The Only One To Blame

Having just returned home from touring in Europe and a holiday in Scotland, Mitchell seems hardly taken over by jetlag, the guitarist quite battle-hardened from the constant touring and recording of Earthless, Howlin' Rain and Golden Void. With Earthless recently reaching the minds of stoner/psych enthusiasts around the country via a December national tour and thanks to the success of their previous live album Sonic Prayer Jam, all eyes are now on Mitchell to see what he has in store for fans this time around.

The first question on everybody's lips regarding this solo venture is how it differs from his previous works. With a strong focus on the band dynamic within Earthless and Howlin' Rain, what can be expected of this unusual outing for the man?

“There is going to be elements that are the same,” Mitchell recalls in relation to his band life, “there is going to be some electronic elements in it; I wanna have some drum machines and backing tracks, and play solo on top of it. I'm gonna be doing some looping rhythms and vocal loops and solo on top of that. I mean, it is a totally different approach for me than any of the other stuff. I have pretty much written everything on my own so it is different from those other projects, so I'm the one to blame if anything goes horribly wrong,” Mitchell laughs.

This tour marks the first solo outing for Mitchell and it's no doubt an anticipated experience for fans and even Mitchell himself. “This is my first time really having a go at anything solo. I think in a way I am kind of nervous and shy so I feel this approach provides a comfort zone as opposed to totally exposing with just an acoustic guitar. To have people throwing rotten vegetables at me is harder. This is the first time I have ever done something like this and I see it as a great stepping stone.” When asked if this would develop in the future Mitchell responds enthusiastically, “Oh absolutely. If there's an audience for it, I would absolutely love to do it. If the music is interesting enough for the listener, yeah I want to do it.”

Earthless and Australia have long gotten along. The group have toured the country twice and seem to only be growing in popularity throughout our parts. Also of note for our fair city, Tim, the main man behind local guitar mecca Tym Guitars, has constructed a pedal for the group, released a 7” through his record label and hints at the possibility of more following the release of Earthless' newly recorded album.

“He is a legend,” states Mitchell. “[Heathen Skulls promoter] Robert (MacManus) introduced us. We played The Zoo and he was the nicest guy and he said it himself that he doesn't like our kind of music, he likes punk. But he really likes Earthless so we just met through that and then after we played he gave Mario a pedal and then I was like, 'Whoa, that'd be awesome', so I thought I'd hit him up and see what it'd take to get a pedal and he was like, 'How about I just build you one?'” Mitchell fondly continues: “It'd be rad to have my own guitar pedal [I thought], and he made that dream come true – he's amazing.” Mitchell goes on the recall visiting the local wildlife sanctuary and is envious of the Brisbane “tropical climate”.

In among his run of solo performances, Mitchell is doing a select few shows as The Black Elk Medicine Band, using an all-star Australian rhythm section comprised of the aforementioned Robert MacManus [Grey Daturas, Monarch] and Nick Allbrook [Tame Impala, Pond].

“Alright, this is how got together,” he begins, spilling the story on how The Black Elk Medicine Band came about. “So, I was in my bedroom messing around with my delay pedal and getting all ethereal, having fun with it, and then my wife walks in and she was like, 'Why don't you write all this psychedelic stuff down?' And I was like, 'Oh, that's a pretty good idea!'” Mitchell chuckles. “My wife was the catalyst, she inspired the thought with just me messing around with the delay pedal in the bedroom and I really liked the idea. 'I should do something; why am I not?'”

The idea of The Black Elk Medicine Band seems to be a broad approach for Mitchell with him explaining that it's not limited to the recently released 7”. “I've always seen it as for this tour and for the songs put out on the 7” I could call it 'The Black Elk Medicine Psychedelic Surf Band' or I was thinking if I wanted to do a blues project, which I think I will, which would be more traditional blues, I'd call it 'The Black Elk Medicine Blues Band'. I'd love to be under this name for future projects; I care deeply about Black Elk and Native American culture and have people ask questions and go out and find what it really is.”

The ties to psych and prog music with Mitchell is obvious in his work with Earthless and Howlin' Rain, and the association with his childhood and the music. Growing up in San Diego and later relocating to San Francisco, there has been no shortage of inspiration for Mitchell throughout his life.

“Oh man, my dad was feeding me Blue Tears and Black Sabbath at a pretty young age. When I was younger I thought it'd be the coolest thing on earth to do what Cream did and then all of a sudden this guy showed me Nebula and I couldn't believe that someone was doing it and that made me super-happy and inspired. I thought it was the coolest thing ever,” says Mitchell. “Oh yeah, majorly. San Francisco had all the great stuff in the '60s, there is no doubt about it that the scenery around here has influenced a lot of the music, there is no way around it. There is so many great bands up here, it's unbelievable, you can't even count them all, there is way too many.”

Mitchell is without a doubt a virtuoso guitar player; in this tour's press release he was dubbed a 'pitch perfect guitarist'. When asked on his take of this Mitchell bluntly states with a chuckle, “No, no, I make mistakes. When I think of pitch perfect I think of tasteful players and I like what I am trying to evoke most of the time and I am proud of my playing but there is so much room for improvement.” But with one final laugh he says, “That's nice of that person to say that.”