John Mitchell (musician)
John Mitchell (born 21 June 1973)[2] is an Irish musician and record producer. He primarily plays guitar and has been a member of the bands It Bites, Arena, Frost*, Kino, A, The Urbane and Lonely Robot.
John Mitchell | |
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![]() Mitchell in Outhouse Studios | |
Background information | |
Born | Shannon, County Clare, Ireland | 21 June 1973
Genres | Progressive rock[1] |
Occupation(s) |
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Instrument(s) |
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Member of | |
Formerly of |
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Website | johnmitchellhq |
Early life and career
Mitchell describes seeing Eric Clapton perform the song "Miss You" from his 1986 album August at a Prince's Trust concert as "the single defining moment that made me decide to put down the violin and pick up a guitar".[3]
Influenced by guitarists such as Jeff Beck, Trevor Rabin and David Gilmour,[1] Mitchell mainly sings and plays guitar, but is also a multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the current frontman for British prog-pop band It Bites (having replaced original singer and guitarist Francis Dunnery in 2006).[4] Mitchell has also played guitar for a number of other progressive rock bands including Arena, The Urbane, Kino, Frost*, and the John Wetton band. In 2008, Mitchell was drafted in to join A,[5] playing bass in place of original bass player Daniel P. Carter to support The Wildhearts on their December UK tour, as well as a 10-date headline tour in 2009. In 2012, Mitchell toured with Martin Barre in his band "New Day", singing lead vocals on many songs by Jethro Tull.[6]
Mitchell is also a record producer and sound engineer at Outhouse Studios, a recording studio in Reading, UK, where he has recorded and produced music for a number of rock bands including Enter Shikari, You Me at Six, Lower Than Atlantis, Architects, The Blackout, Kids in Glass Houses, Funeral for a Friend, My Passion, Exit Ten, I Divide, Ivyrise, Anavae, Touchstone, Your Demise and You and What Army.[7]
Mitchell's latest music project is a solo project called Lonely Robot, whose album Please Come Home was released on 23 February 2015.[8] It features a number of guest artists including Peter Cox, Steve Hogarth, Jem Godfrey, Nik Kershaw, and British actor Lee Ingleby. The albums The Big Dream released in April 2017[9] and Under Stars (April 2019), followed.
Mitchell is also the co-owner and co-founder of White Star Records, an independent record label which focuses on prog rock artists.[10] Mitchell released his EP, The Nostalgia Factory, on White Star Records in 2016.
Discography

with The Urbane
- Neon (1999)
- Glitter (2003)
with Arena
- The Cry (1997 - EP)
- Welcome to the Stage (1997 - live)
- The Visitor (1998)
- Immortal? (2000)
- Breakfast in Biarritz (2001 - live)
- Contagion (2003)
- Contagious (2003 - EP)
- Contagium' (2003 - EP)
- Live & Life (2004 - live)
- Pepper's Ghost (2005)
- Ten Years On (2006 - compilation)
- The Seventh Degree Of Separation (2011)
- Contagion Max (2014)
- The Unquiet Sky (2015)
- Double Vision (2018)
with Kino
- Picture (2005)
- Cutting Room Floor (2005 - compilation)
- Radio Voltaire (2018)
with Frost*
- Milliontown (2006)
- Experiments in Mass Appeal (2008)
- FrostFest Live CD (2009)
- The Philadelphia Experiment (2010 - live)
- The Rockfield Files (2013 - DVD)
- Falling Satellites (2016)
- Day and Age (2021)
- Island Live (2023)
with Blind Ego
- Mirror (2007)
with Flash Range
- On The Way (2007)
with John Wetton
- Amorata (2009) (METAL MIN2)
with It Bites
- When The Lights Go Down (2007 - live)
- The Tall Ships (2008)
- This Is Japan (2010 - live)
- It Happened One Night (2011 - live)
- Map of the Past (2012)
with Lonely Robot
- Please Come Home (2015)
- The Big Dream (2017)
- Under Stars (2019)
- Feelings Are Good (2020)
- A Model Life (2022)
with Legacy Pilots
- Con Brio (2018)
- Aviation (2020)
- The Penrose Triangle (2021)
with The Kite Experiment
- Atmospherics (2021 - EP)
Solo
- The Nostalgia Factory (2016 - EP)
Equipment
Mitchell primarily uses Cort Guitars – white and black G254s on stage, and for recording, a tobacco G210 and a blue/black G290. He also plays an Alvarez Yairi acoustic guitar in the studio, and a PRS Classic. Mitchell's rack set-up consists of a Marshall JMP1 Preamp with effects being produced by a vintage Korg A3 effects unit. This signal is then amplified by a Marshall Valvestate 80/80 power amp to a 4x12 Marshall cab.
References
- "John Mitchell – It Bites – Interview Exclusive". Uber Rock. 15 April 2012. Archived from the original on 1 June 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
- "John Mitchell". Rateyourmusic.com. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
- Astley-Brown, Michael (26 April 2017). "10 questions for Lonely Robot's John Mitchell". MusicRadar. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
- "Interview with John Mitchell (It Bites)". Archived from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
- ""A" vs The Wildhearts!, December 2008"". Archived from the original on 6 January 2009.
- "Events". Archived from the original on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
- ""Outhouse Studios client list"". Archived from the original on 17 September 2009. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
- December 2014, Martin Kielty04 (4 December 2014). "John Mitchell confirms Lonely Robot debut". Loudersound.com. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- "Lonely Robot announces second studio album 'The Big Dream' – John Mitchell". Johnmitchellhq.com. 15 February 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- "John Mitchell on the birth of White Star Records". Teamrock.com. 15 March 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
- "Donockley, Nolan, Stevens guest with Gandalf's Fist - TeamRock". www.teamrock.com. Archived from the original on 13 August 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- "GANDALF'S FIST - A Forest Of Fey (2014)". Progarchives.com. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
External links
