Biography

Mitchell Townsend is an experienced and accomplished musician and composer who has amassed three decades of professional experience in the music industry. Born and raised in Rockville, Maryland, his passion for music was ignited at an early age by his parents, who themselves had a deep love for it. Through his father's close friendship with renowned east coast bluegrass band The Seldom Scene, Mitchell had the privilege of firsthand exposure to legendary musicians like Tony Rice, Ricky Skaggs, John Starling, Mike Auldridge, John Duffey, Ben Eldridge, and more. These influential artists left a lasting impression on him and fueled his desire to learn to play an instrument. Along with his two older brothers introducing him to the rock music of the late 70s and early 80s, this melting pot of influences created a diverse musical foundation that would shape his identity as a musician. He has drawn inspiration from a wide range of guitarists such as Jeff Beck, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Lifeson, Steve Howe, John McLaughlin, Steve Morse, Eric Johnson, Randy Rhoads, Jimi Hendrix, Michael Landau, Trevor Rabin, Tony Rice, David Lindley, Ry Cooder, Albert Lee, Larry Carlton, Michael Schenker, among countless others.
Upon relocating to Southern California at the age of 18, Mitchell began actively seeking out potential playing opportunities. After some time doing occasional studio work, he received a surprise call from Interscope Records recording artists Red Five, who urgently needed a bass player. Within a matter of weeks, he found himself embarking on his first national tour, performing over 55 shows across America over a 10-week period. This marked the beginning of a five-year journey with Red Five, during which he played hundreds of live shows across the U.S and Canada, sharing stages along the way with notable artists such as No Doubt, Blink 182, Sublime, Weezer, Deftones, NOFX, as well as opening for KISS at the LA Forum on their iconic reunion tour with the original lineup in full makeup.

As the 90’s drew to a close, Mitchell returned to the more grounded world of the recording studio, rediscovering his initial desire to focus on studio work. In 2003, he was invited by No Doubt guitarist Tom Dumont to perform on a series of recording sessions Tom was producing for singer songwriter Matt Costa. Mitchell contributed his skills on various instruments during these early recording sessions. This collection of songs turned into Matt’s highly acclaimed debut album, "Songs We Sing”, released worldwide on Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Records label. He then embarked on another five-year period of worldwide touring, sharing stages with Jack Johnson, Oasis, Ryan Adams, Modest Mouse, Death Cab For Cutie, among others. During numerous tours with Jack Johnson, Mitchell and Matt had the honor of joining Jack and his band onstage every night for a collection of songs, including his headlining slot at the 2008 Coachella Festival.
Throughout the last decade, Mitchell has engaged in a diverse range of projects. Notably, he composed multiple tracks of music for Dave Grohl’s Grammy-winning feature documentary film "Sound City”. He also contributed music for the feature film "Faster," starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Billy Bob Thornton. Furthermore, he co-produced and played various instruments on the critically acclaimed album "Devour" by singer-songwriter Dave Hause. In recent years Mitchell returned to the stage with Jack Johnson and his band for a jam at Willie Nelson's Farm Aid festival, as well as performing countless live shows across the U.S alongside Social Distortion guitarist Jonny Two Bags in support of Jonny's exceptional debut solo album, "Salvation Town." Additionally, Mitchell played guitar and mandolin on Chuck Ragan's score for the video game "The Flame And The Flood" and embarked on a series of shows across Europe with Jonny Two Bags and Social Distortion.