It all started when Mitch was just a young boy. Music was his solace, his getaway from everything… and everyone. He had a little radio that he would carry around his house and sing along with. The type of music didn’t really matter to him, just as long as it had a melody that he found pleasing. As a child, Mitch would go to church and sing along with the entire congregation. Still too young to read at the time, he would make up his own words to match the melodies that he heard.

As he grew older, Mitch was drawn deeper into music, lyrics in particular. As Mitch says, “I have always loved story songs, songs that can take you away and paint a picture in your mind. I have always been a dreamer so I have always found it easy to drift away with a song”. It is safe to say that it was in these early years that the seed was planted.

A number of years down the road he met Vickie, the woman that would soon become his wife. When they were dating, he would sing along to the radio as the two of them cruised around in his truck. After they were married and she was pregnant with their son, Mitch wrote a poem for Vickie. It was a sentimental poem about where they were in their lives and the joy that they shared with one another. That year for Christmas, he surprised her by turning their poem into a song and recording it in a studio. This was the first song that Mitch had ever wrote and recorded. When she first heard it she said, “Someone is singing our poem!” Mitch laughed and told her that “someone” was him. Soon after that, he started writing more songs for his other family members. Things were beginning to take shape.

Mitch then began writing with a friend, Jordan, whom he had met from work. They would get together once a week to write songs and dream about performing. Mitch was very shy about singing in front of anyone at first, so who was to know what would soon transpire.

Jordan and Mitch continued to write together and they soon met up with some other musicians, and then they booked their first gig. They started off with a few small gigs and those small gigs got bigger and bigger. Jordan moved away, but Mitch was having the time of his life. The band that Mitch had put together was an assortment of friends that simply loved music and loved to perform. They called themselves, “Mendin’ Fences”, and they started playing more and more. In no time at all, the guys were doing radio and television interviews, and opening for some of Nashville's established artists! In a few short years, they went from being a simple garage band to being the 2000 OCA Independent “Country Entertainers of the Year” as well as Independent “Country Band of the Year”! It was crazy to say the least. Mendin’ Fences was a band consisting of Mitch and about twelve various friends/musicians. They were having the time of their lives and their shows were getting bigger and better every day. They recorded their first CD and were receiving radio play on some of Southern California’s major radio stations!

Then tragedy struck the band, one of their most talented musicians and closest friends, Gregg Cox, was diagnosed with leukemia on Monday, December 10, 2001. Four short days later, Gregg passed away… Mitch sadly says, “I can only speak for myself, but from that day forward I lost the hunger to play. The fun and excitement that we had all shared through our music had seemed to diminish greatly. We played at Gregg’s memorial service and have not stepped on stage together since then”.

Mitch goes on to say, “I know that this all sounds rather tragic, but I have always been an optimist, so I insist on looking at the brighter side of life. I am so thankful for all of the times that we played together and all of the lives that we have touched through our music. I got so much more out of our music than I had ever dreamed of! Nothing will ever replace the feeling of hearing our fans sing along to our original songs at our concerts. I am truly thankful for all that our fans did for us”.

These days Mitch can be found singing the “National Anthem” and various other heartfelt patriotic tunes at different functions around California. He still loves to get up in front of a crowd and perform… but as he said, “Nothing will ever replace the times that I shared with my band”.

With that in mind, please take the time to listen to their music. You are sure to enjoy what they have recorded. Mark Fly, Dave Funai and Mitch produced the entire project, and Mark has written or co-written all of the songs.

And when you’re done, please drop them a line at fencemender@yahoo.com and say hello… they’d love to hear from you!

Visit our giftshop at www.cafeshops/mendinfences

	Down and Up to No Good		Country
	A Hundered Miles Down The Rio Grande		Country

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