Henry´s bio
Henry Mittnacht was born in 1964 in Heidelberg, Germany. The musician, who continues to perform live on stage yearly since 1979, still remembers the exact moment when his passion for music took root inside of him. “My parents gave me a radio recorder as a present for Christmas when I was 10 years old which made me incredibly happy. Looking back on it, I am very grateful to my parents for it.”
The song “He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother” by The Hollies was an early favorite, but it was music by The Beatles that heavily influenced him to learn to play the guitar at the age of 14 and become a rock musician. Music soon became a way of life. He formed his first band at the age of 15, where he soon realized he had a raw talent for writing original songs. “Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple was an early hero of mine. This changed with Eddie Van Halen coming up and of course, Steve Lukather of Toto. I also hear and feel a lot of Journey´s Neil Schon in the way I play the guitar”.
After years of playing in cover bands, Henry formed the band STATEMENT in 1989, where he was the guitarist as well as the main songwriter. It was during this period that Henry evolved that raw flicker of talent he had for writing music into a raging fire of rhythm and melodies, all the while refining his skills with the guitar.
Drawing inspiration from music by The Beatles, Van Halen, Toto, Styx, Journey, and Kansas, Henry continued composing original music for the band. The band started by playing minor gigs with high audience approval. Word of mouth on how good STATEMENT was continued to spread, eventually gaining the attention of Face Records which signed the band under their record label. Capitalizing on this, Henry continued to hone his craft of creating original compositions. “One for the Money” was the bands first professionally produced an album which was released worldwide in 1993. Containing 10 tracks, the album received good reviews and even saw a re-release in Italy in 2010. STATEMENT then signed with Goodlife Records securing the band another worldwide distribution deal in the process. Released in 1995, “Love Bites” was the bands second studio album and their biggest one yet with 16 tracks on it. Once again, garnering good reviews, the album was on most lists for the best melodic rock/metal albums released that year. With the band growing in stature, it was only natural that their fanbase grew as well. STATEMENT continued touring around Germany, playing in front of larger audiences in higher profile gigs. With a more polished sound, Henry continued captivating crowds with the bravado of his guitar.
Henry continued touring and playing in music festivals around Europe on a semi-professional level with STATEMENT during the 1990s. They band was part of the roster of musicians to play during the German Bike Week festival, a festival where they were constant performers for four straight years. STATEMENT was the opening act for artists such as Manfred Man´s Earthband, Uriah Heep, Molly Hatchet, Roger Chapman, Alvin Lee´s Ten Years After. Performing in front of thousands, Henry was even able to share the stage with one of his idols, as they performed the song "Hold the Line" with Bobby Kimbal of Toto himself.
Henry took a break from the band STATEMENT back in 2005 but his passion for writing, playing, and record his own songs is still going strong to this day. He also now counts Jellyfish, Fall out Boy, John Mayer, the guitarist Phil X, James Bay, The Script, and Red Hot Chili Peppers as newer sources of inspiration. The unbridled passion for music Henry Mittnacht, aka "docmidnite" possesses has led him to seek more musical collaborations online through the Musician Collaboration Studio and on Kompoz where he is an invaluable asset helping different artists all around the world to release their albums contributing as either a sideman, guitarist, backup vocalist, or musical arranger.
"I never stopped thinking, feeling, and making music. The camaraderie and friendships developed through performing and making music is something that only adds to my love of music.”
-Henry Mittnacht
