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.

For other people named John Mitchell, see John Mitchell (disambiguation).

John Mitchell
Mitchell in Outhouse Studios
Mitchell in Outhouse Studios
Background information
Born (1973-06-21) 21 June 1973
Shannon, County Clare, Ireland
GenresProgressive rock[1]
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • record producer
  • songwriter
Instrument(s)
  • Guitar
  • vocals
  • bass
Member of
Formerly of
  • A
  • The Urbane
Websitejohnmitchellhq.com

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
Mitchell performing in 2017

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

with Frost*

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 Gandalf's Fist

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
  1. "John Mitchell – It Bites – Interview Exclusive". Uber Rock. 15 April 2012. Archived from the original on 1 June 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  2. "John Mitchell". Rateyourmusic.com. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  3. Astley-Brown, Michael (26 April 2017). "10 questions for Lonely Robot's John Mitchell". MusicRadar. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  4. "Interview with John Mitchell (It Bites)". Archived from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  5. ""A" vs The Wildhearts!, December 2008"". Archived from the original on 6 January 2009.
  6. "Events". Archived from the original on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  7. ""Outhouse Studios client list"". Archived from the original on 17 September 2009. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
  8. December 2014, Martin Kielty04 (4 December 2014). "John Mitchell confirms Lonely Robot debut". Loudersound.com. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  9. "Lonely Robot announces second studio album 'The Big Dream' – John Mitchell". Johnmitchellhq.com. 15 February 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  10. "John Mitchell on the birth of White Star Records". Teamrock.com. 15 March 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  11. "Donockley, Nolan, Stevens guest with Gandalf's Fist - TeamRock". www.teamrock.com. Archived from the original on 13 August 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  12. "GANDALF'S FIST - A Forest Of Fey (2014)". Progarchives.com. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
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