Walt Mink  Walt Mink were an American alternative rock power trio formed in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1989 by guitarist/singer/songwriter John Kimbrough, drummer Joey Waronker and bassist Candice Belanoff. The band released four studio albums over the course of their eight-year career. John Kimbrough (son of actor Charles Kimbrough) and Joey Waronker (son of music executive Lenny Waronker) had briefly attended high school together in Massachusetts and reconvened at Macalester College, a small, liberal arts school in St. Paul, Minnesota. Looking for a bass player to fill out a trio, they were introduced to Candice Belanoff, who had only been playing for a few months, and Walt Mink was formed in February 1989, named after a beloved psychology professor. The band started out by playing at college house parties on the weekends, always with an eye to the next potential basement venue. In December 1989, a fellow student offered to record them for a 7" single he was releasing on his own independent label, Skene! Records. With that, the band made their first trip into the studio, recording versions of the songs "Fragile" and "Croton-Harmon (local)," both of which would later appear in newer versions on the albums "Miss Happiness" and "Bareback Ride". In March 1990 the trio began recording what was to become "Listen Little Man!", an album-length cassette demo, recorded on a four-track machine in the basement of the house John and Joey were living in at the time. Distributed to friends and sold on consignment in local record stores, the tape gained modest notoriety and furthered the name of the band in the Twin Cities. By the end of the spring the members of Walt Mink pledged to pursue the goal of getting more club gigs in Minneapolis after going their separate ways over the summer. When they returned to the Twin Cities in September, they found a large house in the uptown section of Minneapolis that had been owned at one time by a music production company and had been renovated in order to accommodate loud rock bands, complete with a large, soundproofed rehearsal room. It was here that they began recording their second full-length demo cassette, The Poll Riders Win Again!!!, in February 1991. After opening for Babes in Toyland in December 1990, Babes drummer Lori Barbero had become a fan, and tipped off a friend who worked at the New Music Seminar in New York City.