When you see Mitch Grainger walk on stage there is an air of confidence that immediately puts you at ease. His well beaten Acoustic Guitar waits for him next to a shimmering array of Harmonicas; he sings and you relax.

The raw emotion of his performance hits you first. Then you start to notice the content of his lyric, his proficiency on the harmonica, the guitar; and you ask yourself: Why have I not heard Mitch Grainger's music before?

However, there is a good chance you have.

Mitch Grainger's voice has been heard in cinemas across Japan, America & Europe through feature films like December Boys. While closer to home he has written, recorded and performed with Aussie industry veterans including, Harry Vanda, Malcolm Young, Rick Price, Alex Lloyd, Mark Williams, Jade McRae, The Bondi Cigars, Adam Brand and Papa lips.

-- Current Projects --

[Australian Songbook]

Combines history, characters, legend and modern day story telling by the everyday Australian with song. The Australian Song Book also provides opportunities for regional communities such as musical workshops for schools, charity performances while encouraging social and cultural exchange.

The idea is simply to bring together some of Australia's finest musicians to write and record songs for regional towns across Australia based on stories received from the public in these towns via a friendly competition.

And Woopi, Jack Thompson's, Woolgoolga, is first on the list.

During the week commencing 25th of May, celebrated thespian, Jack Thompson will be staying at his farm in his beloved Woolgoolga joined by friend and musician Mitch Grainger to play Harmonica, strum some chords and write a song - inspired by stories received from the local community.

This is a unique opportunity to tell the story of Woolgoolga and Jack would like the Woolgoola community to get involved by sending in a short story (maximum 800 words) to mitch@mitchgrainger.com. The winning story will be turned into song and performed by both Jack & Mitch on Sunday the 31st May at The Seaview Tavern, Woolgoolga (all ages welcome).

[Song of the Week ]

"(Chapter One) ran between, May 1st and December 8th, 2008. In this time i wrote and recorded a new acoustic song in my private home studio every week - then uploaded it to the members area of mitchgrainger.com.

Currently i'm inviting you to download these new songs (MP3s) for free from the mitchgrainger.com members lounge. Why you ask? I'm preparing to record my second studio album and would love your help choosing the material. So, please let me know your favorites."

Career Chronology

1998 - 1992
"The Beefs"

• In 1998 Mitch Grainger joined the teenage rock/blues band, "The Beefs" with Alex Lloyd, Declan Kelly, Kinnon Holt, Trent Williamson and Anthony Howe. Although the members were all underage (16 years old) the band was one of Sydney's most popular roots rock acts. They held long residencies at "The Unity Hotel" and "The Bridge Hotel" in Balmain respectively - regularly drawing crowds of over 200 people per night.

• Malcom young of AC/DC saw "The Beefs" perform live in 1990 and took the band into Albert's Studio for a week of recording demos in October, 1991 and again in February, 1992.

1993 - 1995
"SIDEMAN"

• Mitch Grainger toured regional Australia with "The Bondi Cigars"
consistently between 1993 and 1995. It was common for Mitch Grainger to be giging 5 nights a week - spending 2 weeks out of every four on the road.

• In 1995 Mitch Grainger recorded on "The Bondi Cigars" album "After Closing Time".

• Mitch Grainger played as a sideman for the Hendrix of the harmonica, "Johnny Marrs" at the East Coast Blues & Roots Festival in 1995.

• Mitch Grainger was a member of Sleepy la Beef's backing band on his Australian tour in 1992.

• Mitch Grainger was a member of Mick Taylor's backing band on his
Australian tour 1993.

1996 − 1999
"PAPA LIPS"

• Between 1996 − 1999 Mitch & Kara Grainger toured Australia regularly with Papa Lips, promoting: High Time Now (1998) and Harmony (1996). The touring included all states, territories and festivals, including The East Coast Blues and Roots Festival, Woodford Folk Festival and the South Australian Blues Festival.

• In 1996 Papa Lips were awarded "Best New Band" at the Australian Blues Music Awards.

• In 1998 Papa Lips received national radio play on ABC for their debut single "I'll be Free".

• Mitch Grainger supported many recording artists with Papa Lips, including Little Feat, Robben Ford & Eric Johnson.

2000
"HARRY VANDA"

• In 2000 Mitch Grainger and Kara Grainger signed with Albert Music, the largest independent production label in Australia, renowned for producing AC/DC, The Angels, Rose Tattoo, John Paul Young; and commenced recording with established Australian producer Harry Vanda.

2001
"SEPTEMBER 11"

• In 2001, Mitch Grainger visited New York with his sister, Kara Grainger to play a series of showcases for Atlantic, Sony, BMG, Virgin, V2 and Elektra. The showcases were held during the week of the September 11 attacks. After witnessing the attacks from ground zero, Mitch Grainger wrote "New York City", the first in a series of personal songs that opened him up to the idea of performing as a solo artist.

• In 2006, Mitch Grainger and his sister, Kara Grainger, toured Australia in support of their EP "Sky is falling".

2003 − 2004
"THE GROOVE LOUNGE"

"The Groove Lounge" was based on a STAX/Soul house band concept. The event was held monthly on Bondi Beach and was very popular with musicians, celebrities and the general public.

"The Groove Lounge" was promoted by Mitch Grainger and a collective of Sydney's finest roots musicians, including: Declan Kelly, Lachlan Doley and Rowan Lane. The event ran for three years and showcased special guests each month; in this time Mitch Grainger worked with some of the biggest names in Australia's Soul, funk and
R&B scene, including Jimmy Barnes, Mark Williams and Jade McRae

2004 − 2005
"FLASHPOINT"

Mitch Grainger recorded his debut album "Love & Demons" at Flashpoint Studios under the guidance of Harry Vanda. After a year of recording, a technical fault destroyed the "Love and Demons" masters. Mitch Grainger took three months off to reflect on the loss before returning to the studio to commence recording "Love & Demons" for the second time. Two years after commencing the record, it was complete and ready for release.

Soon after Mitch Grainger was employed by Flashpoint to engineer recording sessions for John Paul Young and the Australian supergroup, The Wrights, Featuring members of Jet, Spiderbait, Dallas Crane, The Living End and Powderfinger.

2006
"LOVE AND DEMONS"

• In 2006 GoSet/Mgm released "Love and Demons", Mitch Grainger's debut album, in Australia.

• Mitch Grainger's debut single "Insane" was added to 15 commercial radio stations across Australia.

• During 2006 Mitch Grainger toured Australia extensively in support of "Love and Demons".

• In December 2006 Mitch Grainger Joined Australia's Alex Lloyd, to support Chris Isaak at the State Theatre, Sydney.

2007
"DECEMBER BOYS"

• Mitch Grainger's voice and Harmonica have been heard in cinemas across Japan, Europe and America as a part of the December Boys soundtrack, a feature film released in 2007, starring Daniel Radcliffe.
Mitch Grainger was invited to perform "Nobody knows my name" for the movie. It's a bluesy track used in the opening scene, where Daniel Radcliffe and the "December Boys" are miss behaving after the lights have gone out in their orphanage.

• Mitch Grainger's second single, Help is on its Way, was featured on iTunes as "Free Download of the Week" in Australia during September 2007.

• September 11th 2007: Mitch Grainger performed "Help is on its Way" in front of 400,000 viewers on Channel 7's "The Morning Show".

• Mitch Grainger recorded "2up", an album of acoustic duets with one of Australia's finest singers, multi-platinum selling recording artist Rick Price.

2008
"SONG OF THE WEEK"

• During "Song of the Week" Mitch Grainger wrote a new acoustic song every week. He simultaneously recorded and filmed it, before posting the Mp3 and corresponding video to www.mitchgrainger.com, MySpace & YouTube.

• During "Song of the Week" Mitch Grainger asked his fans to email in feedback on the new songs.

• 13 of the most popular songs written during "Song of the Week" were selected by Mitch Grainger - then recorded live at Sydney's premier music venue, The Basement.

• "Song of the Week" was in YouTube's top 30 (Australasian), and took his MySpace hits from 10,000 to 900,000 within 6 months.

2009
"AUSTRALIAN SONGBOOK"

• Mitch Grainger's "AUSTRALIAN SONGBOOK" project is currently beingdeveloped for TV in Australia.

• The pilot episode was shot in May with iconic Australian actor Jack
Thompson, in Jack's holiday town by the sea, Woolgoolga.

• The TV show will see Mitch collaborating with some of Australia's finest celebrities to write and record a song for approximately 13 regional towns across Australia, based on stories received from the public in these towns via a friendly competition.

• Integrated with this will be a touring production - working with the
community to hold school songwriting workshops and a concert in each town. The concert will be held at a local venue and broadcast live on the Internet where possible.