gemari77 said:

Wow!!! This is how they ended up getting lumped in with H-Town, After 7, Silk and all the other male, black "vocal" groups of the early to mid-90's. They had to make compromises early on that may have given audiences the impression that they were a group as opposed to a band....

I enjoyed that little piece of history, though. Thanks for posting... I'm ALWAYS searching for 90's Mint performances. Especially DOAB era.

I love when the old stuff pops up.

SonOfSoul said:

The reason they're underrated is because the days of the "Black Band" has passed. Had they come out in the 70s/80s, they would've been bigger than they are now, mentioned in the same vein as EWF, The Commodores, and Cameo.

The only reason this is true is because we as a people have abandoned that aspect of our music. We fell for the "divide and conquer" tactic that labels laid down in the 90s so that they could better control the output. I'm so glad Mint held on through that period and are still doing what they do best; proving that the power of the black band is irrefutable.

[Edited 3/24/11 9:56am]

BlaqueKnight said:

SonOfSoul said:

The reason they're underrated is because the days of the "Black Band" has passed. Had they come out in the 70s/80s, they would've been bigger than they are now, mentioned in the same vein as EWF, The Commodores, and Cameo.

The only reason this is true is because we as a people have abandoned that aspect of our music. We fell for the "divide and conquer" tactic that labels laid down in the 90s so that they could better control the output. I'm so glad Mint held on through that period and are still doing what they do best; proving that the power of the black band is irrefutable.

[Edited 3/24/11 9:56am]

Now that labels seem 2 be losing steam.....I wonder if bands will ever make a strong comeback?

Is Stokley the same guy as Danny Boy who was in that Tupac Video? The look similar and sound the same when they sing?

jaimestarr79 said:

Is Stokley the same guy as Danny Boy who was in that Tupac Video? The look similar and sound the same when they sing?

No.

My favorite band, hands down. The new album will be out soon..

Graycap23 said:

BlaqueKnight said:

The only reason this is true is because we as a people have abandoned that aspect of our music. We fell for the "divide and conquer" tactic that labels laid down in the 90s so that they could better control the output. I'm so glad Mint held on through that period and are still doing what they do best; proving that the power of the black band is irrefutable.

[Edited 3/24/11 9:56am]

Now that labels seem 2 be losing steam.....I wonder if bands will ever make a strong comeback?

Great points. Mint is the definition of a band.

BlaqueKnight said:

SonOfSoul said:

The reason they're underrated is because the days of the "Black Band" has passed. Had they come out in the 70s/80s, they would've been bigger than they are now, mentioned in the same vein as EWF, The Commodores, and Cameo.

The only reason this is true is because we as a people have abandoned that aspect of our music. We fell for the "divide and conquer" tactic that labels laid down in the 90s so that they could better control the output. I'm so glad Mint held on through that period and are still doing what they do best; proving that the power of the black band is irrefutable.

[Edited 3/24/11 9:56am]

I completely agree.

Mint did great here in Cola,SC opening 4 Prince, but Stokley's mic went out after "Nothin Left To Say" and right b4 they kicked in2 "Breakin My Heart". He was tryin 2 tell the soundman somethin was wrong but they kept ignorin him. They had 2 play the last half of "Breakin" as an instrumental and you could see Stokley was irritated when they had 2 cut their set short.

diamondpearl1 said:

Mint did great here in Cola,SC opening 4 Prince, but Stokley's mic went out after "Nothin Left To Say" and right b4 they kicked in2 "Breakin My Heart". He was tryin 2 tell the soundman somethin was wrong but they kept ignorin him. They had 2 play the last half of "Breakin" as an instrumental and you could see Stokley was irritated when they had 2 cut their set short.

Sounds like the same nonsense that was going on back in the day when the Time was touring with Prince.

Surely Prince is NOT up 2 his tricks................is he?

Graycap23 said:

diamondpearl1 said:

Mint did great here in Cola,SC opening 4 Prince, but Stokley's mic went out after "Nothin Left To Say" and right b4 they kicked in2 "Breakin My Heart". He was tryin 2 tell the soundman somethin was wrong but they kept ignorin him. They had 2 play the last half of "Breakin" as an instrumental and you could see Stokley was irritated when they had 2 cut their set short.

Sounds like the same nonsense that was going on back in the day when the Time was touring with Prince.

Surely Prince is NOT up 2 his tricks................is he?

That lil fucka!

diamondpearl1 said:

Mint did great here in Cola,SC opening 4 Prince, but Stokley's mic went out after "Nothin Left To Say" and right b4 they kicked in2 "Breakin My Heart". He was tryin 2 tell the soundman somethin was wrong but they kept ignorin him. They had 2 play the last half of "Breakin" as an instrumental and you could see Stokley was irritated when they had 2 cut their set short.

[img:$uid]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v310/DaveReilly/sabotage.jpg[/img:$uid]

Graycap23 said:

diamondpearl1 said:

Mint did great here in Cola,SC opening 4 Prince, but Stokley's mic went out after "Nothin Left To Say" and right b4 they kicked in2 "Breakin My Heart". He was tryin 2 tell the soundman somethin was wrong but they kept ignorin him. They had 2 play the last half of "Breakin" as an instrumental and you could see Stokley was irritated when they had 2 cut their set short.

Sounds like the same nonsense that was going on back in the day when the Time was touring with Prince.

Surely Prince is NOT up 2 his tricks................is he?

Ha ha! I have a friend who joked about Prince having Stokley's mic cut off....

They killed Just Can't Believe and U Send Me Swingin', but....

Nothing Left To Say, Sometimes, Caught My Eye and Breakin' My Heart were all without lead vocals. There were background vocals from the other guys---and SAMPLED backing vocals of Stokley that I was never aware that they used. So, you kept hearing Stokley here and there, but it was the samples... what a revelation. So, the people who were around me were confused as to why they were hearing Stokley's voice through the PA when his mouth wasn't moving. Then, when his mouth was moving...you couldn't hear anything through the PA. He has a powerful voice though, because those of us who were close enough to the stage could still hear him singing acoustically when the drummer played softer parts---he was belting to be heard, but obviously could not be heard in an arena over the band. I think he had to think fast, so he performed his butt off anyway. I have to respect that. I do wish he would have just grabbed one of the other guys' mic, though.

It was painful seeing one of my very favorite bands in a bad situation beyond their control like that.... especially when people started booing halfway through the last song. My frustration was that for many people in the arena, this was their first and only impression of Mint.

I've seen them live headlining their own shows... One of the best live bands you'll ever see.

gemari77 said:

Graycap23 said:

Sounds like the same nonsense that was going on back in the day when the Time was touring with Prince.

Surely Prince is NOT up 2 his tricks................is he?

Ha ha! I have a friend who joked about Prince having Stokley's mic cut off....

They killed Just Can't Believe and U Send Me Swingin', but....

Nothing Left To Say, Sometimes, Caught My Eye and Breakin' My Heart were all without lead vocals. There were background vocals from the other guys---and SAMPLED backing vocals of Stokley that I was never aware that they used. So, you kept hearing Stokley here and there, but it was the samples... what a revelation. So, the people who were around me were confused as to why they were hearing Stokley's voice through the PA when his mouth wasn't moving. Then, when his mouth was moving...you couldn't hear anything through the PA. He has a powerful voice though, because those of us who were close enough to the stage could still hear him singing acoustically when the drummer played softer parts---he was belting to be heard, but obviously could not be heard in an arena over the band. I think he had to think fast, so he performed his butt off anyway. I have to respect that. I do wish he would have just grabbed one of the other guys' mic, though.

It was painful seeing one of my very favorite bands in a bad situation beyond their control like that.... especially when people started booing halfway through the last song. My frustration was that for many people in the arena, this was their first and only impression of Mint.

I've seen them live headlining their own shows... One of the best live bands you'll ever see.

lol I wondered the same thing, why didnt he grab either of the 2 mics he was close to or why the tech's didnt just give him one that was workin?

diamondpearl1 said:

Mint did great here in Cola,SC opening 4 Prince, but Stokley's mic went out after "Nothin Left To Say" and right b4 they kicked in2 "Breakin My Heart". He was tryin 2 tell the soundman somethin was wrong but they kept ignorin him. They had 2 play the last half of "Breakin" as an instrumental and you could see Stokley was irritated when they had 2 cut their set short.

They couldn't tell that the mic was out? There's absolutely no excuse for not having another mic ready. I think the guys were amateur house engineers who don't travel with the band. I sing in front of crowds sometimes (nothing near Mint's level) and it bothers even me when the mics aren't right, so I don't blame Stokley for being irritated.

A similar thing happened a couple of years ago in Detroit. O'Dell was trying to get the sound engineer's attention I think to give him more volume. We were sitting close to the stage and I could see the sound guys on the stage off to the left. They were just looking down at the mixing board. O'Dell kept trying to get their attention but they would not look up. I even waved, thinking they might see me but dudes were just staring down at the board. After a minute or so, they finally looked up. Probably house engineers. I would love the opportunity to do their sound. It would be nice and tight and I would actually pay attention to what's going on on the stage!

I remember O'Dell broke a string right in the middle of "Breaking my Heart" back in the mid 90's. He couldn't play the solo. He ended up giving his guitar to his tech and had to resort to playing "air guitar". Stokley even joked about it. They were opening for Keith Sweat (imagine that) and I kept asking my girl "Why doesn't Keith's guitarist loan him his guitar?" I don't remember O'Dell getting his guitar back from the tech, that night. They didn't bring extra strings? That's why most guitarists take more than one axe on the road.

[Edited 3/27/11 13:06pm]

diamondpearl1 said:

Mint did great here in Cola,SC opening 4 Prince, but Stokley's mic went out after "Nothin Left To Say" and right b4 they kicked in2 "Breakin My Heart". He was tryin 2 tell the soundman somethin was wrong but they kept ignorin him. They had 2 play the last half of "Breakin" as an instrumental and you could see Stokley was irritated when they had 2 cut their set short.

Stokely appeared to be pissed when they left the stage. I was mad as hell too. It took me awhile

to get into Prince's set afterwards. South Carolina must be bad luck for MC. They had similar

problems in Charleston, SC a few years back when they were touring for Livin the Luxury Brown.

The sound man screwed up Anthony Hamilton's performance several years ago at Colonial Life Arena

too when he opened for Angie Stone and Brian McKnight.

phunkdaddy said:

diamondpearl1 said:

Mint did great here in Cola,SC opening 4 Prince, but Stokley's mic went out after "Nothin Left To Say" and right b4 they kicked in2 "Breakin My Heart". He was tryin 2 tell the soundman somethin was wrong but they kept ignorin him. They had 2 play the last half of "Breakin" as an instrumental and you could see Stokley was irritated when they had 2 cut their set short.

Stokely appeared to be pissed when they left the stage. I was mad as hell too. It took me awhile

to get into Prince's set afterwards. South Carolina must be bad luck for MC. They had similar

problems in Charleston, SC a few years back when they were touring for Livin the Luxury Brown.

The sound man screwed up Anthony Hamilton's performance several years ago at Colonial Life Arena

too when he opened for Angie Stone and Brian McKnight.

LOL Y'know after Mint left a couple people I was next 2 were sayin the same thing. I got the impression that Colonial Life Arena wasn't meant 4 live music lol I was mad 2 'cause I was hopin if they had enough time Stokley might've jumped on the drums 1 time...... But shit, we all saw the techs tighten up after that right? I'll bet if they didn't and our hero had any problems and had 2 cut his set short, Colonial Life Arena would've broke into a riot like it was Guns N Roses in Montreal again he he

[Edited 3/29/11 10:01am]

Detroit said:

diamondpearl1 said:

Mint did great here in Cola,SC opening 4 Prince, but Stokley's mic went out after "Nothin Left To Say" and right b4 they kicked in2 "Breakin My Heart". He was tryin 2 tell the soundman somethin was wrong but they kept ignorin him. They had 2 play the last half of "Breakin" as an instrumental and you could see Stokley was irritated when they had 2 cut their set short.

They couldn't tell that the mic was out? There's absolutely no excuse for not having another mic ready. I think the guys were amateur house engineers who don't travel with the band. I sing in front of crowds sometimes (nothing near Mint's level) and it bothers even me when the mics aren't right, so I don't blame Stokley for being irritated.

A similar thing happened a couple of years ago in Detroit. O'Dell was trying to get the sound engineer's attention I think to give him more volume. We were sitting close to the stage and I could see the sound guys on the stage off to the left. They were just looking down at the mixing board. O'Dell kept trying to get their attention but they would not look up. I even waved, thinking they might see me but dudes were just staring down at the board. After a minute or so, they finally looked up. Probably house engineers. I would love the opportunity to do their sound. It would be nice and tight and I would actually pay attention to what's going on on the stage!

I remember O'Dell broke a string right in the middle of "Breaking my Heart" back in the mid 90's. He couldn't play the solo. He ended up giving his guitar to his tech and had to resort to playing "air guitar". Stokley even joked about it. They were opening for Keith Sweat (imagine that) and I kept asking my girl "Why doesn't Keith's guitarist loan him his guitar?" I don't remember O'Dell getting his guitar back from the tech, that night. They didn't bring extra strings? That's why most guitarists take more than one axe on the road.

[Edited 3/27/11 13:06pm]

I don't know if he knew right away but everyone in the crowd did lol Y'know Stevie Ray Vaughn broke a string one time in the middle of a song on Austin Cty Limits in 89'. His tech caught it and during a breakdown came up behind him and got him another axe and Stevie didn't miss a beat. I heard Mint doin their soundcheck b4 the show started and I wondered why they didn't have htat tight b4 the show? But sometime even when u think u got it right anything can happen.

..Y'know Stevie Ray Vaughn broke a string one time in the middle of a song on Austin Cty Limits in 89'. His tech caught it and during a breakdown came up behind him and got him another axe and Stevie didn't miss a beat...

Now see, that's how it should be...

[Edited 3/29/11 10:36am]

diamondpearl1 said:

phunkdaddy said:

Stokely appeared to be pissed when they left the stage. I was mad as hell too. It took me awhile

to get into Prince's set afterwards. South Carolina must be bad luck for MC. They had similar

problems in Charleston, SC a few years back when they were touring for Livin the Luxury Brown.

The sound man screwed up Anthony Hamilton's performance several years ago at Colonial Life Arena

too when he opened for Angie Stone and Brian McKnight.

LOL Y'know after Mint left a couple people I was next 2 were sayin the same thing. I got the impression that Colonial Life Arena wasn't meant 4 live music lol I was mad 2 'cause I was hopin if they had enough time Stokley might've jumped on the drums 1 time...... But shit, we all saw the techs tighten up after that right? I'll bet if they didn't and our hero had any problems and had 2 cut his set short, Colonial Life Arena would've broke into a riot like it was Guns N Roses in Montreal again he he

[Edited 3/29/11 10:01am]

Colonial Life just has issues. I've seen Mint 3 times in Charlotte and once in Atlanta since 2005

and all the shows were good especially when they do the smaller venues where they have

the have the house to themselves and perform 2 hours.