The MGH Guitarist of the Month for August, 2023, is Tim Mirth.
Tim began playing guitar after sneaking into his attic and finding his dad’s old Gretsch Corvette. Not knowing how it worked, he tinkered till he pushed the string down on the fret and heard the pitch change, he hasn’t put it down since. Even at 10 years old he was completely hooked and the timing was good as it was the beginning of the grunge movement which would prove very influential over time.
It wasn’t long before Tim started bands with his friends and got the bug to perform and write music. Playing in battle of the bands, parties, and all ages gigs was life. At the time, much of Tim’s influence came from heavier music with bands like Alice in Chains, Nine Inch Nails, or Pantera, however at a football camp in Pittsburgh as a teenager his dad picked him up and told him they were going to a “jazz” show. Tim didn’t want to go, but being that his aunt was also coming, he begrudgingly went. Little did he know it would change everything for him.
Jazz must be experienced live.
Shortly after, his dad brought home the African Brass Sessions by John Coltrane and he was never the same since. Soon Tim began to study jazz and take jazz guitar lessons, dedicated more than ever, he opened the door to many musical endeavors such as school jazz bands, musical pit shows, and more bands.
Tim received swimming and musical scholarships to attend Mount Union College in Ohio after being encouraged not to go very far from home at the time. He only spent 1 year at Mount Union and for the first time he was free to practice all day and all night with an extremely supportive group of teachers, even giving free lessons on trumpet, saxophone, bass, and more, beyond his prescribed lessons in guitar, piano and composition. After co-presenting a full composition recital at the end of the first year, Tim moved to New York City.
While in NYC, with nearly zero connections, life was a challenge working 6 plus days a week to barely make ends meet, but having little money meant practicing endlessly during this time. He studied with various teachers at this time, most notably Chapman Stick master Steve Adelson. He also started a variety of different bands.
Along with his guitar and music practice, he began a tradition of writing down endless amount of musical ideas that filled up many manuscript books. Always exploring and seeking to expand the instrument in ways that weren’t apparently already being done.
Nearly 5 years after moving to NY and a few failed band attempts, Tim moved to the Cleveland area where he met his future wife and they set a new path. He enrolled at the University of Akron’s Jazz Studies program as well as double majoring in Electrical Engineering. He continued to grow and play out more, not only had he continued his work studying jazz and classical music but took a heavy interest in studying 12 tone serialism, fretless guitar, and advanced theory concepts which would affect the music he created over the next 20 years.
Tim continued to create bands and compose during and after college. One of his more successful projects was Red Side Visible which started as a vision with longtime collaborator and drummer Paul Stranahan and asked how he’d feel about making a band that mixed Meshuggah, Coltrane and Zappa together. Who could say no? The band really empowered a creative approach to composition and more.
Tim Mirth is an adventurous artist constantly seeking to create, explore, and bring energy into the world. With a seemingly limitless variety of output, it’s the deep love of jazz music and spirit that drives all his various projects. Studying classical and jazz in college and beyond with great musicians such as Steve Adelson, Steve Aron, Jack Schantz, Rodney Jones, Peter Mazza, Bob Fraser, and Chris Crocco, Tim is constantly looking to refine his craft. It’s the reaching and seeking from artists like Coltrane, Rosenwinkel, Mingus, McLaughlin, and Dolphy that Tim strives to reach.
Tim has performed throughout the Eastern US and Europe with a variety of groups such as Night Terrors, Stellar Regions, Red Side Visible, Tim Mirth trio, and Tim Mirth Guitar Band. He’s been involved in releasing over 10 albums, including some recent recorded projects like Mirth Co-Liberation’s Wayne Shorter Tribute, Red Side Visible’s “A Break from Normality” adventurous odd-time jazz metal, and Night Terrors’ “Hear Again?” free jazz/through-composed madness. Fusion powerhouse live double record with Stellar Regions, as well as collaborations with multiple groups across the country.
With a more dedicated focus on jazz guitar and what it could be, Tim has multiple new projects at various stages of development including a new record featuring guitar and marimba, as well as recording his guitar band and a special yet unnamed project.
Along with these musical outputs Tim is also co-host on popular jazz and classical guitar podcast “Wood Air and Metal” and creates masterclasses for Mike’s Masterclasses online. He has also received a patent on redundant network architectures and has multiple other patents pending, plus wrote a book on creative composition and improvisation techniques that he may release one day, showing the fact that Tim is creating in all aspects of his life.
Find Out More About Tim Mirth Here
The previous MGH player of the month was Josh Workman.
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