February 25

Chris grew up in the rural town of Hagan, GA, graduated from Claxton High School, and is a singer / guitarist / songwriter who has been touring the southeast for the last 20 years. Chris earned a BM in music from Georgia Southern University.  While attending GSU, Chris studied classical guitar and voice. He performed the first student Guitar recital at GSU and was a key member in the development of the program.

    Interested in visual arts as well as performing arts, Chris began studying graphic design in 1996 and began focusing on graphic design to meet the design needs of his musical endeavors.  That same year, he designed his first logo - a “Pladd Dot”. While in college, Chris released two albums with his band “Wallace Green” with band mates Brian Hendrix and Larry Summerlin.  These were Wonderllamasoup in 1996 and evandrool in 1999.   

      In 1999, Chris launched Pladd Dot Music as a guitar-lessons studio out of his apartment.  In 2002, Pladd Dot moved to its first brick and mortar location.  In 2005 Chris married the love of his life, Ashlee Mitchell.  In the same year, Pladd Dot outgrew the space and moved to a second location to add music retail.  In 2008, Pladd Dot Music would move once again to a new 7,000 square foot facility to add more music lesson rooms, a larger retail space, and a recording studio.

     In 2012, Chris launched a manufacturing division of Pladd Dot Music and began manufacturing guitars and amplifiers in the company’s 7,500 square foot Statesboro, Georgia factory.  The two brands launched that year were Chris Mitchell Guitars, (or CMG) and Devilcat Amplifiers. That same summer, CMG was awarded the prestigious “Best In Show” by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) in Nashville, TN. Both companies now have national distribution from Maine to California along with international sales.

     Chris is currently performing with his new group - the Chris Mitchell Band.  The quintet was handpicked from the finest musicians in the area to form the new ensemble. Ryan Kelly (grandson of the legendary Emma Kelly) holds the bottom down on bass. Matt Fallin holds a doctorate in percussion performance. Keith Barber adds the frillies and fills in the other guitar slot. The final member of the group is Chris’ wife, Ashlee.

      Chris still teaches about 20 students a week and manages all aspects of Pladd Dot Music, Pladd Dot Publishing, and the manufacturing division that builds CMG and Devilcat. Pladd Dot Music currently has over 150 students enrolled in music lessons and has a retail division that caters to the Statesboro and Savannah area.

     Chris and Ashlee live in Statesboro with their French Bulldog, Packer.  Packer answers to the names “Packrat”, “Packtabulous”, “Packintosh”, and “Want some food?”.