Thievery Corporation's Frank Mitchell Remembers DJ AM at Outside Lands

Posted on Aug 29th 2009 9:21AM by Benjy Eisen
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When Q-Tip dedicated his set to DJ AM at Outside Lands on Friday, not only was it the first that many in the audience heard of AM's passing, but many musicians as well, including Frank Mitchell, the saxophonist for Thievery Corporation.

"The work that he did, I always thought it was amazing," Mitchell told Spinner about DJ AM, immediately following Q-Tip's set. "It's sad. It's just a shame that he died."

Mitchell watched Q-Tip's set because he's a big fan of A Tribe Called Quest and said that both the performance and the commentary were undeniably moving. "He's talking about a fellow soldier in the hip-hop world," he said. "He came out and said a friend just died. He made an appeal; he basically talked about how important it was. He gave the moment of silence and then he rocked it out."

As for Thievery Corporation making a similar appeal, it just wouldn't be quite as appropriate. Instead, Mitchell (who, by the way, has also played with Ray Charles and Art Blakey) said, "I think all we can do is play music and try to put out some positive vibes."