Righteous Brothers

St. Paul–based Mint Condition isn’t your run-of-the-mill international R & B superstar ensemble. The group draws raves and sells out venues throughout the United States, the United Kingdom, and continental Europe. Still, they’re not what you’d expect.

The album Meant To Be Mint established them in 1991. Their eagerly awaited seventh album will be released in August, with a single from the album dropping in June. Meanwhile, fans travel far and wide to catch Mint Condition in concert, flying in, say, from Japan, when the group plays the Bay Area, and from such diverse points as New York and Texas when they play the Minnesota State Fair. Band members are in their thirties, but their appeal crosses generations, extending from scene-savvy twentysomethings to senior hipsters.

The fan appreciation, says Mint’s frontman/vocalist/drummer who’s known only as Stokley, “[is] humbling. I give thanks, man, to God, for being able to move people that way.” As to why a die-hard fan named Caprice jumped on a jet in New York City to watch the group play in St. Paul, she gushes, “They’re great performers. [Few] musicians play their own, real music. With a message.” True enough. In a genre glutted with formulaic groups directed by trend-savvy label execs, Mint sustains the legacy of Sly & The Family Stone, Earth Wind & Fire, and Kool & The Gang, legendary R  & B bands known for both nailing down a groove and giving food for thought.

“My Sista,” off Mint’s last album, Living The Luxury Brown (the first on their own label, CagedBird Records) intones, “You weathered the storm through everything / you’re always ever-lifting me.” This is a tribute to the mothers, sisters, grandmas, and aunties who see to it that youngsters don’t stray from a moral path. “Gratitude,” from the new album, honors the institution of family, acknowledging that it takes not only a village but lineage to raise a child.

Caprice says of Mint, “They don’t conform to musical society”—which is to say they don’t produce soft-core videos of women with barely any clothes on. Mint’s videos of romantic cuts such as “What Kind of Man Would I Be” and “Breakin’ My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes)” feature lyrics and images aimed above the waist.

The band’s very existence goes against today’s grain. Jeff Allen (sax and keyboards) says, “We kind of carry the torch. Not many [R & B] bands are left.” Appropriately, Mint Condition plays on Interpretations, last March’s release of national artists paying homage to Earth, Wind & Fire. Mint contributed a sterling cover of EW&F’s “After the Love Is Gone.” Mint bass player Ricky Kinchen says, “It's an honor to be on this CD with artists like Chaka Khan and Lalah Hathaway, doing material by this historic band.”  FYI: Also in March, Mint Condition performed at premier Twin Cities venue Myth with Cyndi Lauper, Lifehouse, and Soul Asylum for a benefit for ailing local legend Wain McFarlane (Ipso Facto, Wain McFarlane & Jahz).

And when they’re not playing or making records, they don’t trash hotel rooms, do revolving-door rehab, or leave a trail of paternity lawsuits. Spare time, they say, is better spent.

Stokley studies languages, recently completing an intensive five-month Spanish course at the University of Minnesota. He also goes wandering around the globe. “I love traveling,” he says, “and culture.” Of his fascination with foreign tongues, he explains, “It makes me understand people. And gives me empathy for somebody coming [to America]. If you’re in their territory, you wouldn’t be so quick to say, ‘Speak our language.’ Sometimes, when people aren’t speaking your language, you think they’re less-than. Or dumb. They know their language and at least some English. You know one. It’s about understanding peoplehood. If the world did that, there’d be better decisions about what’s goin’ on.”