John Mitchell | |
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 Mitchell in Outhouse Studios | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 21 June 1973 Shannon, County Clare, Ireland |
| Genres | Progressive rock [1] |
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| Website | johnmitchellhq |
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 Asia, as well as pursuing a solo career with the Lonely Robot project.
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.
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]
Celtic Frost was a Swiss metal band from Zürich. They are remembered for their strong influence on the development of several varieties of extreme metal and for their avant-garde approach to music more generally.
Nicholas Beggs is a British musician, noted for playing the bass guitar and the Chapman Stick; he is a member of the Mute Gods and Kajagoogoo, formerly also a part of Iona and Ellis, Beggs & Howard and plays in the band of Steven Wilson. He is known for modifying a Chapman Stick into a fully MIDI-capable instrument triggering MIDI from both bass and melody strings; he calls it the Virtual Stick.
Terrorvision are an English rock band. They were formed in 1987 in Keighley, West Yorkshire, England, and initially disbanded in 2001. The band used Bradford as a base after the name change to Terrorvision in 1991, by which time the band members had all moved there.
Arena are an English neo-prog band founded in 1995. Their style ranges from symphonic to hard rock.
Martin Lancelot Barre is an English guitarist best known for his longtime role as lead guitarist of British rock band Jethro Tull, with whom he recorded and toured from 1968 until the band's initial dissolution in 2011. Barre played on all of Jethro Tull's studio albums from their 1969 album Stand Up to their 2003 album The Jethro Tull Christmas Album. In the early 1990s he began a solo career, and he has recorded several albums as well as touring with his own live band.
Flights are an English alternative/progressive rock band formed in May 2010 in Bristol. The band comprises Joel Pearce on vocals/guitars, Joe Newcombe on guitars/vocals, Dean Bowden on bass/vocals and Adam Cann on drums.
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It Bites are an English progressive rock and pop fusion band, formed in Egremont, Cumbria, in 1982 and best known for their 1986 single "Calling All the Heroes", which gained them a Top 10 UK Singles Chart hit.
Emil John Schmidt IV, known professionally as Acey Slade, is an American musician. He is the bassist and one of the guitarists in the nu metal/industrial band Dope and a former guitarist of the horror punk and glam metal act Murderdolls. He is also the lead singer and guitarist of Acey Slade & the Dark Party and a touring guitarist of The Misfits. Previous to this, he served as the bassist in Joan Jett & the Blackhearts and as the lead vocalist and guitarist in the punk rock band Trashlight Vision, which broke up in 2007.
Francis Dunnery is an English musician, singer-songwriter, record producer and record label owner.
John Beck is an English musician and songwriter, best known for his role as a member of progressive rock/pop fusion band It Bites.
Kino are a British neo-prog band made up of members from other progressive rock acts.
Frost* are an English neo-prog supergroup, formed in 2004 by Jem Godfrey and members of Arena, Kino, and IQ. Frost* released their first studio album, Milliontown, in 2006, before splitting up. In 2008, Godfrey reformed Frost*, adding Darwin's Radio vocalist and guitarist, Declan Burke, to the lineup, and released their second album, Experiments in Mass Appeal. The band disbanded again in 2011, to reunite later in September, after a brief hiatus.
Bernie Tormé was an Irish rock guitarist, songwriter, record label and recording studio owner. Tormé is best known for his work with Gillan, as well as his brief stint with Ozzy Osbourne replacing Randy Rhoads. He formed the band Desperado with Twisted Sister singer Dee Snider. He also toured with Atomic Rooster.
Chris McCormack is an English rock guitarist, best known as the guitarist and co-founder of 1990s rock band, 3 Colours Red and the organiser of Camden Rocks Festival.
Big Big Train are an English progressive rock band formed in Bournemouth in 1990. The current line-up includes band founder Gregory Spawton, along with Nick D'Virgilio, Rikard Sjöblom, Dave Foster (guitars), Clare Lindley, Alberto Bravin and Oskar Holldorff. Until 2009, the band were active as a predominantly studio project led by Spawton and co-founder Andy Poole, who departed the band in 2018, with changing line-ups and guest musicians. They have released fourteen studio albums and six EPs.
Touchstone are an English progressive rock band. The band was formed by keyboardist Rob Cottingham and guitarist Adam Hodgson in 2003. The name was thought up by Rob, being taken from a lyric in his solo album, Behind The Orchard Tree. Touchstone's music is distributed by Proper Music Distribution.
Mark Gemini Thwaite, also known as MGT, is an English musician who has been the guitarist for a number of rock bands and artists, including The Mission, trip hop pioneer Tricky, Peter Murphy of Bauhaus, New Disease, Spear of Destiny & Theatre of Hate, Mob Research, and Canadian band National Velvet plus various live and recorded appearances with Gary Numan, Al Jourgensen of Ministry, Revolting Cocks, Roger Daltrey of the Who, P.J. Harvey, Alanis Morissette, Raymond Watts and PIG, Primitive Race, Ricky Warwick of Thin Lizzy, Ginger of The Wildhearts, Stan Lee of Marvel Comics, Franz Treichler of The Young Gods, Miles Hunt & The Wonder Stuff, Burton C. Bell of Fear Factory, American rapper DMX, Laurence "Lol" Tolhurst and Porl Thompson of The Cure and Ville Valo of Finnish band HIM.
Gandalf's Fist is an English band originally from Maryport, Cumbria. The band operates and records their own material from their headquarters currently located in South Norfolk. Their music is influenced by 1970s progressive/psychedelic rock. The group formed in 2005, and built their reputation through various airplay by national radio with the help of several interviews in the "Classic Rock presents Prog"-Magazine, they cemented their reputation by playing at the "Second Stage" of Planet Rockstock in Great Yarmouth in December 2013, despite being a "initially studio only" project. They were featured in the TOP20 of Geoff Barton's 2013 Critic's choice in PROG Magazine Issue #41.
The Clockwork Fable is the sixth studio album by the English progressive rock band Gandalf's Fist. Released on 1 May 2016, it is a three disc spanning rock-opera interspersed with a professionally acted radio play between the actual songs. Each disc of the record serves as an individual element of a traditional three-act structure.
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