Alumni focus: Chris Mitchell
Starting his own band at age 15, he never imagined that 20 years later he would still be performing with the same key members and one new addition- his wife. Singer, songwriter, guitarist, and composer, Chris Mitchell is a successful entrepreneur who has been involved with the music industry his entire life. His band, the Chris Mitchell Band, has been performing original compositions as well as different genres of music in Statesboro, Ga. since 1993. His company, Pladd Dot Music, handles all the band’s logistics and operations. Over the years, the business has grown into solid foundation of music education and sales. Mitchell explains his journey began when he first stepped in front of a crowd.
“I think really why I got interested in music was the performing aspect,” Mitchell said. “I really just loved being in front of people and performing, and music was the way I did that.” The first time Mitchell performed was in a sixth grade lip-sinking competition. He took home the first place award but found more interest in something other than his prize. “The lip sinking didn’t mean that much of a deal to me either, but it was the actual crowd,” Mitchell said. “I really liked the performing aspect and the people.”
Coming from a family of musicians, Mitchell began playing the guitar when he was 14-years-old and began performing only a year later. “We formed a band with my best friend Brian, my cousin, and another one of my friends,” Mitchell said. “We just started playing together and kept at it for a while. Even at [15-years-old], we were starting to book gigs, and were able to do some pretty cool things early on.”
Mitchel went on to study classical guitar and voice at Georgia Southern University and received a Bachelors of Music. He performed the first student classical guitar recital and became a key member in the development of the program. In addition to his studies, Mitchell was hard at work with his band, known as Wallace Green at the time, producing their first album Wonderllamasoup. It was through this experience that Mitchell decided he should study graphic design.
“We went to do our first album, and I looked at the bill that we got from the graphic house,” Mitchell said. “We paid more money to have it designed than we did to actually record the album! I knew right away I had to learn how to do this stuff because we just spent way too much on design.”
Mitchell had been interested in art and drawing since he was young. Seeing how much money his band spent on a graphic designer, really pushed him to dedicate himself to studying graphic design. Mitchell purchased a computer and began experimenting. “I really took on graphic design so I could handle all of our publishing,” Mitchell said. Wallace Green’s next album, evandrool, was produced three years later, and by this time Mitchel was experienced enough to handle all the design.
Wallace Green actually signed with Knot Known Records, Inc., a small label out of Arizona, to produce evandrool in 1999. According to Mitchell, signing the label opened a few doors for the band, but the overall experience wasn’t what most people would expect. “It wasn’t a flood gate of super stardom like some people think, but it was beneficial to us,” Mitchel said. “What I really learned from signing with the label was what could go wrong and what can go right. That was a really good stepping stone.”
Although Mitchell currently owns and operates his own band and company, he never formally studied business. “I didn’t have any business classes-I was always just involved around music,” Mitchell said. “I do credit a lot of that to the university job I had while I was [at Georgia Southern].” Mitchel worked as the music coordinator for Union Productions, now known as Eagle Entertainment. Working to hire bands for different events, Mitchell was under a very limited budget. However, through this position he soon learned the operations of a business. “I kept office hours and made it a point to buckle down and get focused on how to run a business,” Mitchell said.
In Mitchell’s opinion, he has been involved with the business world since he was a teenager. “If you think about it, I have been in business since I was 15. I have owned my own business since 15,” Mitchell said. What Mitchell is referring to is his band. “That’s what people don’t understand about bands. When you’re in a band, you own a business and you own a brand.” This was one of the main reasons Mitchell decided to officially change the name of his band to The Chris Mitchell Band. He explained it was a branding choice to make sure he created a solid foundation.
Over the years, Mitchell contributes the band’s success to knowing and understanding the customers. “The answer is yes when the customer asks a question. That has always been my motto,” Mitchell said. As an entrepreneur, he looks for opportunities with the people he interacts with during his performances.
“I think that if you’re an entrepreneur that means you listen for opportunities, and many times they come from the customers,” Mitchell said. “That is why the Chris Mitchell Band is still playing in Statesboro since 1993. I understand that it is about what the customer wants.”
Mitchell is currently working on the release of the band’s next two albums, CM the Small Band and CMB. For Mitchell, song writing is really where he releases all of his energy. “I love every aspect of what I do,” Mitchell said. “There is never a day when I dread going to work and doing what I love, playing and performing music.”
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