Calgary Herald

Rocker Kim Mitchell returns to the road

- DAVID FRIEND

Kim Mitchell’s life was shaken earlier this year when he was blindsided by a heart attack. Now he’s just itching to get back onto the stage.

The Canadian musician, who has toured extensivel­y throughout his career, considers himself lucky for living through the biggest health scare of his life.

He credits most of that to being in Toronto when he was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery.

“I’m still thankful I wasn’t on the road,” he says bluntly. “If I had been on the road somewhere, where there wasn’t a (catheteriz­ation) lab, I wouldn’t be here.”

After years as Canada’s happygo- lucky summertime rocker, there’s something particular­ly serious about Mitchell now as he reflects on a year that dealt him a tough hand.

Before his heart attack, Mitchell, 63, was working through the emotional weight of both his father’s death and the passing of two close friends, all within the span of about seven months.

Next week, Mitchell returns to the stage for his first performanc­e since his heart attack, playing a Richmond Hill, Ont., venue in the suburbs of Toronto.

The concert marks the start of a wave of shows that will touch down in Saskatchew­an, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia through the end of July.

It’s a particular­ly ambitious plan for a musician who’s emerging from months in a rehab program for his heart condition.

His love of music began in 1960s Sarnia, Ont., where he joined scrappy high school band the Grass Company when he was 14. Two years later he left for Toronto with a pack of friends to chase his dreams of being a serious musician.

Living in the big city gave Mitchell connection­s to Toronto’s thriving musical community and after heading to Greece for a yearlong gig (“backing up a Greek Tom Jones”), he returned to Canada and formed the band Max Webster in 1973.

After eventually releasing an album, Max Webster began picking up opening slots for Rush tours, just as the iconic Canadian rockers were rising to new levels of internatio­nal fame.

The attention helped Max Webster score a number of singles and gave Mitchell some unforgetta­ble nights of partying.

Seemingly endless touring eventually led to road fatigue. When Max Webster disintegra­ted, Mitchell reimagined his career as the frontman to his own project.

“It wasn’t a case of going solo,” he says. “I would’ve been fine joining a band. I wouldn’t have cared if I was the leader or singer.”

But the rising demand for music videos in the mid-1980s thrust Mitchell into the spotlight. MuchMusic eagerly supported his energetic goofball persona and penchant for colourful clothing, whether he was sporting a sleeveless shirt in his memorably cheesy Go For a Soda video — which gave him his only U.S. crossover hit — or a neon flip brim hat and a series of obnoxiousl­y loud tops in I Am a Wild Party.

“That’s when videos mattered,” he remembers. “God I hated that part cause I was so bad at it.”

He also became a Canadian radio mainstay with singles including All We Are, Easy to Tame and the unforgetta­ble Patio Lanterns.

Persistent touring once again started to wear thin and Mitchell says he felt his popularity wane as rock music became edgier.

Mitchell says he now writes when he’s inspired, tries to play guitar every day, and ensures he’s staying physically active.

A return to the concert stage is the next step.

“I just want to enjoy getting up every day and being here. I feel good. I want to feel good about life.”

 ?? CHRIS YOUNG/ THE CANADIAN PRESS ?? Musician Kim Mitchell is ready for a comeback after a rough patch.
CHRIS YOUNG/ THE CANADIAN PRESS Musician Kim Mitchell is ready for a comeback after a rough patch.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Canada