Eight studio albums, dozens of hit singles and numerous collaborations with some of music’s most renowned entertainers; R&B quintet Mint Condition has withstood trends and industry turbulence for years, incorporating an eclectic blend of funk, jazz, soul and rock influences into grooves that touch hearts and move crowds around the world. Their song catalog is already a diverse one, but the St. Paul, MN-based collective decided to push the envelope even further with Healing Season, which was released yesterday and is the band’s first-ever holiday set.
A mix of traditional tracks (“Someday At Christmas,” “Little Drummer Boy,” “Santa Claus Go Straight To The Ghetto”) and original contemporary jams, Healing celebrates the cheer of the upcoming season while acknowledging the issues that bring contentment—-or complications—-during that special time of year.
“Healing Season speaks to something beyond the gift-buying and consumerism,” says keyboardist Larry Waddell. He and the rest of the band discussed the mission statement behind their new music before a live performance at downtown Dallas’ Club Medusa last month. “We put our expected ‘Mint twist’ on it, our ‘gumbo,’ and wanted to bring awareness to the need for people to heal. Whether it’s from racial oppression, tension within your own family or even just demons within yourself.”
“A lot of families go years without talking to each other because of slights from the past, someone’s passing or whatever,” added bassist Rick Kinchen, “but at some point you gotta forgive them. You gotta make peace and you gotta heal.”
From the fuel-injected funk of “Little Drummer Boy” to the rollicking romp of “….Ghetto” and the solace offered in its meditative title track, most of …Season is brimming with hope and optimism. A couple of the newer songs, however, focus on dysfunction and lost love.
“Not What I Wanted For Christmas” hits home particularly hard for Kinchen, who revealed that its’ jarring lyrics—-“I thought that me and you would go far, until you took a knife and ran straight for my heart/then tried to tear my life all apart”—-arose from his involvement with a physically abusive ex-girlfriend. “Some may just want to listen to the more festive jams while others who are going through things [like what Rick experienced] will feel like, ‘Oh, I went through that’ and get some kind of satisfaction or become moved in a way that they hadn’t been before they heard it, in a more positive way,” says Stokley Williams, the lead vocalist and percussionist. “We actually could have named the CD Beyond The Holidays, because the music doesn’t feel [limiting] like something the fans will play for three months and that’s it. We wanted that [timelessness] to resonate most of all.” 
It’s something that’s become a benchmark of the Mint Condition brand, fusing sample-free songwriting, live instrumentation and vocal virtuosity with a myriad of musical influences including Zapp, Earth, Wind & Fire and long-time mentor Prince. Millennials, Generation X-era fans and those in ‘The Old School’ frequently sell out the arenas in which they perform, champion their early hits (“What Kind of Man Would I Be,” “U Send Me Swingin,” “Breakin’ My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes),” etc.) and heartily embrace their new material. The quintet is grateful for the continuing success and hopes that Healing Season will help listeners through their private dilemmas as they welcome the festivities and move through everyday life.
“It’s been a journey—- it’s up, it’s down, it’s good, it’s bad,” Williams says. “No matter if we’re putting it down live and getting that instant reaction or blending different [style] movements into our recorded songs, that’s what we [musicians] are: sonic healers through sound.”
