Mitch Easter
Encyclopedia
Mitch Easter is a songwriter, musician, and producer. As a producer, he is probably best known for his work with R.E.M.
from 1981 through 1984, though he has also worked with many other acts including The Hang Ups, Pavement
, Suzanne Vega
, Game Theory
, Marshall Crenshaw
, Velvet Crush
, and SalemSpeaks.
As a musician, Easter played with Sneakers during the late 1970s; was the frontman for the band Let's Active
during the 1980s; and more recently, has been a member of quasi-supergroups
The Orange Humble Band
and Coronet Blue. His first solo album was released in 2007.
Although commercial success eluded the group, Let's Active
's offbeat pop style of jangle pop
/power pop
was a major influence on later groups such as the aforementioned R.E.M.
, Mitch Easter was deeply involved in music from an early age. He played in a number of school bands, some of them with his childhood friend Chris Stamey
. The two eventually formed Sneakers, who released a number of singles and an album in the late 1970s. Stamey and fellow bandmate Will Rigby eventually formed The dB's
and moved to New York. Easter did likewise, but soon returned to Winston-Salem to set up Drive-In Studio in his parents' garage.
Drive-In Studio became an integral part of the local indie-rock scene, recording a number of bands at knock-down rates. It was at this time that Easter formed Let's Active
with then-girlfriend Faye Hunter and drummer Sara Romweber. Around the same time, Easter worked with R.E.M.
to record their debut single, "Radio Free Europe." This initial work led to a number of collaborations with the band, with Easter producing their debut EP and (with Don Dixon) their first two albums. Let's Active toured with R.E.M., which led to a recording contract with I.R.S. Records
.
Weathering several line-up changes, Let's Active released an EP and three albums before splitting up. Easter had by then become known primarily as a producer, and worked with a number of artists, some of them perhaps because of his influence on the early R.E.M. His production credits include recordings by Pavement
, Helium
, Pylon
, Suzanne Vega
, Game Theory
, Marshall Crenshaw
, folk duo John & Mary
, Ken Stringfellow
(of The Posies
), and SalemSpeaks.
Easter's current recording studio is The Fidelitorium, near Winston-Salem. He currently plays under his own name. His first solo album in 18 years, Dynamico, was released on Electric Devil Records on March 13, 2007.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
from 1981 through 1984, though he has also worked with many other acts including The Hang Ups, Pavement
Pavement (band)
Pavement is an American alternative rock band that formed in Stockton, California in 1989. In their career, they achieved a significant cult following, and they were called the best band of the 1990s by prominent music critics Robert Christgau and Stephen Thomas Erlewine...
, Suzanne Vega
Suzanne Vega
Suzanne Nadine Vega is an American songwriter and singer known for her eclectic folk-inspired music.Two of Vega's songs reached the top 10 of various international chart listings: "Luka" and "Tom's Diner"...
, Game Theory
Game Theory (band)
Game Theory was an American rock band from 1981 to 1989. The group's lead singer, Scott Miller, went on to front the band The Loud Family. Game Theory is best known for its double LP Lolita Nation. The band favored hyper-literary references, a la Jean-Luc Godard, including the evident...
, Marshall Crenshaw
Marshall Crenshaw
Marshall Crenshaw is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist best known for his song "Someday, Someway".-Biography:...
, Velvet Crush
Velvet Crush
Velvet Crush is a power pop band from Rhode Island that achieved prominence in indie-rock circles in the early- and mid-1990s. The band broke up in 1996 but re-formed in 1998 and have continued to record, releasing their most recent album in 2004...
, and SalemSpeaks.
As a musician, Easter played with Sneakers during the late 1970s; was the frontman for the band Let's Active
Let's Active
Let's Active was an American rock musical group formed in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1981.-History:The principal songwriter and sole continuous member of Let's Active was Mitch Easter, who kept the band active through most of the 1980s. The band's musical style is sometimes referred to as...
during the 1980s; and more recently, has been a member of quasi-supergroups
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
The Orange Humble Band
The Orange Humble Band
The Orange Humble Band were formed in early 1995, as the brain child of The Lime Spiders & The Someloves founder, Daryl Mather. The band consisted of Ken Stringfellow of US outfit The Posies, former Lonely Hearts member, Anthony Bautovich, American indie producer/manager legend, Mitch Easter, &...
and Coronet Blue. His first solo album was released in 2007.
Although commercial success eluded the group, Let's Active
Let's Active
Let's Active was an American rock musical group formed in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1981.-History:The principal songwriter and sole continuous member of Let's Active was Mitch Easter, who kept the band active through most of the 1980s. The band's musical style is sometimes referred to as...
's offbeat pop style of jangle pop
Jangle pop
Jangle pop is a genre of alternative rock from the mid-1980s that "marked a return to the chiming or jangly guitars and pop melodies of the '60s" bands such as The Byrds, with their electric twelve-string guitars and power pop song structures. Mid-1980s jangle pop was a non-mainstream "pop-based...
/power pop
Power pop
Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are...
was a major influence on later groups such as the aforementioned R.E.M.
Biography
Born as Mitchell Blake Easter November 15, 1954, in Winston-Salem, North CarolinaWinston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...
, Mitch Easter was deeply involved in music from an early age. He played in a number of school bands, some of them with his childhood friend Chris Stamey
Chris Stamey
Chris Stamey is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. After a stint playing with Alex Chilton, and a brief partnering with Mitch Easter under the name Sneakers, he formed The dB's, whose stewardship he would share with Peter Holsapple.In 1977 in New York, Chris founded the...
. The two eventually formed Sneakers, who released a number of singles and an album in the late 1970s. Stamey and fellow bandmate Will Rigby eventually formed The dB's
The dB's
The dB's are a jangle pop/power pop group who came into prominence in the late 1970s and 1980s. The bandmembers were Peter Holsapple, Chris Stamey, Will Rigby and Gene Holder, all of whom were from Winston-Salem, North Carolina...
and moved to New York. Easter did likewise, but soon returned to Winston-Salem to set up Drive-In Studio in his parents' garage.
Drive-In Studio became an integral part of the local indie-rock scene, recording a number of bands at knock-down rates. It was at this time that Easter formed Let's Active
Let's Active
Let's Active was an American rock musical group formed in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1981.-History:The principal songwriter and sole continuous member of Let's Active was Mitch Easter, who kept the band active through most of the 1980s. The band's musical style is sometimes referred to as...
with then-girlfriend Faye Hunter and drummer Sara Romweber. Around the same time, Easter worked with R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
to record their debut single, "Radio Free Europe." This initial work led to a number of collaborations with the band, with Easter producing their debut EP and (with Don Dixon) their first two albums. Let's Active toured with R.E.M., which led to a recording contract with I.R.S. Records
I.R.S. Records
I.R.S. Records was a record label, started in the United States in 1979 by Miles Copeland III along with Jay Boberg and Carl Grasso. Miles was also the manager of Wishbone Ash, The Police, and later, Sting, as well as other bands. I.R.S. was the sister label of Copeland's Illegal Records .I.R.S...
.
Weathering several line-up changes, Let's Active released an EP and three albums before splitting up. Easter had by then become known primarily as a producer, and worked with a number of artists, some of them perhaps because of his influence on the early R.E.M. His production credits include recordings by Pavement
Pavement (band)
Pavement is an American alternative rock band that formed in Stockton, California in 1989. In their career, they achieved a significant cult following, and they were called the best band of the 1990s by prominent music critics Robert Christgau and Stephen Thomas Erlewine...
, Helium
Helium (band)
Helium was an American alternative rock band formed in the summer of 1992. Originally calling themselves "Chupa", its founding members were Mary Lou Lord, Jason Hatfield , Shawn King Devlin and Brian Dunton...
, Pylon
Pylon (band)
Pylon is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The band's danceable jangle pop sound influenced the Athens music scene and the 1980s American pop underground. Allmusic wrote that Pylon's "role as elder statesmen of the alternative rock explosion is unassailable".-History:All four members of...
, Suzanne Vega
Suzanne Vega
Suzanne Nadine Vega is an American songwriter and singer known for her eclectic folk-inspired music.Two of Vega's songs reached the top 10 of various international chart listings: "Luka" and "Tom's Diner"...
, Game Theory
Game Theory (band)
Game Theory was an American rock band from 1981 to 1989. The group's lead singer, Scott Miller, went on to front the band The Loud Family. Game Theory is best known for its double LP Lolita Nation. The band favored hyper-literary references, a la Jean-Luc Godard, including the evident...
, Marshall Crenshaw
Marshall Crenshaw
Marshall Crenshaw is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist best known for his song "Someday, Someway".-Biography:...
, folk duo John & Mary
John & Mary
John & Mary is a U.S. based folk music duo featuring John Lombardo and Mary Ramsey who have had a long-time close association with alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs.-1989-1993:...
, Ken Stringfellow
Ken Stringfellow
Kenneth Stuart Stringfellow is an American musician, best known for his work with The Posies, R.E.M., and the re-formed Big Star.-Musical career:...
(of The Posies
The Posies
The Posies are an alternative rock/power pop group. The band was formed in 1987 in Bellingham, Washington by primary songwriters Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow. They are best known for their radio hits "Golden Blunders" , as well as "Dream All Day", "Solar Sister" and "Flavor of the Month"...
), and SalemSpeaks.
Easter's current recording studio is The Fidelitorium, near Winston-Salem. He currently plays under his own name. His first solo album in 18 years, Dynamico, was released on Electric Devil Records on March 13, 2007.