How does it feel? To be without a home? Like a complete unknown? Like a rolling stone?
Ask Matt Mitchell.
The singer-songwriter had carved out a nice little musical niche for himself in Spokane. For about a decade he had been fronting the Americana band Folkception (later renamed Trego), which was popular enough to be voted Best Original Band in the Inlander's Best Of readers' poll for 2018 and 2019.
Mitchell was an established player in the scene... but he didn't just want to be the lead singer of a local band.
"It got to the point where, for me, this is what I'm really passionate about — music making," says Mitchell. "And I was in a situation where I was trying to work with five other people who all had careers and families — classic thing."
Feeling creatively and personally adrift, Mitchell decided to uproot his life and hit the road in the most literal sense.
"At the start of 2020, I packed up the house and moved into a bus," he says. "And I really didn't have a plan for the band. I felt pretty burnt out. And then COVID happened. And I sort of went through COVID with no music. I really missed music, and I missed the band. And I came back with all these new songs, pretty motivated, and I just couldn't get anything to happen [with the band]."
The disconnect between his goal to be a career musician and the rest of the band treating it more as a fun hobby halted any sense of forward momentum for Trego. It was a frustrating experience for Mitchell. And real life intervened to remind him that our time is precious, so we should make the most of it.
"In 2021, I had two close deaths of friends," Mitchell says, "it just put everything in perspective. It's like, I want to do music. And I want to be serious about it. And I want to play with serious people."
And so began the Matt Mitchell Music Co.
Mitchell's solo project began in earnest with the February 2022 release of the first MMMC album, Captive of the Mind. Seeking a stripped-back sound similar to Bob Dylan's self-titled debut album, it's an incredibly inviting collection of warm, thoughtful folk songs featuring little more than Mitchell, his acoustic guitar, and a couple of pals adding some mandolin and backing vocals.
But Mitchell's commitment to going all-in on music can't be contained by one mere record in a year. MMMC's second album of 2022, Ramona, is set to release on Oct. 7. To celebrate the occasion, MMMC is playing an album release show on Saturday, Oct. 8, at Lucky You Lounge.
Ramona boasts a starkly different sound than Captive of the Mind. Inspired by his bus-living travels up and down the West — Arizona, Mexico, etc. — the new record definitely leans into more of a dusty desert, Americana rock feeling.
"I definitely knew I wanted a more rockin' feel. I knew the songs were less introspective and more just jammy and fun," says Mitchell. "Vibe wise, I spent a lot of time in the deserts in the Southwest in 2020-2021. A lot of the songs are written down there. So I definitely wanted this sort of psychedelic rock and roll Southwest feel. And, I think, mission accomplished there."
Mitchell's itinerant lifestyle seeps into the songs on Ramona. The twangy instrumental palette captures a sense of place, while his lyricism wrestles with the highs and lows he's experienced over the past few years.
"There are some definite topical influences," he says. "One is the pandemic and lockdowns, just that weird time we're in. Two is sort of embracing traveling and being nomadic. I wrote 'Gravity' on the way down to Mexico and just sort of feeling stoked about life that night."
The transient bus-living life has so far been working out for Mitchell. He basically just drives until he finds a scenic spot that still has some cell signal so he can use a little router in his rig and work for a bit. Touring wise, his model is to just say yes to gigs and figure out who might serve as accompanying players later.
"I feel like I'm nimble. And I can go wherever I want. And I'm not asking a lot of people around me," says Mitchell.
He's also become more involved in the Portland Americana music scene. In addition to recording Ramona at the Echo Echo studio in the Rose City, he also draws a lot of the MMMC players from their local scene. When you're living in a van you don't really have a home base, but between Spokane and Portland, Mitchell still considers himself a Northwesterner.
That's not to say there aren't bumps in the road — both literally and figuratively — as a result of Mitchell's artistic lifestyle. Due to a slew of personal changes, it's been a very emotionally intense summer for the troubadour. But true to himself, he's processing everything through more songwriting.
That's right... he's set to record a third 2022 Matt Mitchell Music Co. album in October.
His creativity might be zipping along at highway speeds, but Mitchell's mind is often focused on where these artistic roads are taking him. He knows there's not exactly a map he can use to trace his current musical trajectory, so he's just making the most of the spiritual road trip.
"I'm sort of wrestling with the question of 'What do I want from music?,'" Mitchell says. "I think in my younger days, it's more like, 'We're gonna be huge!' or whatever. But being crazy famous doesn't sound that great. I know I don't want to work a corporate job. I just want to write songs and I love sharing that energy with an audience. I don't think there's a destination, it's just sort of a journey."
"I feel like I've been in transition for a few years now," he continues. "And music has really been a lifeline throughout all of that. I've been reflecting as my life's gotten really intense, I'm just so grateful for this practice. Even if no one were to hear the songs, being able to sit down and mold emotion into music is just so valuable to me." ♦
Matt Mitchell Music Co.: Ramona Album Release Show • Sat, Oct 8 at 8 pm • $12-$15 • 21+ • Lucky You Lounge • 1801 W. Sunset Blvd. • luckyyoulounge.com
