Yellowknife (Sep 22/06) - So, what the hell do you ask Kim Mitchell? It's a question I bounced around the newsroom for hours before the fateful call.

What exactly do you ask a Canadian rock icon, nearly 20 years after his time of chart dominance, as he prepares for his first show in Yellowknife?

Canadian rock icon Kim Mitchell will perform tomorrow night at the Yellowknife Community Arena. This is the rocker's first trip to Yellowknife. - photo courtesy of Jessica Moores

Yellowknifer: So, how was traffic?

Yes, 30 years in the rock world, close to a dozen albums released, tours all around the world and a reporter in Yellowknife is asking about rush hour. The reality is, Mitchell has a day job; he's the afternoon DJ for Toronto classic rock station Q107 and evening traffic is a daily struggle.

"It's getting crazy here in the city. There's a ton of construction in Toronto. We have two seasons, winter and construction," he explains.

In the background, he tosses out some cooking instructions to one of his sons. "I'm the guitar player, radio announcer, cook, cleaning lady, I'm everything," he says.

This Saturday, Mitchell will be playing the Yellowknife Community Arena, along with Yellowknife acts Esker and the Leslie Bader Band. So there's only one question to ask...

Yellowknifer: So... why Yellowknife?

"I'd play for food, man. Seriously, I'll play for food or a hotel room for a night. Apparently there's a couple rooms up there in Yellowknife, so we'll come up and give you a good rock."

There's more to it than that, though. Mitchell has been North of 60 before, performing in Rankin Inlet in 2001.

"It was one of the coolest experiences of my life," he says. "It's Canada, and I love that."

"I've heard nothing bad about Yellowknife. Here's my chance. I can't wait to experience it first hand."

Yellowknifer: I've never had the chance to see you live - what can people expect from your show?

"It's a pretty earthy, full-on plowing rock show. There's no fancy-schmancy lights or pyro or anything. We'll try to get into a good groove and get to a place that I like to call 'Rockland Wonderland.'"

"I've had 13 or 14 albums and I'll be playing music from [the first of them] to the end."

Yellowknifer: So I hear you have some new material on the way...

"It's sitting on the runway. We can't really tour it until the summer time, so I'm holding it until March."

"Record companies are into end results. My whole trip is the journey. Making this album was the journey for me. When it was finished, I felt like I had taken it out back and shot it. I was like, 'Now what?'" "And maybe that's completely ass-backwards and why I'm not famous," he added with a laugh.

Yellowknifer: So you've been at this for almost thirty years. What keeps you going? What keeps it fresh?

"You know, it's just the feeling of music, playing together and making music gives me a high that I'm addicted to, I guess. "

"There's just something about when you connect with other musicians.That's what keeps it fresh for me."

"When I was younger I think I was just in it to get chicks," he says with a laugh.