The Mitchells have taken Cincinnati by storm since their creation not so long ago. They tour the Midwest consistently and play out all over town. It seems every music aficionado I have met in the past year want to know if I have heard of The Mitchells. Sheez…of course I have heard of The Mitchells, who hasn’t? The Mitchells play acoustic music that is underpinned by a love of electronics. Experience with classical performance has influenced a few of the musicians and has led to appearance of violin and cello, while keeping a boot firmly placed in the world of indie rock.
The Mitchells are opening Bunbury Music Festival! I caught up with the one and only Joseph William Mitchell to get some insight on The Mitchell family.
Tell me the story of how The Mitchells came to be.
We jokingly began playing music as Joseph William Mitchell and Dallas Mitchell early last summer at Arnold’s a few times. The Mitchells are relatively new. We really didn’t get going completely with everyone until October last fall. Being aptly fearful of the internet and people’s Googling skills we created those pseudonyms. When people would ask the name of the band we would explain that we are “The Mitchells” as in the Mitchell brothers and it started to stick as we got more brothers and sisters. After awhile instead of trying to think up a band name it was just funnier to call the band The Mitchells because it sounded like a weird cult family or something. Also, we are kind of cult like in a way in that we are all very similar in our weird vibe.
What’s the one thing our audience can do this week to engage in and help build up the Cincinnati Music Scene?
This week you should check out the all the local bands who are playing at Bunbury. Just go online and listen to a few things and get excited for them.
Probably the most helpful thing would be to just listen to some of the bands who play around town online. CincyMusic.com is a wonderful resource for locating local music but you can also check out any of the gig schedules at Comet, MOTR, Northside Tavern, Mayday, and Southgate House Revival. If you start to like one of those bands a little, depending on your particular taste obviously, start going to their shows. Tell your friends to join you and help them out getting their word out. I think most people would be surprised at how accessible our local scene is and how amazing the people are who are doing it.
Honestly, as musicians most of us complain that we wish we could support each other more because any night in town (especially on the weekends) you have amazing live original performance happening all over town. A lot of it is truly world class. It is frustratingly impossible to see everyone you want to see because there is literally so much good stuff happening right now and being created right now in this city. If you start checking out the scene you will certainly find things you like and be surprised with what is being created.
What artist are you most looking forward to seeing at Bunbury?
The list is huge. Every day offers something different and equally interesting to music fans, but locally we are really pumped to see our friends on stage with all these other huge regional touring acts. Knowing that our own are going to be bringing their best stuff gets us really excited to see them perform in that kind of environment. Probably sounds goofy in a way but its true. Some of the best things that Bunbury has to offer will also be the bands and the shows that you aren’t expecting to witness. We are just really excited to be around so much great music.
What’s the one thing an out of towner should do, or place they should go, when they visit Cincinnati?
Shake It Records in Northside and Northside in general. Obviously, the banks and the new parks we have developed are going to be good things to do as well because of the close proximity to Bunbury. Venturing up to the gateway corridor or Main Street in OTR is a definite stop if the out of towner wants to understand why Cincinnati is on the up and up.
What is next for The Mitchells? Tour, shows, album?
We are going to be releasing our first full length album this fall. We have been working on it pretty intensely this year and it’s really going to be something when finished. We are playing in Athens around Halloween so that should be interesting and we are going to continue to play locally as much as possible.
Win a pass to Bunbury Music Festival HERE!
The Mitchells
Bunbury Music Festival
Friday July 12th
Amphitheater Stage
2p
