Mark Bennett: Curtis Mitchell still playing music, with a changed tune

Sep. 18—After a tough break several years ago, Curtis Mitchell considered putting down his guitar for good.

Music has been a lifelong passion for him. Then, a health problem intervened.

Mitchell had been serving as a chaplain for the Court Appointed Special Advocates program in Terre Haute, when he contracted the MRSA virus. It damaged one of his fingers — obviously crucial for guitar players. That's when his son, Jared, showed him a video of Django Reinhardt, the legendary Belgian gypsy-style guitarist from the early 20th century.

The clip featured Reinhardt deftly plucking notes and chords with a fingering hand that had two misshapen fingers. At age 18, Reinhardt's hand had been burned in a fire. He gave up the banjo and violin, but kept playing guitar, using an adjusted method, and became one of music's most influential instrumentalists.

Mitchell was impressed.

"So, I quit complaining after watching Django," Mitchell said with a laugh Wednesday. "If he could do that with two crippled fingers, I could do it with one." His son's gesture "inspired me. It kind of pushed me forward. And, now I'm doing what I love."

Indeed, Mitchell — who developed his playing and singing skills among musical siblings as a kid — serves as the assistant pastor of Saints Home Church of God In Christ in Terre Haute. Mitchell plays his guitar and sings during services, and also handles the church's small music production company, Covenant Love Music. He writes songs and commercial jingles, too.

Mitchell's musical resume goes back to 1970, when he and the Seven Expressions band began performing in venues around Indiana and Illinois. After a stint in the military, he played for bands such as Collage, Peek, Max and 6-70-5.

On Sunday afternoon, the Rev. Curtis Mitchell, now 66 years old, will be inducted into the Wabash Valley Musicians Hall of Fame, along with 20 others in the Zorah Shrine dining hall. The annual event runs from noon to 6 p.m. and includes a dinner, induction ceremony and jam session featuring the inductees. Tickets cost $15 per person and are available at The Music Shoppe at 1427 S. 25th St. or at the door.

The crowd may be smaller than past years because of COVID-19 concerns, said Andrew Hayes, a longtime Wabash Valley Hall of Fame board member. Servers will wear face masks, he said, while masks are optional for attendees. CDC guidelines recommend masking indoors in high transmission areas.

"We're looking forward to everybody having a good time, and being as safe a we can be," Hayes said.

Mitchell and his fellow inductees comprise a collection of singers and instrumentalists that are "extremely diverse, from all aspects of music," Hayes said.

They include David L. Archer, Jeffrey D. Archer Sr., Thomas L. Bridgewater, Brian Butts, Jay Carpenter, John M. Ford, Jack Gibson, Cartha Gustafson and Richard Gustafson, Rob Hawkins Jr., Tim Huber, David Hunt, Phil Hutson, Phillip Ivy Sr., Don Keegan, Richard LeDune, Bill Pennell, Bill Smith, Ricki Sparks and Robert Wolff. The diversity of their styles range from the Gustafsons, a trumpet-playing couple from Illinois to Carpenter and Gibson, who harmonized in the Terre Haute band 10th and Hulman, to performers of many other backgrounds, Hayes explained. Several have performed together.

"It's amazing how the histories and the stories of these musicians intertwine with each other," Hayes said.

Hayes remembers attending class reunions with his wife, and seeing Curtis Mitchell entertain the crowd. "He always shows up and plays and sings for everybody, and they have a good time," Hayes said.

Mitchell was a youngster when he saw family members performing in the popular Terre Haute band, the Soul Messengers. "They were big, and I was trying to emulate my now-late big brother," Mitchell said. Daron Mitchell played saxophone and sang with the group. "I was always kind of on their heels. By the time I got in a band, I'd been playing for eight years."

He started playing with the Seven Expressions as a 15-year-old. Mitchell got his union card, with the Terre Haute Federation of Musicians Local 25, in 1970, which allowed him to play in clubs as a teen. The Seven Expressions played local spots like the Terre Haute Elks Club, as well as the Expressions nightclub in Indianapolis and venues in rural southern Illinois towns such as Oblong and Teutopolis. Their setlist featured mostly covers of popular soul songs, but also some rock "because I was a fan of Santana," Mitchell said, chuckling. They covered bands such as Rare Earth, War and the Temptations. He also continued to play cello as a high schooler at first Gerstmeyer and then Terre Haute North, graduating in 1973.

After his stint in the military, Mitchell played in a trio of other bands, and then experienced a life change.

"I literally had a come-to-Jesus moment and started to play in the church after I came to Christ," he said.

There were ups and downs that followed. Mitchell went through a divorce, "stepped away from the church," he said, and then returned, serving in full-time ministry. Musically, he played for a time with the 6-70-5 band, along with his younger brother, Brenton. They performed at the Blues at the Crossroads Festival.

Later, Mitchell performed at the Blues fest with the Saints Home Church of God in Christ choir. "It was so beautiful. I was so very meaningful," he recalled.

That day, they performed the song "I Am a Friend of God," and Mitchell intends to play it at Sunday's Hall of Fame inductions. The induction is an honor for Mitchell, as well as his family, which includes his wife of 20 years, Nicole, six children and eight grandchildren. His mother is excited about it, too.

"I like to tell people, I still play music; I just changed my tune," he said.

Mark Bennett can be reached at 812-231-4377 or mark.bennett@tribstar.com.