Friday night in the burgh

special note from Tom Breiding

From AmeriSon Productions

Hey Folks,
If you read today's Post Gazette you might have read the review for Mitch Bell's great new CD. I'm proud to be the guitar player for his band at the release show on Friday night. Mitch has assembled a 10 piece band for this event and it is going to be quite a production. We rehearsed at the Rex Theatre last night and I know it will be a really great show. Should be lots of faces familiar to some of you - I hope all of you can make it.

The event is in the back room so of course drinks are available, but it will also be an all ages show, so bring the kids. This is my only local show this weekend so I hope I'll see some of you there.

Peace.
Time to roll...
Tom Breiding
Tom Breiding joins:

Mitch Bell and the Wandering Coalition
@ The Rhythm House
3029 Washington Pike
Bridgeville, PA
Friday, May 15th 8pm
$10 cover but for $15 the CD is included!
All ages welcome

Local Scene: Ballad of T. Mitchell Bell
Thursday, May 14, 2009
By Scott Mervis, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

T. Mitchell Bell sings "The Ballad of Philo Paul."

Local roots musician T. Mitchell Bell makes his recording debut with an ambitious record called "The Ballad of Philo Paul."
Who, you might ask, is Philo Paul?

He was a Union soldier who gave his life in the Civil War during a battle in Virginia. He was also the great-great-grandfather of T. Mitchell Bell, who researched his family and found a diary of his ancestor on the Web.

"Philo was 40 years old when he died. He had nine children, a 200-acre farm, a pretty good life. The Paul family was one of the original settlers in Amwell Township and very prominent in Washington County. I wondered why he enlisted as a private and left his family to go fight the war at 40? I think he wanted to go rather than his oldest son William W. Paul or maybe it was his best friend joined. I still don't know."

To tell Pvt. Paul's tale, Bell leaned on a deep family tradition: music. His great grandfather made fiddles in West Virginia, his grandmother played piano at his church, and his father is a jazz drummer who started him on harmonica when he was 12. Bell then started playing in bands and writing songs when he was a teenager, drawn by the folk-rock of James Taylor, Bob Dylan and Neil Young.

Recorded at Sputnik Sound in Nashville, "The Ballad of Philo Paul" is a warmly produced record with lovely melodies, rich ensemble playing, styles that range from folk to blues-rock to gospel and, of course, Bell's delicate vocal and lyrical touch. It was mastered by Vance Powell, who worked on The Raconteurs' "Consolers of the Lonely."

Along with Philo Paul's ballad, Bell's debut jumps forward several generations in the family. "Since I had decided on the title track, I thought I would try to choose songs about my family if possible. 'Father's Face,' 'Manna Momma,' and 'Prodigal Son' I call my family trilogy, which is why I group them together. The hardest part was picking which songs to record. The players on the record helped, especially with Bryn Davies and Rachel Eddy having more of an old-time bluegrass background. Also, I wanted to pick more of my spiritually oriented songs since I was recording in a Christian-based studio. I don't think of the record as being a Christian record. I don't say 'Jesus' enough, but I do think that some of the songs have touched people and that's what matters to me as a songwriter."

The release show is Friday at 8 p.m. at the Rhythm House Cafe, Bridgeville. Admission is $10.



on a personal note, I've know mitch for 15 years and he's one of the good guys. His music is great and his story is better. His debut release pushing 50, come on that's awesome.