LET'S TALK/LET'S ACTIVE: the official Let's Active Fan Club Newsletter
Spring 1986
By Don Dixon

"Looking Back With Don Dixon"

My first memory of Mitch is as a kid with a Troggs haircut, a Gibson Melody Maker guitar, and a 100 watt Marshall stack. I also remember thinking how terrific he was at making that guitar talk. I was the new guy in town. It was 1969 and I was a member of the newly formed heavy combo ARROGANCE. All of the members of ARROGANCE had recently come to college from their old high school haunts in Winston-Salem, so it was natural that we returned frequently to Winston-Salem to perform. Mitch's band "the SACRED IRONY" was one of the hot younger combos in Winston-Salem, and we would frequently share the bill at an outdoor concert and be playing at one of the many different rock venues the city had to offer. No lie, there were tons of places to play rec dept sponsored shows at civic gymnasiums, church coffee houses, there was even a regular show at an elementary school on the south side. Another consistent venue was the Starlight Swim Club. It was a place with a huge pool and grounds and a decent sized indoor room with a stage. I'm sure that I had met Mitch and heard him play before seeing Sacred Irony at the Starlight, but whenever I think back to those days that's the stage I see him on... roaring away.

They were an incredibly well equipped band for those days. Mitch and the bassists both had 100 watt Marshall STACKS! The organist actually had Leslie speakers and they had a cool looking Marshall PA—the piece de resistance however was the hearse (big & black with SACRED IRONY written in Old English letters) that they used for transportation Real class—to my way of thinking. Mitch has always been a cool guy. He never has been a drug user and always enjoyed dressing like a ragman. Of course he's gone through phases in his taste but he has seemed to maintain a good perspective on the ridiculous elements of this pop culture that we help to create.

It tickles me to see Mitch playing a Gibson again on this most recent tour. It looks "right" on him somehow. There's another myth I'd like to put to rest. Mitch isn't a little shrimpy guy. He's 6'2" and weighs 211 lbs. But he wears low heels so he won't make his bandmates look tiny.

I'm tired of writing right now. Maybe I'll write more later.

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