Mitch Pons
For those of you who don't know me, let me start with a brief introduction. I am a musician and songwriter based in Raleigh, NC with a heart for God. Over the last couple of years I've found my true passion, which is writing and performing music that glorifies our Lord. I've been blessed by what He has given me, what He has taken away, and more importantly, what He has been gracious enough to let me keep. The gratitude I have for what God has done in my life is in every way genuine, and I hope that it's reflected in my music.
Feel free to check out my current play list, which includes songs from my self titled first release and my second release, titled "Second Chance". I truly believe that these songs are gifts from God. They are stories of faith, life, love for God and each other, compassion, forgiveness, inner peace, and the struggles that many people in our society today face either personally or indirectly. Although autobiographical in nature, these experiences aren't exclusive to my little world. All I can hope for is that you will listen with an open heart and an open mind, and that you can relate on some fundamental level. All things are possible through Him
Tell me about your history? How did you get where you are now?
From an early age I knew that I had a passion for music. I began my musical journey at the age of 9 with piano lessons and began to playing for church services a few years later, followed by middle school chorus, followed by high school chorus and chamber singers. It wasn’t until I was persuaded to audition vocally for the high school chamber singers group that I began to concentrate on my vocal abilities. During this time I also began teaching myself to play acoustic guitar, which led to electric guitar and bass guitar, which led to playing bass guitar and singing lead vocals in a locally successful garage band. After graduating high school I pursued my ambition of attending college, which ultimately led me to Belmont University located in Nashville, TN, in 1996. I studied Music Business and Audio Engineering disciplines while at Belmont and played keyboards, electric guitar and sang in a local band that performed in the Nashville area. After graduating from Belmont in 1998 I met my wife, Sarah, and we now reside in Raleigh, NC.
Although I grew up going to church most Sunday’s, it wasn’t until the summer of 2006 that I truly accepted Jesus as my Savior. Although deeply personal in nature, the following details are integral to understanding what led me to return to my musical ambitions and what opened my heart and mind to hear the songs that God so generously inspires me to write.
Alcoholism has plagued both the maternal and paternal sides of my family for generations. Though my immediate family members show no signs of the condition it embraced me at an early age and by the time I was in my late 20’s it had fully blossomed. I hit my “rock bottom” during the summer of 2006. All aspects of my life, including mental and physical health, spiritual well-being, and personal relationships were in shambles. Only by the grace of God was I able to ask for help and check myself into a 28 day alcoholism abuse program in Galax, VA on August 4, 2006. During the time I spent in the Virginia Mountains I had a very real spiritual awakening. Upon successful completion of the program I returned to Raleigh and began going to church regularly with my wife. I soon played guitar, keyboards and sang both lead and background vocals in the praise band, and was asked to lead worship on numerous occasions. Relationships were mended, my heart and mind were clear and focused on God, and everything about me began to revert back to the Mitch that my family and friends knew and loved before alcoholism came into play. As ironic as it sounds, I am extremely grateful that God chose me to be an alcoholic. Through the trials and tribulations of going through active alcoholism, as well as those associated with being a recovering alcoholic, I have gained an incredible amount of gratitude for God so graciously giving me a second chance at life.
On the day of my one year anniversary of sobriety God inspired me to write the song “Better Days”, which was the first complete piece of music written since the mid 1990’s. Since “Better Days” I have written more than a dozen songs, all giving praise to God in their own unique way. My play list contains a few of these songs.
Although I am relatively new in promoting my material, I have gained a dedicated following throughout the eastern US that stems from my desire to spread God’s word through music. For more information on me and what I’m up to, please go to www.mitchpons.webs.com.
