Mitch Rolling
Having picked up his first guitar at age 6, followed by some prompting from his mom to take lessons, by the time Mitch was 13, he was already playing in his first band. He often talks about how lucky he is in life to have known – really known – what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
For some of us, it seems we never find that, or we spend far too many years and way too much wasted energy on doing things that turn out to be not what we really want to do. Again, Mitch has been lucky. He has been on a music quest from his early teenage years and that same quest still inspires him to this day. His enthusiasm comes across in his music and playing, and this is part of what makes him so entertaining.
During three years in his high school band Beggars Riddle, Mitch just became more hooked. His band played all the hip parties, and it was the perfect experience for honing his music chops and learning the ropes of playing music in a band and learning about the music business. Even in high school the band was booked by a professional agent. They were crazy high school days at their best!
It was also in high school where Mitch became destined to follow another goal: to live on a remote tropical island where he could play music and write songs. Immediately after graduating from Ames High School in 1980, Mitch went to Grand Turk, in the Turks & Caicos Islands. There he began playing at the small local bars and even hooked up with a native group, the five piece Sky Lake Band. It was a dream come true for Mitch. This experience exposed Mitch to the “island music” of Reggae, Calypso, and Soca, and also the band played some great Soul and R & B. They were together for almost 10 years playing in the Bahamas, the Caymans, the Dominican Republic, and all through the Turks & Caicos Islands.
It was in 1989, several years after the break up of the Sky Lake Band, that Mitch began jamming with some local guys in a rake & scrape band. It started casually at first with the guys occasionally joining him during his hotel gigs. Over time he formed a permanent band with local musician brothers Kell and Tyro Talbot, on conga drums and tambourine, in addition to Lindsey Butterfield on saw. They are known as the High Tide Band and have become the number one Rake & Scrape Band in the Turks & Caicos Islands. They released their first CD in 2004 with a tour of the States which included Texas, Iowa, Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida. The High Tide band continues to play on Grand Turk every week.
Since arriving in the Turks & Caicos, Mitch has played as a solo act at several of the local hotels. He has now been playing in the Turks & Caicos Islands for over 30 years and established himself with musicians on all of the islands. Over the years he has recorded and released 5 albums, enjoying modest sales from locals and visitors to the island. Mitch has recently established a new recording facility at his house on Grand Turk, where he will continue to work with local musicians as well as record his own projects.
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