Kim Mitchell won’t let a tough year stop him from doing his “Rock and Roll Duty.”
Mitchell, who had sev
eral in the ’80s and early ’90s including “Patio Lanterns,” “Rock and Roll Duty” and “Easy To Tame,” returns to Lethbridge to play Whoop Up Days, Aug. 25.
“It was a bit of a challenge. I lost three people close to me and my job on radio (as drive time DJ on Q107 after 11 years ) ended and a relationship and I ended up having a heart attack on top of it, but here I am talking to you, so it’s all right,” said Mitchell, negotiating challenging Toronto traffic on his way to a have a bite to eat with a buddy.
“ But I’m feeling way better now,” he said adding he is excited to play in front of people again.
“I just love having the opportunity to play in front of people. It’s pretty exciting,” he said.
He was last in Lethbridge in 2012 to play Whoop Up Days.
“It was an outdoor gig. And playing outdoors in the summer is the best feeling. Why would you want to play inside,” he enthused.
He is considering recording a new CD.
“I wrote a bunch of lighter stuff years ago in 2008 for my “Ain’t Life Amazing” Cd and played them for one of my buddies Greg Wells who came to visit me when I had my heart attack. He has worked with a lot of new bands like Katy Perry, he produced her last two albums, and One Direction, he wants to work with me on an album. So I’ll be going to Los Angeles,” he said.
“It’s nice, but who really gives a fuck about albums anymore. Painters have to paint and musicians have to play and record,” he said.
“ It’s not the same as it was when when I was recording in the ’80s. it used to be 100 bands selling a million albums. Now it’s a million bands selling 100 albums,” he said.
He loves playing live and connecting with audiences, though he doesn’t look at it as cathartic.
“ In some respects it is. It has given a lot to me. Music is what I live for,” he said.
He said Whoop Days audiences can expect to hear a whole lot of hits.
“I’m a one stop customer service shop for rock and roll,” he said, emphasizing he is all about giving his fans what they want to hear.
“I don’t understand some musicians like Sinnead O’Connor, who I heard won’t play ‘Nothing To Compare To You’ anymore. That’s what people pay to hear,” he said.
He still enjoys the live experience.
“I like the feeling you get when a musicians gives off energy to the audience and they give the energy right back to the musician. It’s about communicating with each other. And there’s a whole lot of love. That’s what I love the most,” he said.
Local blues-rock band Zojo Black opens the night, Thursday, Aug. 25 at 8 p.m,. Kim Mitchell is on at 9:30 p.m.
