Frankie ‘Bones’ Mitchell is a prominent figure in the development of dance music in the US. Bones is widely regarded as the "Godfather of American Rave Culture"and is credited with helping to establish the underground dance music scene in New York City in the 1980s and 1990s. Bones started his music career in the early 1980s, spinning at clubs and parties throughout NYC. He gained widespread recognition for his role in organizing the first outdoor electronic music party in the US, known as “Storm Rave" which took place in Williamsburg, Coney Island, & Plumb Beach. Throughout his career, Bones has produced, remixed, and released countless tracks, albums, EP's, and mixtapes. He has also performed at many large scale music festivals and events around the world such as the Love Parade in Berlin, Germany and Insomniac's Electric Daisy Carnival located in Las Vegas, Nevada. Today, Frankie continues to be an influential figure in the dance scene and remains active as a performer, producer, and author represented globally by Southfirst Talent.
Early life
As a child growing up in Brooklyn, Frankie 'Bones' Mitchell's father was murdered just before Frankie graduated high school. His life radically changed, and he inherited his father's entire vinyl record collection. He began to produce house tracks with Lenny Dee.
His brother, Adam "X" Mitchell, is also a techno DJ and producer, and their colleague Heather Heart is a DJ and music writer/zine maker who helped create the community for underground techno music in New York and beyond. Bones, Adam X, Heather Heart and others are associated with the record label Sonic Groove. The three co-owned a record store with the same name at 41 Carmine St in New York City, where it had relocated to from a Brooklyn location in 1995. The shop closed in 2004.
Bringing rave culture to America
After he had begun producing records, Bones was offered a gig to play for 5,000 people in England called "Energy". As the event started on August 26, 1989, he played to the unexpected number of 25,000 people.
Together with his brother, Adam "X" Mitchell, Bones took to forming his own event in Brooklyn in the form of a series of ″Storm Rave″ events that started on May 11, 1991. The events began with only a few hundred people in attendance growing to over thousands where the likes of Josh Wink, Doc Martin, Sven Väth, The Horrorist, DJ Keoki and Richie Hawtin were able to launch their performances into international careers.
Bones is recognized to have spread the idea of Peace, Love, Unity and Respect (PLUR) into rave culture. Supposedly in response to a fight that broke out at one of his Storm Raves in Brooklyn in June 1993, Bones is said to have got on the microphone and yelled: "If you don't start showing some peace, love, and unity, I'll break your faces." Other sources report that as early as "on July 4, 1990, [...] Frankie's brother and Storm Rave collaborator Adam X painted 'Peace Love Unity' on a train car".
Berlin's Love Parade, which had been generally considered to have been the largest rave festival in the world at the time, named its 1991 and 1992 parades after well-known compositions by Frankie Bones: "The Future is Ours" in 1991, and "My House is Your House (And Your House is Mine)" in 1992.
Discography
Singles
B2B (12") – ESP-SUN Records
Dirty Job (12") – X-Sight Records
High I.Q. (2x10") – Hyperspace
In The Socket (12") – ESP-SUN Records
The Candle EP (12") – High Octane Recordings
The Mutha Fuckin Good Life (12") – Underground Construction
The Way U Like It (12") – Bellboy Records
We Call It Tekkno (12") – Bash Again! Baseball Fury (12") – Sonic Groove Masters Of The Hardgroove (12") – Hard To Swallow My House Is Your House (12") – Bash Again! Electrophonic (12") – E Series Filthy Dirty Animal Crackers (12") – Blueline Music Remains 10 (12") – Remains The Falcon Has Landed (12") – Hard To Swallow The US Ghetto Selecta (12") – Pro-Jex Speedometer EP (12") – Synchronicity Recordings Dangerous on the Dancefloor - Musto and Bones