Spotlight: With Relocation and Change, Mint Brings in a New Sound
WHEN LISTENING TO MUSIC — you can’t escape the sonic landscapes paved out for the listener with each note that is hit. These charming tunes enthrall us and keep us interested in the song, in turn encouraging us to scroll limitlessly in order to find more songs that a band has released. Mint does exactly that. With upbeat, lively, and energetic songs like “Carmen Cortez” and “Abundance of Pleasure,” the band keeps you on your toes with catchy guitar riffs, drum patterns and vocal melodies.
Although originally from Southern California, Mint decided to pack it up and move on to greener pastures in San Francisco. However, their unique name stayed the same. “We all worked at Baskin Robbins, and the name was from mint chocolate chip ice cream,” lead guitarist and singer Tyler Bolton describes of the name’s origin. Luckily, its simplicity fits and keeps the band’s vibe going.
As they left Southern California, it was the new horizons and new beginnings that made Mint want to stay in San Francisco. “The environment here doesn’t drain me — the people are more energetic and colorful,” drummer Armon Tavakoulnia says.
“I think it really all comes down to [the fact] that the people are better, the weather is better, and it is nicer,” Bolton adds.
Ultimately, this aided in their decision to stay there and get acclimated to the culture and environment of San Francisco. The band doesn’t see themselves moving back, as rhythm guitarist and singer Hayden Kellam explains. “Once you don’t live in a suburban place for a while, suburbia feels kind of weird; too clean-cut.”
Mint broke away from the clean-cut organized life to one that is instead benefiting them in the long run. “Living here in San Francisco, it feels like all the bands are like, ‘We are all in this together,’ opposed to bands that want to be successful on their own. ‘If you’re not in a big band nobody gives a shit about you,’ opposed to being in a band in San Francisco,” Bolton says. A friendly and positive inclusion in the music scene helped propel Mint’s rise, making them a staple band in San Francisco.
Although COVID has hit every artist in some way, Mint hasn’t stopped their aspirations of playing shows again. “It still feels early on. We are excited to do stuff again — we dipped a toe in with playing shows recently and now we are waiting to dive back in,” Kellam describes. As Mint waits out the pandemic to see what their next moves are with live shows, this has not discouraged them from making new music during the pandemic.
“Our new stuff is punchy; it is becoming more droney, not like ambient, but it feels darker,” Hayden reveals. “Our stuff is more influenced by post-punk as of now. I’ve been listening to a lot of bass-driven music as of late — it’s our take on post-punk.” The band is taking a different direction with their sound, moving away from surf rock/psych as they mature as musicians and people. “The music is less smiley and happy,” Bolton adds.
As they spent time building songs, it was difficult to collaborate with the whole band at first. “I wasn’t jamming with them with COVID happening, but Hayden and Tyler would jam and then once we could jam in our garage, that's when I came in and we would just follow each other with a nice flow; I can help add on the foundation of the songs,” Armon explains. Once together again, the band got back into the flow of songwriting and jamming together.
Although the pandemic is still raging in everyone's backyards, this isn’t stopping Mint. They have music that they are planning to record and release as an EP for now. No album is in the works yet, but that can change very quickly if more songs are written. Mint is still surviving and thriving in San Francisco as one of the city's major upcoming bands. The pandemic has helped the group take that step back to recraft their sound as musicians and individuals. Mint will be playing shows in the San Francisco area and they are a band you should not miss. If you want to see a band with a lot of energy, these are the people you want playing in front of you.
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