Audience members attending the open house sporting Birkenstocks and T-shirts maneuvered carefully around the grease on the floor of the RV mechanic’s garage. Carrying their purses, the audience fingered the sale clothes racks at the department store.

Matt Mitchell
Dressed in ties, suit coats, and gowns, the audience listened carefully to the Pops Concert at the Tucson Music Hall. His fluency in diverse styles allows Matt Mitchell to carve out a successful career as a frequently seen guitarist in many venues of the Tucson music scene.
Matt’s musical journey began at age 7 in a visit to Aunt Mildred’s house. He picked out “On Top of Old Smokey” by ear on her electric piano. Following this success, he took piano lessons for 5 years, studying classical music. He discovered the guitar at 15 and was into pop, rock, and heavy metal for a brief period. Going into college, he returned to studying classical music on the guitar. Wisely, he learned to read music. This set him apart from many other guitarists who only play by ear or from those that learned ‘Tab’, a visual representation of the fret board that is an overly simple version of music.
Pause for a moment to hear Matt play Romanza.
For the year and a half before graduating from college, Matt was already making some income playing music. Once he graduated, he had to get a grasp on how to survive. He was very anxious but within a few months he was really psyched. He was making a living. He realized that if he just played one style, he had limited opportunities. He needed to diversify. First, he learned to play jazz. Continue reading →