MINT: American Style

Mint

American Style

© 2001 Nicklesongs

CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.

catchy, radio friendly, power pop, kinda like nirvana meets the beatles

tracks

1 Also Sprach Zarathustra
2 Everything
3 I Deserve
4 You're So Attached
5 Hideaway
6 I Don't Care
7 Pierced & Tattooed
8 Scars
9 Into the Groove
10 I've Got a Crush
11 Following You
12 Radio
13 Love Bug
14 In Sweats
15 Goodnight Forever

notes

mint was formed in 1996 in manhattan.

I (john nickles) used to play in a band called strontium dog which later became strontium god, sometimes strontisaurus rex anyway that band broke up do to much pot smoking and my ex girlfriend having sex with my drummer who was my roommate at the time.

anyway i was taking a much needed break from band stuff and i was starting to miss playing guitar and thought about joining a band just to play guitar when i get a call from a former, bass playing, pot smoking friend , who lived down the block and played in a band called cryptic soup.

they were twin brothers guitar and drums and the bass player plus another guitarist and keyboardist.

the twin brothers had a falling because the drummer wanted to streamline and anyway they asked me to join.

i went down to rehearsal to see if their music was any good. it was and he was a hell of a drummer. i joined them i put in half the songs.

the drummer came up with the name mint. i came up with the logo.

i started to realize the bass player wasn't really up to snuff.

he was kind of more into jamming and improvising rather than laying down solid parts which would be played every time the song was played.

my personal idea is that there's an ideal version of the song and every time you play it you're trying to play it perfectly, so you come close, and it sounds good.

anyway, i talked to the drummer about kicking out the bass player,(the guy who asked me to join) and he was for it so i did.

he hates me now and whenever i see him he totally ignores me but i'll be damned if i'm gonna let some body fuck up the song just so i don't hurt their feelings.

my apologies to everyone involved.

so shea my best friend and life long bass player joins and we start gigging with the first drummer who also played with another band at the time called jennifer convertible and they were pretty good too but he just had a kid and his wife freaked out about him never being home and smoking pot so she ripped up the suit of his that we play out in and destroyed the bass drum skin which had the logo on it and then he flaked out just before a cbgb's gig which me and shea played unplugged.

so with that we started the flood of drummers, we had a lot and they've been good and a couple of guitarists, too and i'm starting to think we should probably bring on another guitarist just for a bigger sound maybe with some vocals.

yeah , so now we play with louis and we both knew about 30 seconds into the audition that he was the right guy it was all in the pauses.

he was there and it was massive.

and personally he's just such a nice guy and he kind of reminds me of myself only younger and more innocent.

so we just put out our second cd and we're hoping for the best.

really we'd like to "make it", you know, get signed, get a huge push from a good label, and go touring and be huge in japan, the whole 9 yards.

our first cd did very well and the new one has pretty much matched the results in the 2nd week out so we'll see what happens anyway, that's all for now....

i'll catch you guys later-
peace, john nickles


Hey,
it's january 24th 2002, i just wanted to give you guys a heads up on what's been going on with the band, so's you can know. First i want to say thank you to everyone who has purchased the cd and i hope that you enjoy it.
we've kind of been taking a break although now were back. almost. we've done some restructuring.

I went to london over the summer, i stayed with a friend of mine, timothy peter reeves, he's a wicked talented musician and he plays in a band called rena and does home 4 track stuff and nice shit with samplers, very inventive and totally serious, anyway, the guy blew my mind and even rocked me with american shit i had passed over in my obsession with zeppelin, whatever, when i got back and listened to the first 2 mint records i was a little embarrassed, and i know this breaks the pro's code of ethics but i'm just being honest and isn't that better than the hollywood gloss? i know everyone says to ignore the critics but i can't and i was totally crushed by some of the reviews. i don't know if you guys caught all the stuff that went out, i even sent some of the reviews out on a postcard, but they were like:"made me wretch...made my ears bleed...jersey charm...just doesn't have what it takes..."etc. i know everyones entitled to their opinions and that's cool but one guy blamed us for not playing the entire version of 2001 and then admitted he didn't know if we had or not. the thing that bugs me is the lyrics.i mean, guys lighten up, it's a pop song. does have to have the most profound lyrics ever? some do and tha's great but i have to admit to the listeners out there that sometimes when i write a song or make up lyrics i might not have a rhyme so ijust throw some kind of joke in there at the end usually some kind of double-entendre which kinda comes off sounding like bon jovi, which isn't really what i was going for, but a shitload of critics went off on the lyrics and so i apologize if they didn't cut the mustard, i'll try harder.

anyway after i freak out because i think were hair metal i realize i shouldn't try to fight it anymore, i'm a country musican. it's been going on for years.you don't have to be from the south actually to play authentic american country or blues, and it might be based on socio-economic conditions or maybe just levels of seritonin.whatever i recorded a bunch of stuff on 4 track like 30 tunes including some old stuff too that i hadn't mixed before. i made a tape of 10 songs and titled it:"john nickles-in through the outtakes" it was hailed by peers as my finest work to date and much better than either mint record. i gave out about 50 tapes to friends and stuff and i wanted to play some of this 4 track shit with the band in effect sending the band through the 4 track. so we tuned down to c which freaked out shea he's like a spooked horse if were not in e. louis didn't like the new direction and to be honest i don't know where we're going now either, anyway just before i freked we played with a guitarist john charpentier he's young, talented, and savvy. and now he's playing guitar because i'm kind of spooked to play it anymore.i'm not sure why. so i'm playing drums now and were not playing any of the tunes we've ever played before, probably, sorry, all new stuff. we've got about 5 songs were going to be focusing on for a few weeks and then we'll see where we're at.

i'm going to get a digital 8 track soon and the plan is to record some electronica folk stuff and kind of trippy dance beats and maybe john's tunes too and we'll call it:mint for you" i'm thinking we'll shop it to majors and then if noone wants it we'll send it to mp3.com so i'd look for that maybe in 6 months that would be cool, although i suppose sooner would be better we'll see. thanks for checking in. i'll see you later,
johnnickles29@hotmail.com

reviews

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  • author: CD Baby

    catchy, radio friendly, power pop, kinda like nirvana meets the beatles

  • Mint carts listeners on a power pop trip with American Style.
    author: Nude As The News

    Mint American Style Rating: 8.0 Independent, 2001 RiYL: Clash, Weezer, A From the 2001 theme that starts the record to the simple closing with lead singer/guitarist Johnny Nickles saying, "Good night, America," Mint carts listeners on a power pop trip with American Style. Formed in NYC, this astute trio crafts simple, stripped-down pop songs that contain nothing more than the essential components. Think of Mint's songwriting style as a go-kart in a world of musical cars. While a car has a roof, a stereo and air conditioning, the go-kart has just the essentials: an engine, a seat and a steering wheel. That sort of simplicity dominates American Style. The songs rarely go longer than three and a half minutes, and once the band has made its point, they end the song. The absence of slick production gives the record a very genuine feel. Nickles is a gifted songwriter. Setting his sights on everything from pop culture and society to love and heartbreak, Nickles strays from clichés and keeps his lyrics fresh and witty without sacrificing his ability to write great hooks. "Pierced & Tattooed," a rejection of the dress-up-like-a-freak-to-be-in-the-cool-clique mentality, is a good example of his abilities with the lines "Don't give me up / I'll make the cut / But do I got to get pierced and tattooed just to sit next to you / Do I have to be bleached and dyed to be by your side?" While Mint's originals are strong, their cover of Madonna's "Into the Groove" is great. Laced with pop-punk riffs, the song works well on the album and probably kills during their live shows. American Style is a real gem, and a refreshing take on the tired pop-punk genre. Nickles and Co. have made a great album without the use of studio tricks or gimmicks. It is too bad more bands can't survive on the basics of strong songwriting and musicianship like Mint. — Kevin Maurer

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