It's inevitable. Isn't it? No matter how long a group is together, the lead singer makes a solo album. Right?
That time has come for Stokley Williams of Mint Condition. He just dropped his debut single, "Level."
An album will follow for the Concord Music Group, the label that is a home to a huge and wide variety of artists, from jazz singer Karrin Allyson to veteran rocker Peter Wolf of the J. Geils Band.
Word is that Williams is putting together a band to tour. For the Twin Cities' own Mint Condition, that means a hiatus of sorts. And that means getting busy for the voice behind the Mint hits " Breakin' My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes)" and "What Kind of Man Would I Be."
Williams, a singer/percussionist, also works with other groups around town on a part-time basis. He even sat in with the Revolution, Prince's heyday band, at a recent private gig in Las Vegas, serving as lead singer on several songs.
Meanwhile, Mint will be celebrating its Grammy nomination for best R&B album (for "Healing Season") tonight, from 9 to midnight, at the Mansion at Uptown, an event space in Uptown. The band is not performing; it's just a free party to hang out, take photos and celebrate a Grammy nomination after three decades and nine albums.
