Wikipedia

John Mitchell (musician)

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

John Mitchell (born 21 June 1973)[2][deprecated source] 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 Asia, as well as pursuing a solo career with the Lonely Robot project.

John Mitchell
Mitchell in Outhouse Studios
Mitchell in Outhouse Studios
Background information
Born (1973-06-21) 21 June 1973 (age 51)
Shannon, County Clare, Ireland
GenresProgressive rock[1]
Occupations
  • Musician
  • record producer
  • songwriter
Instruments
  • Guitar
  • vocals
  • bass
Member of
Formerly of
  • A
  • The Urbane
Websitejohnmitchellhq.com

Early life and career

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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] As of 2015, he has been releasing records and touring with his solo project Lonely Robot, whose debut album Please Come Home was released on 23 February 2015.[5] and featured a number of guest artists including Peter Cox, Steve Hogarth, Jem Godfrey, Nik Kershaw, and British actor Lee Ingleby. A second album, The Big Dream, was released in April 2017; [6] a third, Under Stars, followed in April 2019.

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,[7] 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.[8]

In 2024, Mitchell joined Asia as the guitarist for the band's Heat of the Moment tour.[9]

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.[10]

Mitchell is also the co-owner and co-founder of White Star Records, an independent record label which focuses on prog rock artists.[11] Mitchell released an EP under his own name, The Nostalgia Factory, on White Star Records in 2016.

Discography

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Mitchell performing in 2017

with The Urbane

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  • Neon (1999)
  • Glitter (2003)

with Arena

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  • 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)
  • The Theory of Molecular Inheritance (2022)

with Kino

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with Frost*

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with Blind Ego

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  • Mirror (2007)

with Flash Range

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  • On The Way (2007)

with John Wetton

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  • Amorata (2009) (METAL MIN2)

with It Bites

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  • 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

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with Lonely Robot

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  • Please Come Home (2015)
  • The Big Dream (2017)
  • Under Stars (2019)
  • Feelings Are Good (2020)
  • A Model Life (2022)

with Legacy Pilots

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  • Con Brio (2018)
  • Aviation (2020)
  • The Penrose Triangle (2021)
  • Thru The Lens (2024)

with The Kite Experiment

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  • Atmospherics (2021 - EP)

Solo

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  • The Nostalgia Factory (2016 - EP)

Equipment

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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.

Mitchell has since used a Boss GT1000 ran directly into the PA system; this can be seen on photos during the Arena tours.[14]

References

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  1. ^ a b "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. ^ Kielty, Martin (4 December 2014). "John Mitchell confirms Lonely Robot debut". Loudersound.com. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Lonely Robot announces second studio album 'The Big Dream' – John Mitchell". Johnmitchellhq.com. 15 February 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  7. ^ ""A" vs The Wildhearts!, December 2008"". Archived from the original on 6 January 2009.
  8. ^ "Events". Archived from the original on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  9. ^ "Heat of the Moment Tour 2024" article on newspage on "Original Asia" homepage
  10. ^ ""Outhouse Studios client list"". Archived from the original on 17 September 2009. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
  11. ^ "John Mitchell on the birth of White Star Records". Teamrock.com. 15 March 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  12. ^ "Donockley, Nolan, Stevens guest with Gandalf's Fist - TeamRock". www.teamrock.com. Archived from the original on 13 August 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  13. ^ "GANDALF'S FIST - A Forest Of Fey (2014)". Progarchives.com. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  14. ^ "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
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