Exclusive video premiere of ‘Stonehead’ by The Mint Freaks, taken from their forthcoming self-titled album, out early 2023.

The story began in the summer of 2018, when Timo began to crave the idea of making a solo album. A handful of new, good songs had already been born. All you would need is a drummer and other instruments Timo would play this time himself.

Timo Pääkkö recalls: “In a car somewhere near Juankoski, on the way from Ilomantsi to Kuopio, I get a whim to take a call to Kalle Aalto, a drummer whose playing style has always fascinated me. What’s up, Kalle? Been a long time. I’m having fun making a solo record here and grabbing a reliable drummer. Are you interested?” “Well, lest you put the whips in…?” Kalle gladly agrees to join and when in a few weeks the guys exchange ideas again, he says that he has talked about it with his long-time Groovector bandmate, cultural multitasker Teemu Niemelä, who suddenly volunteers as a bassist. But, wait, “Timo was supposed to play the bass parts himself?”. However, after talking to Teemu on the phone, it is agreed that it is the latter who will come to the sessions, to “take the Rickenbacker out for a walk” as Maestro himself puts it. After the sessions start, the decision turns out to be correct, and Teemu brings along a lot more vocal power and takes care of all the keyboard parts on the album! Instead of a solo record, the soup starts to taste more like a real rock band, which is named after the term “The Mint Freaks”, familiar to all record collectors.

The Mint Freaks Facebook / Bandcamp / SoundCloud