Kim Mitchell Biography
Kim Mitchell is a Canadian musician born July 10, 1952 in Ontario, Canada as Joseph Kim Mitchell. Mitchell was the lead singer and guitarist for the band Max Webster before going on to lead a solo career.
Mitchell attended St. Clair Secondary School in Sarnia. He began playing with local bands in Sarnia in the 1970s. After going through a few name changes with essentially the same band, Mitchell and “Zooom” headed for Toronto, Ontario. The group eventually dissolved, with Mitchell travelling to the Greek islands.
His 1984 single, “Go For Soda”, was his only charted song on the US Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 86. Six other singles, “Patio Lanterns”, “Rock and Roll Duty”, “Rockland Wonderland”, “Expedition Sailor”, “America”, and “Some Folks”, reached the top 20 in Canada.
Kim Mitchell Family
Kim Mitchell has two sons, Josh and Jesse. Jesse works for his father as a drum tech and road manager.
Kim Mitchell Net Worth
Mitchell’s net worth is estimated to be in the range of approximately $67839512 in 2018.
Kim Mitchell Career
After returning to Canada, Kim formed the band Max Webster with fellow Sarnia native Pye Dubois. The band toured extensively and built a string of hits. Mitchell’s solo career began after his departure from Max Webster, with session work and a succession of solo albums.
He recorded his first self-titled mini-album in 1982. In early 1985, the song “Go For Soda” from the Akimbo Alogo album became an international hit and remains his best known song outside of his native Canada. His most successful Canadian album was the follow-up, 1986’s Shakin’ Like a Human Being, featuring the hits “Alana Loves Me”, “Easy to Tame”, and the biggest hit of his career, “Patio Lanterns”.
In 1992, Mitchell played guitar on the track “Brave and Crazy” from Tom Cochrane’s album Mad Mad World and in the same year he appeared on the third season finale of the Canadian sketch program The Kids in the Hall. In 1995, he participated in the Kumbaya Festival to raise money for AIDS research.
From 2004 to August 2015, Mitchell entered the radio broadcasting industry, becoming an afternoon drivetime host on Toronto classic rock radio station Q107 (CILQ-FM).On 15th of November , 2004, he was awarded the National Achievement Award by SOCAN at the 2004 SOCAN Awards in Toronto.
In 2006, Mitchell provided a guitar solo on the song “Wind It Up” from the Barenaked Ladies’ album Barenaked Ladies Are Me. He released his eighth studio album, Ain’t Life Amazing on July 17, 2007. The Kim Mitchell Band features his musical partner since 1982, Peter Fredette, on bass and vocals, with Dave Langguth on drums and vocals, and Ray Coburn on keyboards. In January 2016, Mitchell underwent emergency surgery after he suffered a heart attack.
Kim Mitchell Photo
Kim Mitchell Tour Dates Concerts
- 1 Jul
Lake Cowichan, BC
Laketown Rock Music Festival - 7 Jul
Bala, ON
Kee to Bala - 12 Jul
London, Ontario
Rock the Park 2018 @ Harris Park - 14 Jul
Canora, SK
Canora in Bloom Festival at King George Park - 20 Jul
Kemptville, ON
Kemptville Music Festival - 21 Jul
Waterloo, ON
Maxwell’s - 28 Jul
Shediac, NB
Shediac Lobster Rock 2018 - 4 Aug
Tyne Valley, PEI
Rock the Boat Music Festival 2018 - 5 Aug
Minnedosa, MB
Rocking The Fields in Minnedosa - 8 Aug
Penticton, BC
71st Annual Penticton Peach Festival at Okanagan Lake Park - 9 Aug
Grand Forks, BC
Grand Forks - 11 Aug
Prince George, BC
Cariboo Rocks the North @ Exhibition Centre - 17 Aug
Regina, SK
Casino Regina Show Lounge - 18 Aug
Vancouver, BC
Ambleside Park - 19 Aug
Saskatoon, SK
DELTA BESSBOROUGH GARDENS - 23 Aug
Winnipeg, MB
Winnipeg Classic RockFest 2018 - 7 Sep
Hamner, ON
Valley East Days 2018
Kim Mitchell Akimbo Alogo
Akimbo Alogo is an album by Canadian singer and guitarist Kim Mitchell, released on Alert Records in Canada, and on Bronze Records in other territories, including the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, and Japan. It is his the first full-length solo album with 10 songs.
- Go For Soda
- That’s a Man
- All We Are
- Diary for Rock ‘n’ Roll Men
- Love Ties
- Feel it Burn
- Lager & Ale
- Rumour Has It
- Caroline
- Called Off
To get the songs lyrics click here.
Kim Mitchell Albums
- 1982 Kim Mitchell
- 1984 Akimbo Alogo
- 1986 Shakin’ Like A Human Being
- 1989 Rockland
- 1992 Aural Fixations
- 1994 Itch
- 1999 Kimosabe
- 2007 Ain’t Life Amazing
Kim Mitchell Songs
- Acrimony
- All We Are
- Alana Loves Me
- Big Best Summer
- Big Smoke
- Blow Me A Kiss
- Cheer Us On
- Called Off
- Caroline
- Cellophane
- Chain Of Events
- Cold Reality
- Deep Dive
- Diary For Rock & Roll Men
- Dog And A Bone
- Dreamer
- Easy to Tame
- Expedition Sailor
- Feel It Burn
- Find The Will
- Flames
- Go for Soda
- Get Back What’s Gone
- Heartbreakbustop
- Hullabaloo
- Human Condition
- I Am a Wild Party
- Karaoke Queen
- Kids In Action
- Kimosobe
- Lager & Ale
- Lemon Wedge
- Lost Lovers Found
- Love Ties
- Lick Yer Finger
- Miss Demeanor
- Monkey Shine
- Moodstreet
- Mercy Louise
- Over Me
- Patio Lanterns
- Rock & Roll Duty
- Rocklandwonderland
- Pure As Gold
- Rainbow
- Rumour Has It
- Skinny Buddah
- Some Folks
- Stand
- Stickin My Heart
- That’s the Hold
- The U.S. Of Ache
- Wonder Where & Why
- World’s Such a Wonder
- Your Face or Mine
Kim Mitchell Patio Lanterns
Kim Mitchell Lyrics
Kim Mitchell News
Kim Mitchell rocks sold out Canora Music Festival
Updated On: 12th August 2018
Source: https://www.canoracourier.com
“I’m just doing my rock n roll duty”
“Might as well go for a soda, nobody hurts and nobody cries”
Classic Kim Mitchell tunes rang out across King George Park in Canora on July 14, as the headline performer and his band thrilled a sellout crowd of close to 1,000 fans at the first annual Canora Music Festival.
The 90-minute concert featured familiar tunes from the Kim Mitchell library, including: Check, Lager and Ale, Easy to Tame, All We Are, Patio Lanterns, Wild Party, and many more, as well as some new music.
Mitchell quickly displayed his easy knack for relating to fans, and paid tribute to the scenic region in and around Canora and its people.
“We are completely jazzed. It’s so wonderful you invited us to such a nice spot,” he said. “We were driving here from Yorkton and saw the sun going down on the prairies. During my career of over 40 years I’ve been all over the world, but that was really beautiful.”
His quick wit and sense of humour came across when he was getting ready to do Wild Party and involved the crowd, instructing them on when to sing the familiar line, ”I am a wild party.”
“Think of this as a rehearsal, even though we don’t like to rehearse much,” said Mitchell. “We really need your help with this one, so no screwing around or we’ll just get in the car and go home.”
Of course, the song went off without a hitch, and Mitchell and his band went on to perform many other familiar tunes. During the concert, he told the crowd that he and band mate Peter Fredette had been performing together for over 35 years.
Seven Levels, a folk/rock group from Canora, played their set for an appreciative audience, including slower tempo ballads and upbeat rockers. Band members are: Kelly McTavish (lead vocal, lead guitar), Gillian Leson (backup vocals, keyboard, acoustic guitar), Parker Rice (drums) and Mike Kwas (bass). The majority of the set was original music, including a song called Canora Town, recently written by McTavish about his adopted home town after moving in about a decade ago.
“I’m an outlaw in a foreign town.
“Ten years have come and gone.
“All the folks on the street have been kind to me, here in Canora town.”
After the song, McTavish quipped, “There you go Canora, your very own song.”
The band has been together in various forms for over a decade, but the current lineup came together in 2012.
Even though Seven Levels focuses mainly on original music, the group’s closing song was a cover of Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World by Neil Young, which is, according to McTavish, “The best last song ever.”
The festival included a pair of well known Saskatchewan country artists.
Spiritwood native Brody Siebert played his distinctive brand of country music to open the festival. Siebert, the 2017 CMA male vocalist of the year, said, “This is my first time playing in Canora and I’m so happy to be part of this outstanding lineup.”
Siebert performed a variety of his original music, including a new single, Ring On It. He and his band members showed off their versatility with a rockin’ version of the Foo Fighters song Wheels.
Samara Yung, originally from Yorkton, followed Siebert with her own brand of country music. She had her fans up and dancing to her original music from four previous albums, as well as her latest release Steamroller.
Yung was very appreciative of the invitation to perform at the festival.
“I like to spend summers at Canora Beach, so this is practically my second home. You guys put on an amazing event, thank you for having me,” she said.
Yung said she grew up listening to Kim Mitchell, and played a number classic 80s rock tunes such as Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Jessie’s Girl and Don’t Stop Believin’.
League of Wolves, a Saskatoon-based ”powerhouse rock group” played a high energy set in Canora, taking a break from working on a new album.
The group was originally made up of four childhood friends, but recently added lead guitarist Leot Hanson, formerly with another well known Saskatoon band, the Sheepdogs.
Lead singer Dillon Currie said he and the other band members were grateful for the opportunity to perform in Canora.
“Thanks for having us, this is one of the most amazing venues we’ve every played,” he said. “And this is a lot more fun than the last time I was in Canora, when I was about 12 years old and you guys kicked our butts in hockey provincials.”
Men Without Shame was the final group to perform at the festival. Known as “The Prairies ultimate classic rock band,” the set included classics made famous by bands such as Trooper, April Wine, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Cheap Trick, Bay City Rollers, Motley Crue and others.
“We appreciate the effort that went into the Canora Music Festival,” said a representative of the group. “The organization, concert site, technical crews, staging, sound and lighting were impeccable, along with a super fun audience. It’s a beautiful venue and it was a memorable gig for sure. Well done Canora.”
Brooke Nickel, originally from Canora, joined Men Without Shame on stage for one song, a “powerful performance” of Barracuda, originally made famous by Heart.
At the end of the festival, a phrase heard often from fans was, “This was so much fun. We need to do it again next year.”
Overall, the first Canora Music Festival was a big success, said Aaron Herriges, director of leisure services and one of the festival organizers. He said it was the result of lots of hard organizing work by many volunteers and members of the leisure services board and the Canora music society.
“Even community members that weren’t involved with organizing helped with setup the night before,” said Herriges, “including the fencing, tables and chairs. Some brush and trees were removed from the park to create an amazing concert space.”
He said in addition to performing at the festival, the members of Seven Levels were also deeply involved in the production of the event.
Herriges said there were a few minor problems along the way, but overall everything went very well.
“There was a storm the night before the festival, but preparations made for weather by the organizing committee and public works allowed us to deal with the hail and rain on the morning of the festival,” he said. “We were able to direct water to areas where it could be managed.”
Support from sponsors played a key role in making the festival happen, but Herriges said the value of the volunteers was felt throughout the event.
“I guess for me the highlight was seeing a bunch volunteers working so well together for a common goal,” he said. “In the end it feels really good what we were able to accomplish. People like that are invaluable assets to the community. They really deserve a lot of praise for how hard they worked.”
Herriges said the success of the festival could have long term benefits in Canora’s future.
“It definitely lets the province know Canora is a player when it comes bringing in big time entertainment,” he said. “The project was an experiment that proved that great live music is important to people in the area. I believe genre doesn’t matter, I think people just like music in general and they are already talking about future concerts in whatever type of music that may be.”
He said discussions will soon be held on the possibility of holding another music festival during next year’s Canora in Bloom.
“I kind of like the idea of being unpredictable when it comes to the main weekend event, so we’ll see,” Herriges said.