Mitch Dane

Mitch Dane is an American record producer, musician, and songwriter who resides in Nashville.^[1] His work with artists include Jars of Clay, JJ Heller, Brandon Heath, Jetty Rae, Sonia Leigh, The Blind Boys of Alabama, The Young Fables, Ole Lonesome, Swearingen and Kelli, Kenny Foster and many others.^[2][3] He was awarded a Grammy for his work on Jars of Clay's 11th Hour, and nominated for Grammys for his work on four other albums.^[4] Dane also received ASCAP's "Most Played Song" award for "Nothing Without You" co-written with Bebo Norman.^[5] He owns the recording studio Sputnik Sound with Vance Powell.^[4]

Mitch Dane
Background information
Born	April 6, 1967 Cape Girardeau, Missouri
Genres	Indie rock, singer songwriter
Occupation(s)	Record producer, songwriter, musician
Instrument(s)	Piano, guitar, Musical saw, synthesizer
Years active	1983–present
Website	sputniksound.com

Personal life

Dane grew up in Southeast Missouri (Cape Girardeau), where he spent his childhood making playhouses and treehouses.^[6] At age 14, Dane was involved in a motorcycle accident, rendering him clinically dead for several minutes until his was miraculously revived. His esophagus, trachea and vocal cords were injured in the accident, prohibiting him from speaking for two years, a period Dane defines as when he "learned to really listen". His injuries required 33 surgeries, one of which removed a vocal chord, contributing to his distinct voice. Dane worked the story of his accident into his musical performances over the next 15 years until he pivoted and began audio engineering.^[4]

Dane is married with two children^[4] and has lived in Nashville since 1989.^[7]

Musical Influences

As a producer, Dane has been cited as saying "I like to collect the best aspects of every genre of music and bring them together in hybrid productions".^[6] Citing his childhood affinity for building treehouses, Dane states that he took the same approach when designing his studio; a place for people to be comfortable and to hang out.^[6] His demeanor has been described as "calm and focused".^[8]

Selected Production credits

As of December 2018 Mitch Dane has produced or engineered over 275 projects. Below is a selection of his production credits:

Artist	Year	Album	Producer	Engineer
Audrey And Hugh	2020	Sisterman	Y
Towne	2019	TBD	Y	Y
SisterMan		Lilly White Parade	Y	Y
Ole Lonesome		Turn It On	Y	Y
Heathen Sons		Born to Lose	Y	Y
Swearingen and Kelli	2018	Cold-Hearted Truth	Y	Y
Sonia Leigh		Mad Hatter	Y	Y
The Young Fables	2017	Old Songs	Y	Y
Kenny Foster		Deep Cuts	Y	Y
Jetty Rae	2016	Can't Curse the Free	Y	Y
Man Underground		Couples Therapy	Y	Y
The Snow Globes		Snowed In	Y	Y
Rob Blackledge		Now	Y	Y
Reuben Bidez		Turning to Wine	Y	Y
Treva Blomquist	2015	The Risk & The Gift	Y	Y
Ryan Scott Travis		The Guadalupe Breakdown	Y	Y
Victor & Penny		Electricity	Y	Y
Giles Blankenship		Home	Y	Y
Daniel Johnson		Promo Videos	Y	Y
Katie Barnette		Sputnik Sessions	Y	Y
Mr. & Mrs. Something		Setting Sail	Y	Y
Coyote Keene		Blue Skies & Red Wine	Y	Y
MaryMac		MaryMac	Y	Y
Eric Peters		Sputnik Sessions	Y	Y
The Hummingbirds		13 Days	Y	Y
Sean Hale		Sputnik Sessions	Y	Y
Lauren Light		Sputnik Sessions	Y	Y
Africa Worship Band		Sputnik Sessions	Y	Y
Unspoken		Unplugged	Y	Y
JJ Heller		Sputnik Sessions	Y	Y
Hannah Miller		Hannah Miller	Y	Y
Holly Spears	2014	Boots and Bling	Y	Y
Ryan Horne		Vanilla Lightning	Y	Y
Kyle Matthews		Be Here Now	Y	Y
Christopher Williams		The City Makes The Man	Y	Y
So Long Solo		So Long Solo	Y	Y
Chris Regan		All Things Beautiful	Y	Y
Andrew Cooper		EP	Y	Y
Ronnie Dennis		We are Satellites	Y	Y
Jessi McKinnon		Dancing Again	Y	Y
Humming House		Revelries	Y	Y
We Are The Monks		We Are The Monks	Y	Y
The Gray Havens	2013	Fire and Stone	Y	Y
The Pedal Stills		Static Queen	Y	Y
Mare Wakefield		Poet on the Moon	Y	Y
Humming House		Single	Y	Y
Carrie Moeller		Single	Y	Y
Madison Grigsby		Joie De Vivre	Y	Y
Holly Spears		Single & EP	Y	Y
YouPlusMe		Little Beginnings EP	Y	Y
Jesse Macht		Single	Y	Y
The Snow Globes		The All Living Things	Y	Y
The Black Cadillacs		Singles	Y	Y
Christie Cook		Every Good Thing	Y	Y
Trish Ivy		Cotton Country EP	Y	Y
Abernathy		Rococo	Y	Y
Dave Gerhartz		Leaving the Family Behind	Y	Y
Josh Hilliker		Shadows or Sunlight	Y	Y
Hannah Miller		Sputnik Sessions	Y	Y
August York		Swimming Upstream	Y	Y
Little Radar		Souvenirs	Y	Y
Ravenhill		Soul	Y	Y
Ruby Amanfu	2012	Sputnik Sessions	Y	Y
Elizabeth Busch		Redemption's Mystery	Y	Y
The Billis		Singles	Y	Y
Dean Guevara		Songs of Hope and Devotion	Y	Y
Matthew Clark		Bright Came the Word from His Mouth	Y	Y
Ryan Horne		Silent Night (A Christmas EP)	Y	Y
High Street Hymns		Love Lives Again	Y	Y
Brad Jones		Oh Well My Love Farewell EP	Y	Y
Brian Fraaza		The Shadows of the Light	Y	Y
Colleen Nixon		Lake Ella's Sky	Y	Y
Rachel Belman		The Call	Y	Y
Dustin Ah Kuoi		Dustin Ah Kuoi	Y	Y
Humming House		Singles	Y	Y
The Kicks		Tonight Everything Changes	Y	Y
Sean Forest		Live Love Lead	Y	Y
Brandon Heath		Give Me Your Eyes – Acoustic Sessions	Y	Y
Andy Needham Band		Lifted High	Y	Y
Hillary McBride	2011	Sputnik Sessions	Y	Y
Stephanie Day		Morning Came	Y	Y
High Street Hymns		Christmas EP	Y	Y
Jenny & Tyler		Open Your Doors	Y	Y
Scott Smith		EP	Y	Y
Holly Spears		Christmas EP	Y	Y
Stephanie Day		Single	Y	Y
Eddie Gilbert		EP	Y	Y
Micah Michelle		Sharpened in Time	Y	Y
Carrie Moeller		Sending One Up (EP)	Y	Y
Zach Ellsworth		Notes on Becoming	Y	Y
Blake Aaron		EP	Y	Y
JJ Heller		Deeper	Y	Y
Shaun Groves		Third World Symphony	Y	Y
Christopher Williams		Stone Water Wood Light	Y	Y
Humming House		Humming House	Y	Y
After the Chase		You Are My Child	Y	Y
Ryan Horne		The Whistler & The Majestic	Y	Y
Faith Gilmore	2010	Bold as Lions	Y	Y
The Kicks		Sputnik Sessions	Y	Y
Eddie Gilbert		Singles	Y	Y
Caitlin Nicole Eadie		Gravity	Y	Y
JJ Heller		When I'm With You	Y	Y
The Young International		The Young International (EP)	Y	Y
Ryan Corn		Wonderful Things	Y	Y
Rachel Barrentine		Departure	Y	Y
Compelled		The Fight	Y	Y
Sarah Kelly		Midnight Sun	Y	Y
Jars of Clay		The Shelter	Y	Y
Reilly		Around the World	Y	Y
Raining and OK		Living Like a Ghost	Y	Y
The Speedbumps		The Moon is Down	Y	Y
Farewell Flight	2009	Lonesome Traveler	Y	Y
Levi Weaver		The Letters of Dr. Kurt Gödel'	Y	Y
Florez		El Diablo	Y	Y
Doc Possom		Single	Y	Y
This & That		Volume 2	Y	Y
Julianna Zobrist		The Tree Remix	Y	Y
The Kicks		The Rise of King Richie	Y	Y
Obadiah Parker		The Siren and the Saint	Y	Y
Lara Landon		Beloved	Y	Y
Then There Was Two		Love Lies in Jealousy	Y	Y
Zach Ellsworth		Notes on Becoming	Y	Y
Brandan McCarthy		To The Moon (EP)	Y	Y
Jocelyn Scofield		A Witty Girl	Y	Y
FFH		Wide Open Spaces	Y	Y
Jon Troast		A Person and a Heart	Y	Y
JJ Heller		Deeper	Y	Y
Sarah Hart	2008	Road to Ohio	Y	Y
Jon Troast		I Want to be President	Y	Y
Jon Troast		Living Room	Y	Y
Branden McCarthy		Yellow Roses	Y	Y
Jars of Clay		Long Fall Back To Earth	Y	Y
Jerry Chapman		Sweet Impossible	Y	Y
JJ Heller		Painted Red	Y	Y
Adam Agin		Foundation (EP)	Y	Y
Julianna Zobrist		The Tree (EP)	Y	Y
Trish Ivy		Requiem	Y	Y
Marvin and Gentry		Master Plan	Y	Y
Colleen McCarron		Love is in the Details	Y	Y
Blake Aaron	2007	Love in Different Lights	Y	Y
Dean Guevara		Pierce the Night	Y	Y
Caedmon's Call		Overdressed	Y	Y
Farewell Flight		Sound.Color.Motion	Y	Y
Nate Allman		Dream for Free	Y	Y
Jars of Clay		Christmas Songs	Y	Y
Midtown Worship Band		The Midtown Project Vol.1	Y	Y
Christopher Williams		Sweet Redemption	Y	Y
Justin McRoberts		Deconstruction	Y	Y
JJ Heller		Pretty and the Plain	Y	Y
JJ Heller		Wake Up The World (Christmas EP)	Y	Y
Nathan Shaver		These Words Aren't Working	Y	Y
Hannah Miller		Into the Black	Y	Y
Sarah Kelly		Born to Worship	Y	Y
Matt Thien		Desert Dry (EP)	Y	Y
Jeromy Diebler		Where Do I Go From Here	Y	Y
Josh Rosenthal		Renaissance	Y	Y

References

1. M, Bill (June 2005). "Producer's Corner: Mitch Dane". Performing Songwriter: 66–67.
2. "Mitch Dane Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
3. "The Gray Havens: Chicago's much praised duo soon to hit the road – The Gray Havens". crossrhythms.co.uk.
4. Matt. "WCA No. 075 with Mitch Dane " Working Class Audio". Retrieved December 19, 2018.
5. "Twenty-Eighth Annual ASCAP Christian Music Awards". archive.li. October 16, 2006. Archived from the original on October 16, 2006. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
6. "RSR140 – Mitch Dane – Producing Grammy Winning Americana at Sputnik Sound". Recording Studio Rockstars. May 11, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
7. Output (May 24, 2019), In The Studio With Mitch Dane, retrieved July 9, 2019
8. "Mitch Dane: Carving a Path Through the Wilderness". tapeop.com. Retrieved October 1, 2019.