FIVE FIRSTS: Mitch Elrod

NAME: Mitch Elrod
BAND AFFILIATION: Elrod & MotherJudge. Caroline and I have finished our 10-years-in-the-making duo recording. It’s titled Egregious Angel, and we’re promoting ourselves as Elrod & MotherJudge. Recording to be released in 2017.
INSTRUMENT: Guitars, vocals mainly, but I love to play piano and sax.

1. THE FIRST ALBUM I EVER BOUGHT WAS … After a few Beatles 45s, I think the first album I got was Led Zepplin’s first album. I was hooked on rock music.

2. THE FIRST CONCERT THAT I EVER SAW WAS … One of the first big shows was in Atlanta, GA. It was Jethro Tull. I was in the the balcony, but I could smell the weed from the front of the stage. I saw Tull several times after that. Really great!

3. THE FIRST MUSICAL INSTRUMENT I EVER OWNED OR PLAYED WAS … guitar. I’ve been playing guitar for 47 years. Holy Moly! Being a musician all these years has been so great. I learn something new every day about the guitar.

4. THE FIRST SONG THAT I EVER PERFORMED IN PUBLIC WAS … might have been “Time in a Bottle” by Jim Croce. I played it at my cousin’s wedding.

5. THE FIRST BAND I WAS EVER IN WAS … I think it was the trio Jiminim (which was a word we came up with to creatively mean “Jim and Them”). It was Jim Burgdorf (guitar), Mike Hood (bass/vocals) and me (guitar/vocals), and we played songs we wrote. Later Hood and I were in a cool band called Old House Jam.

Mitch Elrod and Caroline MotherJudge team up with Tom McWatters to perform as a trio at Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs for “The Heart of Saturday Night: Songs of Tom Waits” at 8pm on Saturday (January 21). Also on the bill are Sean Rowe, Mark Tolstrup, Girl Blue, Michael Eck and Tom Dimopoulos. Tickets are $20 in advance; $22 at the door.