Kim Mitchell is a rock singer and songwriter and a DJ on Q107 in Toronto. He performs at Summer Bash in Toronto on Aug. 12, in Thetford Mines, Que., on Aug. 20, and at the PNE in Vancouver on Aug. 27.
Are you a country boy or city boy?
Well, I live in the moment. When I'm in the city, I try to deal with the city. That's a good word, "dealing" with the city. I enjoy major cities. I've been in most of them in Canada, a lot of them in the United States and a few in Europe. I love city living. I love both. I love the country. I'm born in a smaller town.
Where was that?
I was born in Sarnia, Ont., kind of between a city and a town. I lived up in Collingwood for many, many years. I watched it going from a sleepy little town to a mini-Toronto. It is Toronto now.
I recorded in Los Angeles, so I was there for a few months. I really liked it. I loved the weather. I lived on the isle of Rhodes, in Greece for a year; the city of Rhodos. Loved that too. But when I close my eyes and fantasize about a place, it's a little place on the water somewhere.
Where do you live now?
I live in Etobicoke [a Toronto suburb]. I wanted a little bit of balance. When I finish work, I need a little peace and quiet. I do love the country. I find the city is a beautiful thing, but every big city comes with challenges: parking enforcement officers, construction, rising prices. All those things are stresses. I get to the country and sitting by a lake or jumping in the water, it's "Ahh!" It does something to my soul. I guess, somewhat, my heart does belong to the country.
Do you have a country place?
I don't. I used to have a place in Collingwood right by the water. I can see me, at some point, in a smaller town again. I don't see myself right out in the country.
Where does the country start for you?
As soon as you can roll down the [car] window and breathe in and say, "Wow! Smell that!" That's my barometer. People seem a little bit different up there. A little bit different head space.
Do you get into that head space? Do you find yourself switching off?
Oh yeah. Big time! I can jump into that head space and be the country small-town bumpkin. Bumpkin is a bad word. A small-town guy.
Do you have nicknames for country people: rubes, hicks, yokels?
No, I don't. I really don't. This is what they have been exposed to and raised in and it is a simpler way of life. In Toronto and the major cities, things can get complex and really busy, dog eat dog. Out there, there is a little more sense of community I find. That's nice.
To many, the smell of manure defines "country" for good or ill. Do you find it a pleasant smell?
When kids are in the back seat and go, "Ooh! Smell that!" I'm going 'Ahh!", smelling the good earth, when in fact you are smelling cow shit. There is just something wonderful about that.
Have you ever milked a cow?
Never. I've petted them. As a kid, my drummer has pushed them over. Cow tipping. He used to do that in Winnipeg out in the country. Just go up in the middle of the night and push 'em over.
Which would you find easier, splitting a log or getting past a doorman?
Splitting a log. There's a certain enjoyment out of that. I've no desire to get past a doorman. I don't have the time to even bother with it. Maybe there was a time I tried to talk my way through it. I can't be bothered any more. Never mind. I'll do something else.
Rock guy, loud business. Is there such a thing as too quiet?
No. Not at all. In fact at home, the music I listen to is as quiet as I can get it. Because I'm doing radio all day, so there's music all day and then I'm playing. When my down time is down, I need quiet. The most perfect sound to me is water lapping up on a shore.
Lapping up on the shore by the ferry terminal at the foot of Bay Street?
No. This would be on any beautiful lake, outside a city.
Preferably with loon?
It doesn't have to be loon.
Have you ever sung Thank God I'm a Country Boy , the old John Denver classic?
No I haven't. I played in a country band for a year a long time ago, and I loved it. Dick Dickson and the Stone Mountain Band. There's something about the songs. Sometimes they can be cheeseball, but sometimes they can be heartfelt. Take Me Home, Country Roads … I have sung that many, many times.