After-school basement jam sessions. The Los Angeles ‘breath-fights,’ and the one-legged mesh, leather fringed, Soul-Glo stage attire. Before the hits and their loyal legion of FOOMS, Mint Condition was a collective of young and hungry musicians waiting to seize the moment. Their journey from session players to popular purveyors of classic and contemporary soul was recently chronicled in TV One’s lauded entertainment documentary series, “Unsung,” a move that many saw as a misstep for the MN-based band (even as they propelled the March 13 debut to the season’s highest-rated broadcast).
However, instead of embracing the implications that being on ‘Unsung’ spells doom and gloom for the featured performer(s), the revelation-filled chat that Mint Condition gave to MOC proves that the band not only rejects those assumptions, they also fully embrace the renewed momentum that the documentary’s provided and consider themselves the flagship of an emerging storyline trend: Successful Survivors.
MOTHER OF COLOR- Before fans saw you on “Unsung,” many were upset that you all would willingly appear on a program known for its emphasis on tragedy instead of triumph. What made you comfortable with appearing on the TV One program and why?
STOKLEY WILLIAMS- “We got some of that reaction even from some of our industry friends when we asked them to participate (in the testimonials)—?uestlove (of the Roots) said something like ‘You guys aren’t ‘Unsung,’ you guys should do one called ‘Sang’! And what we told them, just like what we told our fans, is to look at it like a 45 minute commercial. The name of that show could’ve very well been entitled ‘Being,’ as in ‘Being about Mint Condition.’ It’s just about our story up until now, an that story just happened to shared on a show that was called ‘Unsung.’
LAWRENCE EL-“They’re trying to rebrand themselves, since there’s only so many tragic stories they can offer. There were the same opinions going back and forth as well within the five about whether to do it or not, but in the end, the way it was handled by the network was a good thing and I think they presented us within a replenishing light. We get what they’re saying about us being ‘Unsung,’ as if there’s the perception out there that we’re already done. But I think TV One presented it well and when you think about who all’s been profiled before us, it’s good company to be in.”
MOC- Why do you all think Mint Condition has remained intact as a friends and a band after all these years when many of the other performers featured on ‘Unsung’ have not?
RICK KINCHEN– “I’ll just put it to you like this: we’re crazy just like them. But when you put the alcohol in the picture, and the drugs, that’s what takes stuff to a whole new level. So without that, there’s still the ‘crazy,’ but not that crazy.”
LAWRENCE- “As far as the business part, we always kept it equal and try to be as fair with each other as we can be. The pie gets split 6 ways and whatever we do, we all try to have input. When you watch a lot of those episodes, some people just didn’t have no respect for any other members of the group. Period. For whatever reason, the respect just wasn’t there.”
MOC- What made you reveal some things about the Mint Condition back-story versus leaving something else out?
STOKLEY- “Well, you can’t get everything out in 45 minutes….”
LAWRENCE– “We just said ‘well, we’ve still got to be a group after this.’ We know one another like the backs of our hands, so we knew what boundaries to cross and what not to cross after deciding not to be too personal. Each individual was able to reveal whatever personal stuff they wanted to, but we respected that person and whatever they wanted to add to the story.”
MOC- How are the fans reacting to ‘Unsung’ now that they’ve seen it?
STOKLEY- “A lot of the fans that I’d spoken to that had said it was a bad idea at first, they’ve said, ‘oh okay, it was great idea, sorry.'”
LAWRENCE- “we got a text today from somebody who said that seeing the show was great because, despite the fact that their kids knew all of our songs, they thought we were dead! (chuckling) They were about 9 or 10, they didn’t know…”
RICK- “It was finally a show that was positive: nobody was on drugs—I mean, if I was with Outkast, I’d smoke one, but…”
LAWRENCE- “A lot of artists who had our numbers and never called before, now they’re calling and that’s stirring up business. New opportunities are happening as far as songs and production, so that’s been crazy.”
MOC- Speaking of ‘crazy,’ what was up with the gallons of curl activator, leotards, onesies and costumes you all were rocking? The after-images I suffered through…..
STOKLEY- She said ‘onesies.’ (chuckles)
LAWRENCE- Oh my GOD, that was a good one…. (laughing)
STOKLEY- “We thought we were the Black Star Trek: the look was from outer space and the goal was for the looks to never leave your mind and give you a lasting impression.”
O’DELL- “(Snickering) Sorry about that…..”
