Oar Folkjokeopus was a Minneapolis record store

Record shop

A record shop or record store is an outlet that sells recorded music. Although vinyl records and audio cassettes are no longer sold in the majority of music stores, in favour of compact discs and home video recordings products, people in some countries, like the UK, still use the term "record...

 that operated on the corner of Lyndale and 26th from 1973 until 2001. The store was considered one of the staples of the Minneapolis rock scene in the 1980s, along with Jay's Longhorn Bar

Jay's Longhorn Bar

Jay's Longhorn Bar, most frequently referred to by patrons as The Longhorn has arguably been considered what constituted the nexus of the...

, and became a popular hub for musicians in the Twin Cities and the Midwest. The store was essentially the only place in Minneapolis that sold punk rock

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 records in the 1970s and early 1980s, which made it a popular hangout for members of local bands such as Hüsker Dü

Hüsker Dü

Hüsker Dü was an American rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer Grant Hart....

, The Replacements, the Suicide Commandos, Soul Asylum

Soul Asylum

Soul Asylum is an American alternative rock band that formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1983.The band originally formed in 1981 under the name Loud Fast Rules, with the original line-up consisting of Dan Murphy, Dave Pirner, Karl Mueller and Pat Morley. The latter was replaced by Grant Young in...

 and many more.

Martin Keller, writer for the Minneapolis City Pages

City Pages

City Pages is an alternative weekly newspaper serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. It features news, film, theatre and restaurant reviews, and music criticism. It is printed in a tabloid format, and is available free every Wednesday...

, said about Oar Folk: "A lot of people trace the whole rock scene (in the Twin Cities) to Oar Folk. I was living six blocks away at the time, and you'd always run into [Peter] Jesperson there because he worked the counter most days. [Bob] Mould was in and out on a regular basis. It was a real nice hangout." Lori Barbero

Lori Barbero

Lori Barbero was the drummer for the Minneapolis-based band Babes in Toyland. She subsequently played drums for the bands Eggtwist and Koalas....

, drummer for Babes in Toyland

Babes in Toyland (band)

Babes in Toyland was an American alternative rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1987. The band was formed by Oregon native Kat Bjelland , with Lori Barbero and Michelle Leon , who was later replaced by Maureen Herman in 1992...

 said concerning the store: "I have about 8,000 records, and I bought 7,000 of them at Oar Folk." Grant Hart

Grant Hart

Grant Hart is an American musician, best known as the drummer and co-songwriter for the influential alternative rock and hardcore punk band Hüsker Dü. After the band's breakup in 1987, Hart formed the alternative rock trio Nova Mob, where he moved to vocals and guitar...

 of Hüsker Dü

Hüsker Dü

Hüsker Dü was an American rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer Grant Hart....

 was not so fond of the store: "Oar Folk had a real snobbish attitude. It was a place to be condescended to."

History

Vern Sanden purchased what was then North Country Music in 1973 and renamed it "Oar Folkjokeopus" (the name was based on the solo album Oar

Oar (Skip Spence album)

Oar is a 1969 album by the late Skip Spence. It is Spence's only solo album, recorded over seven days in Nashville, on which Spence plays all of the instruments.- History :...

by Alexander "Skip" Spence

Skip Spence

Alexander Lee "Skip" Spence was a Canadian-born musician and singer-songwriter. He was co-founder of Moby Grape, and played guitar with them until 1969. He released one solo album, 1969's Oar, and then largely withdrew from the music industry...

, a founding member of Jefferson Airplane

Jefferson Airplane

Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....

 and Moby Grape

Moby Grape

Moby Grape is an American rock group from the 1960s, known for having all five members contribute to singing and songwriting and that collectively merged elements of folk music, blues, country, and jazz together with rock and psychedelic music...

 and an album by British folk musician Roy Harper

Roy Harper

Roy Harper is an English folk / rock singer-songwriter and guitarist who has been a professional musician since the mid 1960s...

, Folkjokeopus

Folkjokeopus

Folkjokeopus is the third album issued by English folk / rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Roy Harper. It was produced by Shel Talmy and was first released in 1969 by Liberty Records.-History:...

). Peter Jesperson managed the store from 1974 until 1984. Jesperson co-founded Twin/Tone Records

Twin/Tone Records

Twin/Tone Records was a record label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that operated from 1977 until 1994 and helped several local groups receive national attention. The label was born from the Minneapolis punk rock music scene, which included venues like Jay's Longhorn Bar. The label was begun by...

 during this time and the store as well as the label thrived due in large part to each other. Between Twin/Tone, local venue The Longhorn and Oar Folk, this trifecta largely fueled the punk and rock scene in Minneapolis during that era. Bands such as The Replacements, the Suburbs

The Suburbs

The Suburbs were an alternative punk rock/funk/new wave band from Minneapolis, Minnesota popular in the late 1970s through the 1980s. The band frequently headlined at Minneapolis's most influential music clubs including Jay's Longhorn Bar and First Avenue....

, Flamin' Oh's, Hüsker Dü

Hüsker Dü

Hüsker Dü was an American rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer Grant Hart....

, Soul Asylum

Soul Asylum

Soul Asylum is an American alternative rock band that formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1983.The band originally formed in 1981 under the name Loud Fast Rules, with the original line-up consisting of Dan Murphy, Dave Pirner, Karl Mueller and Pat Morley. The latter was replaced by Grant Young in...

, Jayhawks

Jayhawks (band)

The Jayhawks are an American alternative country and rock band that emerged from the Twin Cities music scene during the mid 1980s. Their country rock sound was influential on many bands who played the Twin Cities circuit during the 80s and 90s like Uncle Tupelo, The Gear Daddies and The Honeydogs...

, and Curtiss A

Curtiss A

Curtiss A, the Godfather to the Minneapolis rock scene, is both a musician and a visual artist. One of the original artists on the Twin Tone label, he performs one of the most popular shows in the Twin Cities, an annual tribute to John Lennon held at First Avenue.Curtiss formed Wire, his first Twin...

all maintained links between the three.

In 1984, a fire completely gutted out Oar Folk, and all of its staff left. Vern Sanden reopened the record store with the help of Mark Trehus, who ran his own indie record label, Treehouse Records.

It was shortly after the fire that Terry Katzman and Jim Peterson opened their own store Garage D'or.

Treehouse Records

After Oar Folkjokeopus closed in April, 2001, Mark Trehus opened a store at the same site known as Treehouse Records. Much of the store's original character remains. Treehouse specializes in having a large amount of vinyl LPs, vinyl 45s, and both new and used CDs.