(updated 05 Sept 99)
In the fall of 1998 and the first part of 1999, Mitch toured with the The Ragamuffin Band as part of the Homeless Man Tour. For the fall leg of the tour, the Ragamuffins were supporting Compassion. For the spring leg of the tour, they decided to throw all of their support to The Legacy Of A Kid Brother Of St Frank, the continued ministry started by Rich Mullins. In an attempt to be better stewards in raising money for the Legacy (while also covering expenses), they needed to make some changes.
They had already made the decision not to include This Train for the spring (even though the members were still involved in other capacities - Mark Robertson obviously as a member of the Ragamuffins). In an effort to further streamline the tour and cut costs (and because of some scheduling conflicts), the Ragamuffins decided to go solo starting in April 1999 (except for a few instances where other artists appeared and were sponsored by Myrrh Records). Not an easy decision, but that meant that Mitch would be splitting off from the Homeless Man Tour.
Mitch's last date with the tour was March 20th in Defiance, OH. Mitch had to adjust his schedule a little, but is pleased with the change as this has given him the opportunity to "headline" (play more music and play more dates - see the Dates Page).
The Homeless Man Tour is now officially over, but you can read reviews of various concert dates on the Rich Mullins Dates Page.
Since this change, some venues have been advertising the Homeless Man Tour as including Mitch. This is an error. The venues advertising Mitch with the tour have not received the current tour info from Street Level, the agency booking the Homeless Man Tour, or simply just haven't made the changes to their promos.
(updated 11 July 99)
Mitch's band has gone by the name The Kid Brothers since Mitch started touring in the summer of 1998 - taking the name from Rich Mullin's Kid Brothers of St Frank. Mitch and bandmates Michael Aukofer and Eric Hauck were all "members" of this "order." Shelli Yoder joined the group in January 1999, and they continued to use the name, citing an instance of St Francis of Assisi having a female follower and supporter whom they refered to as Brother Japone. :-)
At the end of April, Michael and Eric split off the tour to do other things, and Mitch and Shelli were a duo for a while.
Michael is going to be busy producing a second CD for Alathea, a trio of women with influences including Indigo Girls, Rich Mullins, Sting, and David Wilcox - whose first CD was also produced by Michael. He was going to try to catch up with Mitch for various dates this summer and also some Ragamuffins summer festival dates, but delays in the Alathea project have possibly nixed that chance. Michael will, however, be at the LegacyFest, teaching a hammered dulcimer workshop, and playing with the Ragamuffins.
For a more current update on Eric, go to [MitchMailList 047].
After spending effectively all of the first half of 1999 on the road, Shelli decided to take a break and spend some time at home, and pursue other interests.
In June, Mitch was joined by Brad Layher (see [MitchMailList 016] for more info on Brad). Brad is a fine musician who plays hammer dulcimer, acoustic guitar, and also does vocals. Since Mitch and Brad will be a duo for a while, they are dropping the name Kid Brothers. This change was also recently precipitated by the "official notice" we received of an existing different band named The Kid Brother's Band that has trademarked the name. This will not affect the Kid Brothers of St Frank or The Legacy of a Kid Brother of St Frank - these two names are both registered trademarks in Kansas.