Kevin Mitchell (musician)
Encyclopedia
Kevin Edward Mitchell (born 1 October 1976), is an Australian musician, known for his role as the vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock
band Jebediah
and also his solo work under the stage name
of Bob Evans.
Mitchell grew up in the Perth
suburb of Bull Creek, Western Australia
, forming the band Jebediah in 1994. With Mitchell as the frontman, the band released four studio albums from 1997—2004, the first three of which entered the top ten of the ARIA Albums Chart
. The band went on hiatus as Mitchell undertook solo work with the pseudonym
of Bob Evans and regrouped in 2010, releasing their fifth studio album Kosciuszko
in 2011.
Mitchell adopted the stage name of Bob Evans in 1999, so that he could pursue a solo career of acoustic songs, without attracting Jebediah fans who might expect and demand performances of acoustic Jebediah songs. He released a rather unrecognized album in 2003, Suburban Kid
. Capital Records signed Mitchell and released the album, Suburban Songbook
, in 2006. It debuted at number 15 on the ARIA Albums Chart and featured the successful single, "Don't You Think It's Time
". In 2009, he announced a third album, Goodnight, Bull Creek!
, named after his hometown. The album peaked at number 22 on the ARIA Albums Chart.
an Bull Creek, on the edge of the Western Australian capital city of Perth, in 1977. Mitchell said of his hometown, "It's a very ordinary, plain little suburb with a primary school and a shopping centre and a BMX track," while speaking about the title of his Goodnight, Bull Creek! album in 2009. Mitchell attended Bull Creek Primary and Leeming
Senior High School, dropping out of university to sign a record deal with Jebediah. His older brother Brett is also a member of Jebediah.
In 2009, Mitchell revealed that he had suffered from depression for a short amount of time at the age of 16, an illness which he revisited at the age of 30, in 2007. "It sort of crept up on me [in 2007]," he said. "The strangest thing was that the only time I had suffered from depression was a brief period when I was about 16, when I was at high school. I got a little bit of counseling and it didn't last very long. It never happened again, so as a 30-year-old it was the last thing I expected. It frightened the hell out of me when I started having these feelings."
and The Smashing Pumpkins
. As the popularity of the band grew, they competed in the Australian National Campus Band Competition, winning the national final in Lismore, New South Wales
. This led to an opening slot on the 1996 Australian music festival, run by renowned promoter Steve Pavlovic
, Summersault, where they performed before groups such as the Beastie Boys
, Foo Fighters
and Sonic Youth
.
Jebediah signed with Murmur
, a part of Sony Music, in 1996, with the band also winning its first WAMi
award for Best Stage Presence, a credit to Mitchell's on-stage energy. The band's first single, "Jerks of Attention", earned the band a WAMi award in 1997 for Most Popular Song, with the band also taking out Most Popular Band. High profile work on Homebake
and the Big Day Out
, as well as support slots for Soundgarden
, Everclear
, The Presidents of the United States of America
, Silverchair
, and You Am I
, further raised the band's profile.
In 1997, the band recorded and released its first album, Slightly Odway
. The album peaked at number 7 on the ARIA Albums Chart
, spending 54 weeks in the chart, with it being certified double platinum in 1998, by ARIA
. They recorded Of Someday Shambles
in 1999, with the first single, "Animal
", peaking at number 16 on the ARIA Singles Chart. The album peaked at number two, earning a platinum certification from ARIA.
Jebediah released the single "Fall Down", in 2001. The song peaked at number 24 on the ARIA Singles Chart. It was followed by the self-titled album, Jebediah
(2002), which reached number eight on the ARIA Albums Chart. The band released their fourth album in 2004, titled Braxton Hicks
. Following the album, Jebediah went on hiatus, with Mitchell moving onto his own solo work, until 2011 when they released their fifth studio album Kosciuszko.
, (2003) on Redline Records
, was a relatively indistinguishable album, and has been described as "an album of youthful introspection, love and loss". All songs were written by Kevin Mitchell, however, he shares writing credit on one song, "The Hermit", with Luke Steele
from The Sleepy Jackson
. Katy Steele
from Little Birdy
also performed backup vocals on the album.
Evans' next studio album, Suburban Songbook
, was released in 2006. Originally a collection of demos he recorded as Kevin Mitchell, and not intended for public release, they were nonetheless discovered while recording his sophomore effort with Capitol Records
, who integrated the songs into the new album, and set him on the road to commercial success. Mitchell sent out the demos to his favorite record producers around the world and was surprised by the immediate response by American producer, Brad Jones
(Josh Rouse
, Yo La Tengo
, Sheryl Crow
).
Jones took Mitchell’s wide-eyed-and-gritty vision for the album and suggested a more refined, listener-friendly approach. Suburban Songbook was released on 10 June 2006 and debuted at #15 on the ARIA album charts
.
Suburban Songbook won the 2006 ARIA Music Award
for Best Adult Contemporary Album and earned Mitchell's alter ego Evans a nomination for Best Male Artist. The album was also nominated for the 2006 Australian Music Prize
and the 2006 J Award
.
Mitchell supported Evermore on their "Welcome to the Real Life" tour of Australia and New Zealand under the Bob Evans pseudonym, and also performed on the 2007 Big Day Out
tour, Homebake
, West Coast Blues & Roots Festival
and The Great Escape
.
At the 2007 WAMi awards, he was nominated for two awards, Most Popular Album and Best Commercial Pop Act. Mitchell was voted Best Male Artist in the 2007 Rolling Stone
annual readers poll. He also played showcases in London, New York and Johannesburg
before undertaking a national tour with Machine Translations
and South Africa
n band Farryl Purkiss
.
When later asked what 'reverse alter-ego' means to Kevin, he said “I've no idea, that's one of those quotes that I've been haunted by.”
Mitchell has recorded some new songs for his third album, Goodnight, Bull Creek!, in Nashville, with producer Brad Jones (Sheryl Crowe, Josh Rouse
). According to Mitchell the album will be the final piece in his suburban musical trilogy.
Goodnight, Bull Creek! was released on 3 April 2009 and debuted at #22 on the ARIA album charts.
In April 2009 Mitchell undertook a national tour to promote the release of the album and was joined by Malcolm Clark (Sleepy Jackson), Hugh Jennings (End of Fashion
), Ben Witt (The Chemist
), Louis Macklin (67 Special
) and Steve Poltz
(The Rugburns
) from the United States. In July he played the Splendour in the Grass
festival in Byron Bay, following which he was the support act for Eskimo Joe
on their Inshalla national tour.
With the original intention of Mitchell's Bob Evans persona to record a trilogy of suburban themed solo albums now complete he admits that this era of his life is coming to an end.
morning show, in Zan Rowe
's absence.
, an inner west suburb of Melbourne.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Jebediah
Jebediah
Jebediah is an Australian alternative rock band formed in 1994 in Perth, Western Australia. The group consists of vocalist and guitarist Kevin Mitchell, guitarist Chris Daymond, bassist Vanessa Thornton, and Kevin's brother Brett Mitchell on drums...
and also his solo work under the stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
of Bob Evans.
Mitchell grew up in the Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
suburb of Bull Creek, Western Australia
Bull Creek, Western Australia
Bull Creek is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the local government area of City of Melville.-History:The name was adopted by the City of Melville Council in December 1968. The creek was named after an early settler, Lt Henry Bull to whom a grant of 1.20 km² of nearby land...
, forming the band Jebediah in 1994. With Mitchell as the frontman, the band released four studio albums from 1997—2004, the first three of which entered the top ten of the ARIA Albums Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
. The band went on hiatus as Mitchell undertook solo work with the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of Bob Evans and regrouped in 2010, releasing their fifth studio album Kosciuszko
Kosciuszko (album)
Kosciuszko is the fifth studio album by Australian alternative rock band Jebediah, released on Dew Process on 15 April 2011. As well as being available on CD, a limited number of copies were also released on vinyl.- History :...
in 2011.
Mitchell adopted the stage name of Bob Evans in 1999, so that he could pursue a solo career of acoustic songs, without attracting Jebediah fans who might expect and demand performances of acoustic Jebediah songs. He released a rather unrecognized album in 2003, Suburban Kid
Suburban Kid
Suburban Songbook is the second studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Kevin Mitchell, under the pseudonym Bob Evans, vocalist and guitarist for Perth band Jebediah...
. Capital Records signed Mitchell and released the album, Suburban Songbook
Suburban Songbook
Suburban Kid is the first studio album by the Australian singer-songwriter Kevin Mitchell, under the pseudonym Bob Evans. The album was co-produced by Mitchell and Simon Stuthers . Suburban Kid has been described as "an album of youthful introspection, love and loss"...
, in 2006. It debuted at number 15 on the ARIA Albums Chart and featured the successful single, "Don't You Think It's Time
Don't You Think It's Time
"Don't You Think It's Time?" is the first single to be taken from Bob Evans' second album Suburban Songbook. The single was released 13 May 2006 and reached #22 on the ARIA Singles Chart...
". In 2009, he announced a third album, Goodnight, Bull Creek!
Goodnight, Bull Creek!
Goodnight, Bull Creek! is the third studio album by Australian rock musician Kevin Mitchell, under his pseudonym Bob Evans. It was released through EMI on 3 April 2009. The album was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, with producer Brad Jones . The title of the album comes from the Perth suburb of...
, named after his hometown. The album peaked at number 22 on the ARIA Albums Chart.
Early life
Kevin Edward Mitchell was born and raised from age five to eighteen in suburbSuburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
an Bull Creek, on the edge of the Western Australian capital city of Perth, in 1977. Mitchell said of his hometown, "It's a very ordinary, plain little suburb with a primary school and a shopping centre and a BMX track," while speaking about the title of his Goodnight, Bull Creek! album in 2009. Mitchell attended Bull Creek Primary and Leeming
Leeming, Western Australia
Leeming is a southern suburb of Perth, Western Australia. It is divided between the tree Local Government Areas of the City of Melville, the City of Cockburn and the City of Canning...
Senior High School, dropping out of university to sign a record deal with Jebediah. His older brother Brett is also a member of Jebediah.
In 2009, Mitchell revealed that he had suffered from depression for a short amount of time at the age of 16, an illness which he revisited at the age of 30, in 2007. "It sort of crept up on me [in 2007]," he said. "The strangest thing was that the only time I had suffered from depression was a brief period when I was about 16, when I was at high school. I got a little bit of counseling and it didn't last very long. It never happened again, so as a 30-year-old it was the last thing I expected. It frightened the hell out of me when I started having these feelings."
Jebediah
Kevin Mitchell formed Jebediah in Perth, Western Australia in 1995. He undertook vocal and guitar duties, as the band played cover songs by bands such as Green DayGreen Day
Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
and The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Formed by Billy Corgan frontman and James Iha , the band has included Jimmy Chamberlin , D'arcy Wretzky , and currently includes Jeff Schroeder Mike Byrne , and Nicole Fiorentino The Smashing...
. As the popularity of the band grew, they competed in the Australian National Campus Band Competition, winning the national final in Lismore, New South Wales
Lismore, New South Wales
Lismore is a subtropical town in northeastern New South Wales, Australia. Lismore is the main population centre in the City of Lismore local government area. Lismore is a regional centre in the Northern Rivers region of the State.-History:...
. This led to an opening slot on the 1996 Australian music festival, run by renowned promoter Steve Pavlovic
Steve Pavlovic
Steve Pavlovic is an Australian music promoter who founded and runs the successful international record label Modular Recordings. Widely known as "Pav", some of his pre-Modular history was documented in The Sell-in, a book about the Australian independent music industry...
, Summersault, where they performed before groups such as the Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
, Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...
and Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
.
Jebediah signed with Murmur
Murmur (record label)
Murmur was a record label that started as an imprint of Sony Music Australia in mid 1994. Named after REM's first album, Murmur signed a number of Australia's most successful rock bands, including Silverchair, Ammonia, Something for Kate and Jebediah...
, a part of Sony Music, in 1996, with the band also winning its first WAMi
West Australian Music Industry Awards
The Western Australian Music Industry Awards are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc...
award for Best Stage Presence, a credit to Mitchell's on-stage energy. The band's first single, "Jerks of Attention", earned the band a WAMi award in 1997 for Most Popular Song, with the band also taking out Most Popular Band. High profile work on Homebake
Homebake
Homebake is an annual Australian rock festival, featuring an all-Australian lineup . The festival was first held on 4 January 1996 at Belongil Fields in Byron Bay, on the far north coast of New South Wales...
and the Big Day Out
Big Day Out
The Big Day Out is an annual music festival held in several cities in Australia and New Zealand in late January. It started in Sydney in 1992, spread to Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth by 1993, with the Gold Coast and Auckland joining in 1994...
, as well as support slots for Soundgarden
Soundgarden
Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by singer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto...
, Everclear
Everclear (band)
Everclear is a rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1992 best known for their radio hits spanning more than a decade. For most of its existence, Everclear has consisted of Art Alexakis , Craig Montoya , and Greg Eklund . Eklund replaced original drummer Scott Cuthbert in 1994...
, The Presidents of the United States of America
The Presidents of the United States of America (band)
The Presidents of the United States of America, commonly referred to as Pot USA or "PUSA" or The Presidents, are a twice Grammy-nominated American alternative rock band. The band formed in Seattle, USA, in 1993. The three-piece group currently comprises vocalist and "basitarist" Chris Ballew,...
, Silverchair
Silverchair
Silverchair were an Australian rock band, which formed in 1992 as Innocent Criminals in Merewether, Newcastle with the line-up of Ben Gillies on drums, Chris Joannou on bass guitar and Daniel Johns on vocals and guitars. The group got their big break in mid-1994 when they won a national demo...
, and You Am I
You Am I
You Am I are an Australian alternative rock band, fronted by vocalist/guitarist and main songwriter Tim Rogers. They were the first Australian band to have three albums successively debut at #1 on the ARIA Charts, and are renowned for their live performances.-History:Tim Rogers formed the first...
, further raised the band's profile.
In 1997, the band recorded and released its first album, Slightly Odway
Slightly Odway
Slightly Odway is the debut album by Australian alternative rock band Jebediah, released on 8 September 1997 by Murmur Records. The album reached a peak of number 7 on the ARIA Albums Chart, due to the success of tracks like "Leaving Home" and "Military Strongmen", and number 2 on the ARIA...
. The album peaked at number 7 on the ARIA Albums Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
, spending 54 weeks in the chart, with it being certified double platinum in 1998, by ARIA
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
. They recorded Of Someday Shambles
Of Someday Shambles
Of Someday Shambles is the second studio album by Australian alternative rock band Jebediah, released on 1 November 1999 on Murmur Records.- Singles :...
in 1999, with the first single, "Animal
Animal (Jebediah)
"Animal" is the first single from Australian alternative rock band Jebediah's second studio album, Of Someday Shambles. It was released on 9 August 1999 and reached number 16 on the Australian ARIA Singles Charts. "Animal" was used on the soundtrack for season one of the Logie award-winning...
", peaking at number 16 on the ARIA Singles Chart. The album peaked at number two, earning a platinum certification from ARIA.
Jebediah released the single "Fall Down", in 2001. The song peaked at number 24 on the ARIA Singles Chart. It was followed by the self-titled album, Jebediah
Jebediah (album)
Jebediah is the third studio album by Australian alternative rock band Jebediah, released on 3 March 2002. It was recorded at Mangrove Studios outside Sydney, with producer Magoo...
(2002), which reached number eight on the ARIA Albums Chart. The band released their fourth album in 2004, titled Braxton Hicks
Braxton Hicks (album)
Braxton Hicks is the fourth studio album by Australian alternative rock band Jebediah, released on Redline Records on 12 July 2004.- Making of the album :...
. Following the album, Jebediah went on hiatus, with Mitchell moving onto his own solo work, until 2011 when they released their fifth studio album Kosciuszko.
Bob Evans
Kevin Mitchell performs his solo work under the pseudonym of Bob Evans. He created the name in 1999, coming up with it to play incognito solo shows in Perth. Mitchell has said he chose Bob Evans, "because it was written on a T-shirt I was wearing". Evans' first solo effort, Suburban KidSuburban Kid
Suburban Songbook is the second studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Kevin Mitchell, under the pseudonym Bob Evans, vocalist and guitarist for Perth band Jebediah...
, (2003) on Redline Records
Redline Records
Redline Records is a Fremantle-based independent record label. Originally started as a joint project between the band Jebediah and their management company Naked Ape Management, it has evolved into being a record label of local Perth indie bands. Redline Records are distributed by Shock Records...
, was a relatively indistinguishable album, and has been described as "an album of youthful introspection, love and loss". All songs were written by Kevin Mitchell, however, he shares writing credit on one song, "The Hermit", with Luke Steele
Luke Steele (singer)
Luke James Steele , is the vocalist and primary songwriter of the alternative rock band The Sleepy Jackson...
from The Sleepy Jackson
The Sleepy Jackson
The Sleepy Jackson are an Australian alternative rock band formed in Perth, Western Australia. The band's name was inspired by a former drummer who was narcoleptic. The band revolves around the distinctive vocal style of multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Luke Steele...
. Katy Steele
Katy Steele
Katy Steele is the vocalist, guitarist and songwriter of four piece rock band Little Birdy.-Biography:Katy Steele was born Kate Elizabeth Steele in Perth, Western Australia on 9 September 1983, and has a fraternal twin brother, Jake. She and her brother are the youngest in the family...
from Little Birdy
Little Birdy
Little Birdy are an Australian indie rock band formed in Perth, Western Australia in 2002 by singer and guitarist Katy Steele, drummer Matt Chequer, guitarist and keyboardist Simon Leach, and bass guitarist Scott O'Donoghue...
also performed backup vocals on the album.
Evans' next studio album, Suburban Songbook
Suburban Songbook
Suburban Kid is the first studio album by the Australian singer-songwriter Kevin Mitchell, under the pseudonym Bob Evans. The album was co-produced by Mitchell and Simon Stuthers . Suburban Kid has been described as "an album of youthful introspection, love and loss"...
, was released in 2006. Originally a collection of demos he recorded as Kevin Mitchell, and not intended for public release, they were nonetheless discovered while recording his sophomore effort with Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
, who integrated the songs into the new album, and set him on the road to commercial success. Mitchell sent out the demos to his favorite record producers around the world and was surprised by the immediate response by American producer, Brad Jones
Brad Jones (musician)
Brad Jones is a Power pop music producer, and singer/songwriter. He has produced music for Cotton Mather, Matthew Sweet, Imperial Drag, Jill Sobule, and Marshall Crenshaw-Gilt-Flake:Label: Ginger Records Release: June 6, 2000Tracks:*The Blunderbuss...
(Josh Rouse
Josh Rouse
Josh Rouse is an American folk/roots pop singer-songwriter.-Biography:Born in the small town of Paxton, Nebraska, he moved to various places in the Midwest during his childhood due to his father's military career...
, Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo, sometimes abbreviated as YLT, is an American alternative rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan , Georgia Hubley , and James McNew .Despite achieving limited mainstream success, Yo La Tengo has been called "the quintessential...
, Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop...
).
Jones took Mitchell’s wide-eyed-and-gritty vision for the album and suggested a more refined, listener-friendly approach. Suburban Songbook was released on 10 June 2006 and debuted at #15 on the ARIA album charts
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
.
Suburban Songbook won the 2006 ARIA Music Award
ARIA Music Awards of 2006
The 20th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards were held on 29 October 2006 at the Acer Arena at the Sydney Olympic Park complex...
for Best Adult Contemporary Album and earned Mitchell's alter ego Evans a nomination for Best Male Artist. The album was also nominated for the 2006 Australian Music Prize
Australian Music Prize
The Australian Music Prize is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. The award made by Australian Music Prize Ltd, a sole-purpose entity sponsored by a variety of music industry figures and...
and the 2006 J Award
J Award
The J Award is an award given by influential Australian youth radio station Triple J to Australian Album of the Year. It is judged by a panel of members of the music industry, led by Richard Kingsmill...
.
Mitchell supported Evermore on their "Welcome to the Real Life" tour of Australia and New Zealand under the Bob Evans pseudonym, and also performed on the 2007 Big Day Out
Big Day Out
The Big Day Out is an annual music festival held in several cities in Australia and New Zealand in late January. It started in Sydney in 1992, spread to Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth by 1993, with the Gold Coast and Auckland joining in 1994...
tour, Homebake
Homebake
Homebake is an annual Australian rock festival, featuring an all-Australian lineup . The festival was first held on 4 January 1996 at Belongil Fields in Byron Bay, on the far north coast of New South Wales...
, West Coast Blues & Roots Festival
West Coast Blues & Roots Festival
The West Coast Blues 'n' Roots Festival is an annual music festival held in Fremantle, Western Australia. It features many blues and roots performers, both international and local.-History:...
and The Great Escape
The Great Escape (festival)
The Great Escape was a music festival held at Newington Armory, located within Sydney Olympic Park that took place in 2006 and 2007. Initially held over the Easter long weekend for the first two events, in 2008 it was announced the festival would take place on the Labour Day weekend, however the...
.
At the 2007 WAMi awards, he was nominated for two awards, Most Popular Album and Best Commercial Pop Act. Mitchell was voted Best Male Artist in the 2007 Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
annual readers poll. He also played showcases in London, New York and Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
before undertaking a national tour with Machine Translations
Machine Translations
Machine Translations is the recording and touring name of J Walker, an Australian singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. J Walker started out recording all instruments himself in a home studio, but has now branched out to include a band in his recent works...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n band Farryl Purkiss
Farryl Purkiss
Farryl Purkiss is a SAMA nominated South African singer-songwriter. Purkiss released an eponymous debut album, Farryl Purkiss in 2006. He has released a number of EPs and in 2009 released his sophomore album entitled "Fruitbats & Crows".Purkiss reached #1 in France with “La-Di-Da”...
.
When later asked what 'reverse alter-ego' means to Kevin, he said “I've no idea, that's one of those quotes that I've been haunted by.”
Mitchell has recorded some new songs for his third album, Goodnight, Bull Creek!, in Nashville, with producer Brad Jones (Sheryl Crowe, Josh Rouse
Josh Rouse
Josh Rouse is an American folk/roots pop singer-songwriter.-Biography:Born in the small town of Paxton, Nebraska, he moved to various places in the Midwest during his childhood due to his father's military career...
). According to Mitchell the album will be the final piece in his suburban musical trilogy.
Goodnight, Bull Creek! was released on 3 April 2009 and debuted at #22 on the ARIA album charts.
In April 2009 Mitchell undertook a national tour to promote the release of the album and was joined by Malcolm Clark (Sleepy Jackson), Hugh Jennings (End of Fashion
End of Fashion
End of Fashion are an Australian power pop band from Perth, Western Australia. The band consists of singer and guitarist Justin Burford, guitarist Rodney Aravena, bassist Simon Fasolo, and drummer Mike Hobbs. The group gained mainstream attention with their 2005 single "O Yeah", which reached...
), Ben Witt (The Chemist
The Chemist (band)
The Chemist is a four-piece alternative rock music group from Perth, Western Australia formed in 2007.-History:The Chemist formed when all four members met studying music at university. Initially, the band consisted only of Ben Witt, who brought on Elliot Smith to help him with some songs he had...
), Louis Macklin (67 Special
67 Special
67 Special is a rock band based in Melbourne.-History:In 1994, Ash Santilla and Gavin Campbell met at high school in their hometown of Benalla, Victoria, and became good friends sharing their passion for rock music...
) and Steve Poltz
Steve Poltz
Steve Poltz is a Canadian-born American singer-songwriter and guitarist based in San Diego, California. He is a founding member of the indie-rock band The Rugburns and is best known for co-writing the #2 Jewel song "You Were Meant for Me"...
(The Rugburns
The Rugburns
The Rugburns was an American musical group originally formed by Steve Poltz, "Dr." Robert Driscoll, and Gerald "Child" McMullin.-History:Starting as classmates at the University of San Diego, the group formed in the mid-1980s and began playing in the San Diego, CA area...
) from the United States. In July he played the Splendour in the Grass
Splendour in the Grass
Splendour in the Grass is an annual Australian music festival held in July at Woodford, Queensland, and previously held at Belongil Fields, outside Byron Bay...
festival in Byron Bay, following which he was the support act for Eskimo Joe
Eskimo Joe
Eskimo Joe is an Australian alternative rock band formed by Stuart MacLeod on guitars, Joel Quartermain on drums and guitar and Kavyen Temperley on bass guitar and vocals, in East Fremantle, Western Australia in 1997....
on their Inshalla national tour.
With the original intention of Mitchell's Bob Evans persona to record a trilogy of suburban themed solo albums now complete he admits that this era of his life is coming to an end.
Media career
In March 2010 Mitchell expanded his media career as a guest presenter on Australian Radio's Triple JTriple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
morning show, in Zan Rowe
Zan Rowe
Susanna "Zan" Rowe is an Australian radio announcer, best known for her work on the nationally broadcast Triple J.-Radio:...
's absence.
Personal
Mitchell married girlfriend Kristen in November 2006 and in December 2008 they moved from Perth to Seddon, VictoriaSeddon, Victoria
Seddon is a suburb 7 km west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia lying between Footscray and Yarraville. Its Local Government Area is the City of Maribyrnong. At the 2006 Census, Seddon had a population of 4651...
, an inner west suburb of Melbourne.
Discography
- All releases are under his pseudonym Bob Evans, for work with his band see the Jebediah discography
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
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| 2003 | Suburban Kid Suburban Kid Suburban Songbook is the second studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Kevin Mitchell, under the pseudonym Bob Evans, vocalist and guitarist for Perth band Jebediah...
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| 2006 | Suburban Songbook Suburban Songbook Suburban Kid is the first studio album by the Australian singer-songwriter Kevin Mitchell, under the pseudonym Bob Evans. The album was co-produced by Mitchell and Simon Stuthers . Suburban Kid has been described as "an album of youthful introspection, love and loss"... Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
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| 2009 | Goodnight, Bull Creek! Goodnight, Bull Creek! Goodnight, Bull Creek! is the third studio album by Australian rock musician Kevin Mitchell, under his pseudonym Bob Evans. It was released through EMI on 3 April 2009. The album was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, with producer Brad Jones . The title of the album comes from the Perth suburb of... EMI The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major... 2682202 |
22 |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||
Singles
| Year | Song | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
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| 2003 | "Friday Come Five" | — | Suburban Kid |
| "Turn" | — | ||
| 2006 | "Don't You Think It's Time Don't You Think It's Time "Don't You Think It's Time?" is the first single to be taken from Bob Evans' second album Suburban Songbook. The single was released 13 May 2006 and reached #22 on the ARIA Singles Chart... " |
22 | Suburban Songbook |
| "Nowhere Without You Nowhere Without You "Nowhere Without You" is the second single from Bob Evans' second album Suburban Songbook. It was released on 25 September 2006. The single debuted at #84 on the ARIA Singles Chart.It also reached #36 on Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2006... " |
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| 2007 | "Friend" | — | |
| "Sadness and Whiskey" | — | ||
| 2009 | "Someone So Much" | — | Goodnight, Bull Creek! |
| "Pasha Bulker" | — | ||
| "Hand Me Downs" | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||