Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A) Yeah!! I grew up in a small town in the Kootenays of BC, and spent most of my free time either playing hockey or outdoors hunting and fishing. I come from a very musical family and was in a Country/Blues band with my dad from the time I was 9 or so on. We used to tour around playing bars and weddings, that kind of thing. I started writing and playing my own shows in high school and decided to give it a shot as a career soon as I graduated!
Q: How are you planning on growing your fan base and sharing your music with the world? What message do you have for anyone who is about to discover “Mitch Zorn”?
A) Well the name of the game these days is consistency and content so we have been filming a ton, planning out our radio campaigns and trying to book as many shows as we can. I think for me the message is don’t be afraid to pursue doing something you love. I’ve been trying to make this happen for many years and nothing happens overnight, but if you care about something you gotta go out there and get it. I’ve never loved anything the way I love music, melodies and putting words together and I just hope that work shines through.
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
A) I spend a lot of time listening to a lot of different kinds of music and I have many favourites but recently I’ve seemed to circle back to Eric Church and his body of work. He was my absolute favorite country artist growing up and I think he’s a brilliant songwriter, brings his own style to the genre and has so many hits I can’t even count. As far as inspiration, I find my spark in paying attention to my life around me. I still live in a small town and it’s just a way of life that is hard to emulate and write without experience so I’m just trying to write about my life and seek the musical elements of my favorite artists to help me find my direction.
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the song, “Home”?
A) Yeah so I spent most of my twenties working in the oil and gas industry as an electrician and in that line of work you spend a lot of time travelling and working on the road. In this song, I was trying to paint that picture of having to leave your loved ones and sacrifice your day to day to make a living.
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?
A) Authentic
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “Home”?
A) I don’t think I faced any challenges as far as writing goes. It was a pretty quick write, the words just seemed to write themselves, but it definitely took a lot of years to find the right time to record and release it. The song was written in 2020, but I only recorded it last year so it was definitely a process trying to find the right time to put it out, but I’m glad I waited.
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as an artist?
A) I think my message would be to do something you love. It’s not always gonna make sense to the people around you and we all struggle sometimes with a sense of purpose but I think if you can pursue something you really care about it will make your life better, regardless of the outcome. As far as my goals, as an artist I still really find value in the traditional metrics of success in country music… number one songs, recognition for my work, playing big shows, having songs on country radio. I think if I had to boil it down to one thing it would play music for as many people as possible.
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
A) As I said before Eric Church is one of my heroes and if I ever got to work with him, I don’t know what I would do with myself. Sam Hunt is another artist I’ve always loved and I think he’s such a good songwriter so I could ever get in a room with him and write that would be a bucket list moment for sure.
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?
A) You gotta want it, in the age of viral TikToks and overnight stardom it’s important to understand that it doesn’t happen that way for everyone and you have to put in a lot of time and work. you’re gonna be told no a lot so you have to look at it as a long game, music is something I will do forever regardless of it being a career and I think you have to have that mentally to do it and make it work.
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
A) Don’t be so hard on yourself, everyone’s story is different and everybody’s lives and careers move at a different pace. Just stay the course, be where your feet are and everything will work out somehow, some way.
