Popular band is still in ‘MINT CONDITION’

During its 20-year

journey Mint Condition has become known among fans as the true

“Definition of a Band,” as described by the title of one of their

classic albums.

The popular

R&B/soul band best remembered for the 1991 song “Pretty Brown

Eyes” will make an appearance in Indianapolis this Friday at the

Madame Walker Theatre at 8 p.m.

For many listeners

who enjoy the strong vocals and expressive musicianship of

traditional soul music, Mint Condition is the oasis in a barren

R&B landscape dominated by rappers and “light” vocalists who

sing to mechanical sound tracks.

Mint Condition is the

only contemporary self-contained Black band featured on mainstream

radio. They continue to forge ahead with the music of the 21st

Century while using a sound that pays homage to legendary groups

such as Earth, Wind & Fire, The Commodores and The Isley

Brothers.

After being

discovered by producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the band

dominated the charts with the quiet storm favorite “Pretty Brown

Eyes.”

They went on to make

some of the most romantic songs of the 90’s, including “Forever In

Your Eyes” (1991), “U Send Me Swingin’” (1993), “Someone to Love”

(1994), “What Kind of Man Would I Be” (1996) and “If You Love Me”

(1999).

After a brief hiatus

the group returned with the 2005 album “Living the Luxury Brown”

which featured the hit single “I’m Ready.”

Mint Condition is

promoting their current album “eLife” and a single from that

release, “Nothing Left to Say” has received heavy airplay on the

radio. The next single, “Moan,” was released to stations this

week.

“The album is about

having relationships in the context of our world today,” said bass

player Ricky Kinchen.

The Recorder recently

caught up with lead singer Stokley Williams and asked him to give

us the latest on Mint Condition:

Recorder: Are

you looking forward to returning to

Indianapolis?

“color: black; font-size: 10.5pt”>Stokley:

Absolutely! It’s been a while since we performed there. The people

there are always cool, nice and energetic.

What makes

“eLife” different from your previous

releases?

Well, we are living

in an age where things are changing every day. Technology is moving

music forward along with other aspects of our lives. The “e” in

“eLife” stands for electronic, so these songs speak to life during

a time when technology has taken a greater role in our

lives.

What is the

secret to keeping your sound fresh?

We’ve always been

able to straddle the fence between the old school and new school,

but at the end of the day we’re all about forward movement. We keep

up with changes in the industry but we also like to keep our

integrity and organic sensibilities, musically

speaking.

Keri Lewis,

your original keyboardist, left the group in 2001 to produce for

his wife, Toni Braxton. Will he ever return?

We speak to Keri

every now and then and see him occasionally. He’s doing great right

now and there’s a chance he might join us for a few dates in the

future. We’ll have to see what happens.

Many

listeners yearn for the old days of classic R&B when it was

truly romantic, had variety and was less mechanical. Do you think

music will ever return to that level of

quality?

I definitely

understand what people mean when they say that. But I think there’s

still a lot of good music out there, you just have to know where to

find it. On the radio, we still have people like Jill Scott, Alicia

Keys, Raheem DaVaughn, Musiq Soulchild and others. Some of the

other artists, though, have to be found underground on the Internet

and satellite radio. The musical world is forever changing with new

artists, and we just have to keep up with it.

Anything to

say to your fans?

Thanks for all the

years of support. Check out our new album. It’s feel good music

that has a lot of depth to it. You’ll love it!

Mint

live shows.

minute’ plans?

information call (317) 236-2099 or visit “http://www.walkertheatre.com”>www.walkertheatre.com.