T.J. and Mitchell are one of the filk community’s best-known couples and have over 80 years of fan and filk experience between them.
T.J.’s involvement in fandom and filk, dates back to 1975 when she attended Star Trek conventions like August Party and Shore Leave. Despite only being in her teens, she immediately began publishing a fanzine (Fesarius) and writing con reports. Singing, songwriting and performing followed soon after.
With Linda Melnick and Sheila Willis, T.J. formed Technical Difficulties, one of the first filk groups (and all-women filk groups at that). Their close harmonies, their arrangements of classic songs like Julia Ecklar’s “Ladyhawke”, and their own compositions set a standard of excellence and served as an inspiration to other groups that followed them. Their two recordings Please Stand by and Station Break set a high standard for the time and remain among the best recordings produced in the community. They drew people into filk music with their polished performances.
T.J. holds two individual Pegasus Awards for “Lullaby for a Weary World” and “Weekend-Only World” and a Best Performer Pegasus with Technical Difficulties. She’s also been nominated for Best Writer/Composer and for her song “I’m Robin Hood”.
Mitchell is an engineer and rocket scientist who discovered filk in the 1980’s, starting with Marcon, while stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. He is possibly best known for the classic parody “Falling Down on New Jersey” which won the Best Classic Filk Song Pegasus, 2007. Other notable songs include the original “Red Star Rising” a truly ominous song which was nominated Best Song in1989; and “Spies” (to the tune of “Lies”), which he claims has a secret verse he was only able to sing once, to Jordin Kare, while in a SCIF (sensitive compartmented information facility). He also won a Best Performer Pegasus in 1990, and has other nominations including twice for Best Writer/Composer.
T.J. and Mitchell have performed at many conventions and been guests for several: including the first Concertino in 1992 (the second NEFilk convention ever) and Conflikt 9. They were Toastmasters for OVFF 26 and Contata 7 and guests of Honour at GaFilk 2025. Their children have carried on the family musical tradition and have joined T.J. and Mitchell on stage on occasion.
For many years T J and Mitchell performed separately. More recently they have begun to write and perform together. The outcome is delightful.
For these contributions to filk music and the filk community, T J and Michell Burnside Clapp are inducted into the Filk Hall of Fame, this third day of April, two thousand twenty five.