Mitch Easter
Mitch Easter is a musician, songwriter, and record producer. Frequently associated with the jangle pop style of guitar music, Easter is known as producer of R.E.M.'s early albums from 1981 through 1984, and as frontman of the 1980s band Let's Active.
Musical career
Early years
Mitchell Blake Easter was born November 15, 1954, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Easter was deeply involved in music from an early age. He attended the University of North Carolina, from 1974 to his graduation in 1978. He played in a number of school bands, some of them with his childhood friend Chris Stamey (later of The dB's).
Record production and engineering
In 1980, Easter started the Drive-In Studio, a professional recording studio located in what was originally his parents' garage. One of his earliest recording sessions was the debut single by R.E.M., "Radio Free Europe." Drive-In Studio became an integral part of the local indie-rock scene of Winston-Salem, recording a number of bands at low "knock-down" rates. Easter closed the Drive-In Studio in 1994, and moved from Winston-Salem to Kernersville, North Carolina, where he opened his current recording studio, Fidelitorium Recordings.