The Wallets were a band from the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...

, who recorded on the local

Twin/Tone Records Twin/Tone Records was an independent record label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which operated from 1977 until 1994. It was the original home of influential Minnesota bands the Replacements and Soul Asylum and was instrumental in helping the T ...

label in the 1980s.

History

The Wallets were founded as an experimental group by accordionist Steve Kramer and managed by Bob Hest.Baenen, Jeff (1997)
Ex-band mates finf success in ad world
, ''

Reading Eagle The ''Reading Eagle'' is the major daily newspaper in Reading, Pennsylvania. A family-owned newspaper until the spring of 2019, its reported circulation is 37,000 (daily) and 50,000 (Sundays). It serves the Reading and Berks County region of Pe ...

'', December 26, 1997, retrieved 2010-08-25 The

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descri ...

-produced debut album ''

Take It "Take It" is a song by Australian house music producer Dom Dolla. It was released in July 2018. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2019, the song was nominated for ARIA Award for Best Dance Release. At the APRA Music Awards of 2020, the song was nom ...

'' was released in 1986, described by ''

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'' as urban soul and funk with "a Cajun smell to their work". The album saw the band described as "art rockers who not only want to groove but know how to groove"."The Wallets Put Art Rock in the Pocket", ''

San Jose Mercury News ''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidiar ...

'', November 16, 1986 Kramer decided to retire the band in spring 1988, but waited until their final album, ''Body Talk'', was released late in the fall before announcing the split."It's official: Wallets will fold as newest album is released", ''

Star-Tribune The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...

'', November 4, 1988 The Wallets performed their final show at the

Guthrie Theatre The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept of the theater was born in 1959 in a series of discussions between Sir Tyrone Gut ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

on January 23, 1989. Kramer and Hest later formed an advertising agency, currently known as Hest & Kramer, Van House Weber, noted for its use of music in television ads for clients such as

Target Stores Target Corporation (doing business as Target and stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American big box department store chain headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the seventh largest retailer in the United States, and a compon ...

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

, and

Buick Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...

.Bream, Jon (1997) "Ex-Wallets finally get musical payoff - off the stage", ''

'', August 24, 1997Baenen, Jeff (1998) "The Beat Goes On--to TV Jingles; Advertising: Two rock band graduates make their past pay off in music for commercials", ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', February 12, 1988 Kramer died in January 2013 at age 59.

Musical style

The Minneapolis

Star Tribune The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...

summed the band's style up as a "mix of polka, rock, rhythm-and-blues, jazz and whimsy"."Going-out-of-business party", ''

'', December 29, 1988

Awards

The band received several Minnesota Music Awards ("Minnies"), with ten nominations in 1987."Nominees announced for state music awards", ''

'', April 2, 1987

Discography

Albums

* ''Take It'' (1986),

Twin/Tone Twin/Tone Records was an independent record label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which operated from 1977 until 1994. It was the original home of influential Minnesota bands the Replacements and Soul Asylum and was instrumental in helping the T ...

* ''Body Talk'' (1988), Twin/Tone * ''17 Songs'' (1989), Twin/Tone

EPs

* ''Catch a Falling Star'' (1983), Spiffola 333

Singles

* "Night Before Christmas" (1983) * "Totally Nude" (1986)

References

External links

Twin Tone Records

Hest & Kramer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallets American experimental musical groups Musical groups from Minnesota