Mitchell Froom (born 1954) is an American
musicianA musician is a person who performs or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument.* A singer uses his or her voice as an instrument....
and
record producerIn the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes...
.
Froom began his career as a keyboard player in Sonoma County, California. The band Crossfire featured two keyboards players; Mitchell on one side of the stage and brother David on the other with Gary Pihl on guitar . They rocked the SF Bay Area club scene for years much to the delight of there local fans. He played keyboards on the
Ronnie MontroseRonnie Montrose, is an American guitarist.Montrose has worked with a variety of musicians over the years, including Herbie Hancock, Van Morrison, The Beau Brummels, Boz Scaggs, Beaver & Krause, Gary Wright, Tony Williams, The Neville Brothers, and Dan Hartman...
-led group
GammaGamma was a band formed by guitarist Ronnie Montrose and singer Davey Pattison in San Francisco in 1979. They released four albums: Gamma 1 in 1979, Gamma 2 in 1980, Gamma 3 in 1982 and Gamma 4 in 2005...
's third album
Gamma 3- Track listing :# "What's Gone Is Gone" - 5:30# "Right the First Time" - 3:47# "Moving Violation" - 3:36# "Mobile Devotion" - 6:34# "Stranger" - 3:00# "Condition Yellow" - 4:08# "Modern Girl" - 3:35# "No Way Out" - 4:05# "Third Degree" - 3:47-Personnel:...
.
Mitchell Froom (born 1954) is an American
musicianA musician is a person who performs or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument.* A singer uses his or her voice as an instrument....
and
record producerIn the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes...
.
Career
Froom began his career as a keyboard player in Sonoma County, California. The band Crossfire featured two keyboards players; Mitchell on one side of the stage and brother David on the other with Gary Pihl on guitar . They rocked the SF Bay Area club scene for years much to the delight of there local fans. He played keyboards on the
Ronnie MontroseRonnie Montrose, is an American guitarist.Montrose has worked with a variety of musicians over the years, including Herbie Hancock, Van Morrison, The Beau Brummels, Boz Scaggs, Beaver & Krause, Gary Wright, Tony Williams, The Neville Brothers, and Dan Hartman...
-led group
GammaGamma was a band formed by guitarist Ronnie Montrose and singer Davey Pattison in San Francisco in 1979. They released four albums: Gamma 1 in 1979, Gamma 2 in 1980, Gamma 3 in 1982 and Gamma 4 in 2005...
's third album
Gamma 3- Track listing :# "What's Gone Is Gone" - 5:30# "Right the First Time" - 3:47# "Moving Violation" - 3:36# "Mobile Devotion" - 6:34# "Stranger" - 3:00# "Condition Yellow" - 4:08# "Modern Girl" - 3:35# "No Way Out" - 4:05# "Third Degree" - 3:47-Personnel:...
. He then produced the first three
Crowded HouseCrowded House is a Australian rock group formed in Melbourne, Australia and led by New Zealand musician and singer-songwriter Neil Finn. Finn is widely recognised as the primary songwriter and creative direction of the band, having led it through several incarnations, drawing members from New...
albums, which led to more production jobs with Richard Thompson,
Los LobosLos Lobos are an American Chicano rock band. They are 3-time Grammy Award winners. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country music, folk, R&B, blues and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as boleros and norteños....
,
American Music ClubAmerican Music Club is a San Francisco-based band led by singer-songwriter Mark Eitzel.-History:Although born in California, Eitzel spent his formative years in Okinawa, Taiwan, Great Britain and Ohio before returning to the Bay Area in 1981...
and
Suzanne VegaSuzanne Nadine Vega is an American songwriter and singer known for her highly literate lyrics and eclectic folk-inspired music....
, who is now his ex-wife. One early notable work,
Key of Cool, later became the soundtrack for the adult film
Café FleshCafé Flesh is a 1982 post-apocalyptic cult pornographic science fiction film co-directed by Stephen Sayadian and an uncredited Mark S. Esposito and co-written by Sayadian and Jerry Stahl...
.
Froom collects and performs on a large number of obscure and exotic keyboard instruments. His "House of Keyboards" is mentioned in the credits for Los Lobos'
Kiko.
He often partners with engineer
Tchad BlakeTchad Blake is an American record producer, audio engineer, mixer and musician.He has worked with numerous artists and musicians, including State Radio, Apartment 26, Elvis Costello, Peter Gabriel, Pearl Jam, Tom Waits, Brazilian Girls, Sheryl Crow, Travis, Crowded House, Finn Brothers, Bernard...
. In 1994 Froom and Blake joined with David Hidalgo and Louie Perez of Los Lobos to form the experimental roots collaboration
Latin PlayboysLatin Playboys is a musical group comprising David Hidalgo, Louie Pérez, Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake, active in the 1990s.-History:The band began with a series of demo recordings made by Hidalgo on a home cassette tape 4-track machine...
.
Production credits include albums from
Tasmin ArcherTasmin Archer is an English pop singer. Her first album, Great Expectations, spawned the smash hit "Sleeping Satellite", a philosophical song about the moon landings, which reached number one in the United Kingdom....
,
The BanglesThe Bangles are an American all-female band that originated in the early 1980s, scoring several hit singles through much of the decade.-Formation and early years :...
,
The CorrsThe Corrs are a Celtic folk rock group from Dundalk, Ireland. The group consists of the Corr siblings: Andrea ; Sharon ; Caroline ; and Jim ....
,
Elvis CostelloElvis Costello is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s, and later became associated with the punk rock and New Wave musical genres...
,
Sheryl CrowSheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Her music blends rock, country and pop into one mainstream sound, and she has won nine Grammy Awards...
,
Crowded HouseCrowded House is a Australian rock group formed in Melbourne, Australia and led by New Zealand musician and singer-songwriter Neil Finn. Finn is widely recognised as the primary songwriter and creative direction of the band, having led it through several incarnations, drawing members from New...
,
The Ditty BopsThe Ditty Bops is an American band from Los Angeles, California. Though previously with Warner Brothers, they now self-produce. They are noted for their tight vocal harmonies and playful style. They are headed by Abby DeWald and Amanda Barrett...
,
Tim FinnBrian Timothy "Tim" Finn, OBE is a New Zealand born singer and songwriter. Finn is most known for his music with New Zealand 1970s and 1980s rock group Split Enz, and later for his solo work, a temporary membership in Crowded House and his joint effort with younger brother Neil Finn as the Finn...
,
Missy HigginsMissy Higgins is an Australian singer-songwriter, best known for the hit singles "Scar", "The Special Two", "Steer" and "Where I Stood". Her second album, On a Clear Night, was released in April 2007...
,
Indigo GirlsThe Indigo Girls are an American folk rock duo, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers.They began in Atlanta as a regular act at The Little 5 Points Pub, and were tangentially part of the Athens, Georgia college rock scene that included The B-52's, Pylon, R.E.M., The Georgia Satellites, Widespread...
,
Paul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE , is an English singer-songwriter, poet, composer, multi-instrumentalist, entrepreneur, record and film producer, painter, and animal rights and peace activist. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings, McCartney is the most successful songwriter in the history of popular music...
,
Maria McKeeMaria Louise McKee is an American singer.-Music:A solo artist, McKee was a founding member of the cowpunk/country rock band, Lone Justice, in 1982, with whom she released three albums...
,
Pat McLaughlinPat McLaughlin is a singer/songwriter based in Nashville, TN.He was raised in Waterloo, Iowa, but moved to San Francisco, California in the early 1970s. There McLaughlin began to write songs, playing alone at open mic nights and in the streets near the bay. After a brief stint in Boston, he moved...
,
Randy NewmanRandall Stuart “Randy” Newman is an American singer/songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is notable for his mordant pop songs and for his many film scores....
,
Nerina PallotNerina Pallot is a platinum selling, BRIT Award nominated British singer and songwriter...
,
Pearl JamPearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
,
Phantom PlanetPhantom Planet is an alternative rock band from Southern California. The band is best known for its track "California", which became the theme song for the Fox TV series, The O.C..-History:...
,
Daniel PowterDaniel Richard Powter is a Canadian recording artist. He grew up in Vernon, in the Okanagan-Shuswap region of British Columbia. He is best known for his #1 smash hit "Bad Day".- Career :...
,
Bonnie RaittBonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter, born in Burbank, California. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially accessible...
,
Ron SexsmithRonald Eldon Sexsmith is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario, currently based in Toronto. He started his own band when he was fourteen years old, and released the first recordings of his own material seven years later, in 1985...
, Richard Thompson and
Suzanne VegaSuzanne Nadine Vega is an American songwriter and singer known for her highly literate lyrics and eclectic folk-inspired music....
.
Personal life
His daughter
CharlotteCharlotte Froom is the former bassist & background vocalist of The Like.She is the daughter of the producer Mitchell Froom. She is also a vegetarian.-External links:*, bassplayer.com, January, 2006*, sfburning.com...
(born 1986) is the former bassist in
The LikeThe Like are an alternative rock band from Southern California, consisting of Elizabeth "Z" Berg , Laena Geronimo , Tennessee Thomas , and Reni Lane .-Background:...
. Charlotte's mother, Connie Jester, was his first wife.
Froom married
Suzanne VegaSuzanne Nadine Vega is an American songwriter and singer known for her highly literate lyrics and eclectic folk-inspired music....
in 1995; they separated in 1998.
Soul CoughingSoul Coughing was a New York-based alternative rock band. The band found modest mainstream success during the mid-to-late 90's. Soul Coughing developed a devout fanbase and have garnered largely positive response from critics. Steve Huey describes the band as "one of the most unique cult bands of...
's 1994 album,
Ruby VroomRuby Vroom was Soul Coughing's 1994 debut album. The album's sound is a mixture of sample-based tunes , guitar...
, was named after their daughter, Ruby Froom (born July 8, 1994).
He married
Vonda ShepardVonda Shepard is an American pop/rock singer. She appeared as a regular in the television show Ally McBeal from seasons 1-5 in which she played a resident performer at the bar where the show's characters drank after work...
in 2004. They had their first child, Jack Froom, (named for Froom's late father, a noted physician and educator), on April 15, 2006.
His brother is David Froom, a prominent classical composer and Department Chair of the Music Department at
St. Mary's College of MarylandSt. Mary's College of Maryland, established in 1840, is a public, secular liberal arts college located in St. Mary's City, Maryland. It is a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges and designated as a Public Honors College . St. Mary's College is a small college, with about 2,000...
.
External links