R.I.P. Michael "Miko" Fleming
Word started filtering down about the passing of Miko Fleming yesterday afternoon, and I came home to an e-mail from Thomas Crone -- who confirmed it and sent me to a blog entry over at Rock Candy which states that he had passed away.
Crone pointed me to a photo of Fleming by Bob Reuter, which I think is poignant:
The blog post says:
Black Thorn Pub bartender and manager Michael “Miko” Fleming was found dead at the pub (Wednesday) morning, according to several sources. He was in his early 30s and a resident of the Tower Grove South neighborhood, according to Black Thorn owner Dave Difani.
Fleming was a mainstay at music venues, many in the Tower Grove Park area, supporting various bands. He was known for his vintage style of dress and dedication to the local music scene. He “sang karaoke enthusiastically,” according to one friend, but was not otherwise a musician.
Our condolences to Fleming's family and friends.
21 comment(s) / Post a Comment
Sad. Never knew the guy, but RIP.
Lest we forget another buddy of ours from STL who met a similar end, Mike Blake:
Posted On: Thursday, May. 15 2008 @ 7:55AMVery, very sad. Miko was an old acquaintance of ours back when my wife was a waitress at Mangia (we even played softball together). He was a really nice guy and the south side won't be the same without him. Our thoughts are with his family and friends today. Rest in peace, brother.
Posted On: Thursday, May. 15 2008 @ 9:01AMDamn, that's awful. Very sad news. Miko was a hell of a nice guy and a genuine south side character. He'll be remembered happily for a long, long time. Deepest condolences from my family to his.
Posted On: Thursday, May. 15 2008 @ 9:19AMMiko was one of the nicest guys you could ever have the chance to meet. I always enjoyed the times I would run into him out. I can't really believe this news at all.
Posted On: Thursday, May. 15 2008 @ 9:33AMOne of the last times I spoke to him, it was right after he took over at Blackthorn and was all excited about it. I should have stopped by more often. He was such a sweet guy.
Posted On: Thursday, May. 15 2008 @ 10:09AMSad, sad news. Guy filled me in on a lot of South side rock lore, and was never anything but cool when I saw him around.
Posted On: Thursday, May. 15 2008 @ 11:06AMDrag.
Nice guy and style to burn. He'll be missed.
Posted On: Thursday, May. 15 2008 @ 12:07PMi just heard. god, he was a great guy. always sweet, always glad to talk to you, always knew what good stuff was going on in the city. what a shame, my sympathies to his family and everyone close to him.
Posted On: Thursday, May. 15 2008 @ 1:37PMHe styled us for prom, when he worked at the Haberdashery. Amazing person.
Posted On: Thursday, May. 15 2008 @ 2:02PMI partied with Miko once at a south side mansion (December 2002--click my name for a Polaroid taken that night of he and I and a third stranger). We were never friends or anything (wonder if he'd even remember that party five and a half years ago), but it was always nice to see a friendly face and hear a kind word from him after softball games (or whenever else at the Black Thorn) over the past few years. R.I.P., indeed.
Posted On: Thursday, May. 15 2008 @ 4:11PMI'm not sure where this falls regarding journalistic responsibility / obligation and ethics / sensitivity, but it has been discussed today by several close friends of his that including a link to The Blackthorn (so readers can view their menu?) and a photo of the business several times larger than the picture of Miko might be viewed in bad taste, not to mention attaching an unnecessary stigma to the business for people who are not personally connected to this story. I'm sure there were no bad intentions, but, to those who knew him, where Miko spent his last moments seems far less significant than the several moments we shared before them.
Posted On: Thursday, May. 15 2008 @ 4:28PMfuneral notice for tomorrow's P-D
Fleming, Michael J. suddenly on Wed. May 14, 2008.
Dear son of Daniel and Clarice Fleming; dear brother of Daniel J. Fleming Jr.; dear grandson of Mary Fleming; dear uncle of Emma and Delaney Fleming; dear nephew of Pat and Richard Fleming, Bill McFadden, Beverly Schulze and Reggie McFadden; dear friend of Stephanie Fleming.
Michael was a portrait artist and painted several murals for local businesses in St. Louis. He was also an accomplished clarinetist.
Services: Funeral service Mon. May 19, 10 a.m. at Glendale Presbyterian Church, 500 N. Sappington, Glendale. Memorial contributions preferred to Glendale Presbyterian Church.
Visitation Sun. May 18, from 4 to 8 p.m. at BOPP Chapel, 10610 Manchester Rd. Kirkwood.
funeral notice for Fri P-D.
Fleming, Michael J. suddenly on Wed. May 14, 2008.
Dear son of Daniel and Clarice Fleming; dear brother of Daniel J. Fleming Jr.; dear grandson of Mary Fleming; dear uncle of Emma and Delaney Fleming; dear nephew of Pat and Richard Fleming, Bill McFadden, Beverly Schulze and Reggie McFadden; dear friend of Stephanie Fleming.
Michael was a portrait artist and painted several murals for local businesses in St. Louis. He was also an accomplished clarinetist.
Services: Funeral service Mon. May 19, 10 a.m. at Glendale Presbyterian Church, 500 N. Sappington, Glendale. Memorial contributions preferred to Glendale Presbyterian Church.
Visitation Sun. May 18, from 4 to 8 p.m. at BOPP Chapel, 10610 Manchester Rd. Kirkwood.
Miko told me once why he went by Miko instead of his given name Michael. He told me he had a deaf girlfriend in high school. When she said his name it came out sounding like "Mee ko".
I laughed really hard, and almost spilled my drink.
Miko was a very special, sweet person.
I think I first met Miko at Frederick's Music Lounge, in late 1990's when we were both customers in the era when the Lounge was operated by Fred Sr. We spent a lot of quarters there, honing our skills on the bumper pool table under the tutelage of Fred Sr. Our evenly matched skills at the game became an ongoing joke, as we constantly alternated winning.
and, as someone posted earlier on the stltoday blog, I witnessed him actually beat the master at his own game (though I always suspected it may have simply been part of the jedi/bumper pool training program.)
I think the original association he had with the Lounge, may have been connected to his role as "the Fourth Highway Matron", during an era when he was a staple at Highway Matrons shows, as roadie and merch. guy. Band member Fred Friction began working there as a bartender in 1999 (98?) and we began to see Miko even more.
I was fortunate to work with Miko at a number of different jobs, including a period when he worked long hours for me, alphabetizing VHS tapes at a video wholesaler waay out in Fenton. Miko, who usually got from one place to another on foot, took the long bus ride from the city to county every morning, and always greeted everyone with an interesting story of that morning's fellow bus riding characters.
We also worked together from time-to-time packing powdered frozen yogurt mix in Fred's basement for export to South America, Africa, & the Orient.
Each week, the shipments we would be packing would be going to a different country. It was Miko's suggestion that our conversations during those shifts only be done using an accent of the country the stuff would eventually be served at.
Later, when Fred Sr. died and we reopened the Lounge as a live music venue, Miko was an very important part of our team. He worked on and off over that 5-6 year run as a greeter/doorman, bartender, janitor, barback, & soundtech. He had the diplomatic skills needed to expertly expel the occassional troublemaker, with the guy ending up thinking that Miko was his new best friend.
We were all very proud of Miko when he took the job as manager of the Black Thorn Pub a few years ago. He ran a very efficient operation and seemed to be well liked by all of his employees & customers.
In the past few years, since The Lounge closed, I regrettably wasn't able to spend as much time with Miko as in years past. But we still managed to keep contact and have a quality visit at least once every couple weeks.
Though he had struggled with emotional ups and downs over the years, he rarely let those down periods be evident to his customers and casual acquaintances.
To the contrary, during some troubling times in our extended family's lives,(including our loss of Fred Sr and later, Hunter) he was one who counselled others in dealing with their grief, stressing that we hold on to the positive memories we had of the departed, rather the the sadness we were feeling at the time.
I hope that we all attempt to follow his advice when our thoughts turned to our loss of Miko.
He had a lot of friends and was loved by many.
As others have posted, he will be greatly missed.
The world today has a little less style and class as it did a few days ago. I'm heartbroken. I'm out in LA now, and I've yet to see anyone half as stylin' as Miko. He once told me he liked my pants, and for the rest of the day I walked with supreme confidence. My heart goes out to all of his friends and family. What a remarkable person.
Posted On: Friday, May. 16 2008 @ 7:27PMThe south side is in mourning. Passionate about music and friends, he touched many lives. Artist,actor,tailor, designer & more...his talents were many. Rest in peace,Miko.
Miko & I were a couple for four years, and friends for thirteen. I have many fond memories of him, too many to list here, and even his faults are endearing. For everyone who misses him, I'd just like to say, he always appreciated even the smallest kindnesses people showed him. He had a keen memory, but he rarely held a grudge. For someone with some dark moods, he really knew how to live it up. I'm glad we moved to the South Side so he could meet so many people who enriched his life. I'm so grateful to everyone who was his friend, and I'm very grateful for the time I spent with him.
Posted On: Monday, May. 19 2008 @ 2:02PMeven thou i have not seen my cousin in many years i have some very fond memories of going to Missouri from little old Rhode Island tto visit. if any of his high school friends remember the "bubbla" is the drinking fountain that so many of you laugh at me about. You are greatly missed even so long in not talking or seeing you I love you
Posted On: Wednesday, May. 21 2008 @ 8:09PMI remember Miko dearly. He was one of those
rare people that you didn't need to know for
a lifetime to feel that he was a real friend.
Miko told me also why he went by Miko;
His deaf (as I am)ex-girlfriend from high school. We would reminiscence of several places around town, including the infamous FML. He definitively wasn't one of the many pretentious, self-absorbed, back-stabbing, Lying, A-list(read;Asshole) people that were around him alot, as he warned me about Paul Stark, Dana, Dan, Erika Wienke, Tricia Deppe,(and her leeching brother.)
Miko knew, as well as some others, that I was just a scapegoat, or whipping-boy for the criminal actions of Freddy friction/Fraction, and our bully sister; Gab Mason, to cover for the fact that I was just being used for extortion as our Father's Estate was stolen, and My Father's Legacy was mocked.
I met Miko when i was 17.
Casey and I gave hime the nickname Friday
(on account of his 1940's detective-esque threads)
it never caught on.
