On this edition of Music Video Reform School, Jackie and Martina take on Canadian legend Kim Mitchell

 

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Kim Mitchell. Guitarist, singer, songwriter, broadcaster, b Sarnia, Ont, 10 Jul 1952. Kim Mitchell grew up in Sarnia and moved to Toronto at age 17, where he played guitar in bar bands. He was the manic frontman 1972-81 for the quirky hard-rock band Max Webster, which, in its heyday, also included the Sarnia musicians Terry Watkinson (keyboards), Dave Myles (bass), and Gary McCracken (drums). A fifth member, lyricist Pye Dubois, did not perform with the band. Based in Toronto, Max Webster was equally one of the most popular and most original rock bands in Canada during the late 1970s, known for its LPs, all of which sold at least 50,000 copies, and for its hyperactive concerts. Max Webster performed widely in Canada and by 1980 had toured with Rush in the USA, Great Britain, and Europe. In collaboration with Dubois, Mitchell wrote such popular Max Webster songs as "Hangover," "High Class in Borrowed Shoes," and "Paradise Skies." The band is also remembered for "A Million Vacations," "Let Go the Line," etc.

 

Mitchell's Solo CareerMitchell turned to a solo career in 1982, after working as session guitarist and producer. He formed a band that included, most notably, the singer and multi-instrumentalist (guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, drums) Peter Fredette until 1990. Pye Dubois remained as Mitchell's lyricist, and their collaborations continued to capture the concerns and diversions of the teenaged Canadian male. The singles "Go for Soda" and "All We Are" (1984), "Patio Lanterns" and "Alana Loves Me" (1986), and "Easy to Tame" (1987) were popular. The autobiographical "Rock 'n' Roll Duty" was a major Canadian hit in 1989, followed that year by "Rocklandwonderland" and in 1990 by the lesser hits "Expedition Sailor" and "I Am a Wild Party." The LP Shakin' Like a Human Being received the 1986 Juno Award as album of the year and sold more than 300,000 copies. Mitchell himself received a Juno in 1983 as most promising male vocalist and in 1990 as male vocalist of the year. Juno nominations followed in 1991 and 1993. Sales of the albums akimbo alogo and Rockland exceeded 200,000.

Behind Mitchell's somewhat unconventional image - a face typically framed by two long hanks of hair and an Ontario Provincial Police cap - there is a rock guitarist of imagination (he was a pupil of Tony Bradan) and a pop songwriter of considerable craft. About his preference to collaborate with a lyricist, Mitchell stated, "I hate writing lyrics .... I speak through my six strings" (Peterborough This Week, 17 Aug 1995).

His performing career has been largely confined to Canada, where he has been especially popular on the summer concert circuit. He appeared regularly during the 1980s at the Kingswood Music Theatre, in Maple, Ont, where his concerts to 1988 had a combined attendance of more than 100,000.

After 1990

Mitchell's career after the 1980s heyday experienced dry spells. He released the albums Aural Fixations (1992, with lyricist Andy Curran); Itch (1994, with Dubois as lyricist); and after a five-year gap, Kimosabe. Only Fixations achieved gold status; a 1995 greatest hits compilation went platinum. Mitchell continued to perform during the summers, often in clubs and small venues and occasional larger concerts such as in Buffalo, NY, in July 2000, where he played outdoors for 20,000 attendees. During this period Max Webster also performed occasional reunion gigs. Mitchell announced his retirement from recording in 2001. For a time he wrote commercial jingles. In Aug 2004, he began broadcasting for Toronto rock radio station Q107 (CILQ-FM). In 2007 he came out of retirement to record Ain't Life Amazing, and undertook a cross-country tour.