Prince isn't the only one calling on Mint Condition these days. St. Paul's R&B stalwarts will be a part of the Welcome 2 America Tour that the Purple Yoda announced yesterday in a press conference at the Apollo Theater. The tour will start in December, but the itinerary is still under wraps. With both Mint and Larry Graham representing the Twin Cities alongside the headliner, though, how could they not book a local date? Stay tuned. Mint and Graham also performed together at the Minnesota Zoo in July, and they both joined Prince at some of his European dates this summer.Other performers on the tour will include the wow-inducing young stars Janelle Monae and Esperanza Spalding (both of whom had Prince in attendance when they performed in Minneapolis), Maceo Parker, Cassandra Wilson, Sheila E. and Lala Hathaway. Yes, we will accept that lineup.
Before joining Prince's army, Mint Condition will be nobly serving U.S. troops. The guys leave next week for a 10-day trek through bases in Iraq and Kuwait (and yes, we do still have bases in Iraq). According to their manager, then they will head to Los Angeles to tape 15 episodes of what sounds like a cool new prime-time series for TV One, the African-American-geared cable network. The show is called "Way Black When" and will reportedly be a talk/variety show focusing on great moments in black culture of the past three decades, with hosts including Wayne Brady and Chris Reid and guess-who for a house band? Mint will be joined by such musical guests as the Sugarhill Gang, Living Colour, Ginuwine, Tony Tone Toni, Graham and one other home boy, Alexander O'Neal. The series is set to begin airing in February for Black History Month.
All that, and look for a new Mint album in the spring. About time.
