when the headliners failed to appear, the manager offered Jokers Wild as substitutes, and much of the crowd never realized they were not witnessing the “Summertime Blues” hitmakers. Their momentum ended abruptly when equipment was stolen from their rehearsal club and replacement funds proved unavailable. A New York producer expressed interest and supervised a full album recorded live in the studio, yet the arrangement collapsed and most tapes disappeared. The manager later financed sessions for another album; after seven tracks were completed, financial pressures and relentless touring halted the project.

Two songs from those abandoned sessions, “Peace Man” and “Tomorrow,” appeared as a 1969 Peak single. Before year’s end Huber exited for health reasons. With the loss of a founding member, Knight and Johnson concluded that Jokers Wild had run its course. Adding drummer Bill Gent, they resurfaced as Flash Tuesday in January 1970, only to disband by April. Knight subsequently played with the Litter before launching a solo folk-rock career, while Johnson continued performing with various Minneapolis groups. Wagner became lead singer for the blues-rock band Crow, whose 1969 single “Evil Woman” reached the Top 20. In 2013 the German label Shadoks Music released Liquid Giraffe, gathering rare and unreleased power-trio recordings that included the seven tracks from the unfinished 1969 album. Another overview, Step Outside Your Mind, followed in 2024 and chronicled material from across the band’s entire history.