Mitch Easter

Mitch Easter producing Game Theory's Lolita Nation. L-R, Mitch Easter, Michael Quercio (3 O:Clock) and Scott Miller (Game Theory). San Francisco, California 1986

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 Ben Folds Five, Pylon, Helium, Pavement, Suzanne Vega, Game Theory, Marshall Crenshaw, The Connells, Velvet Crush, Ken Stringfellow (of The Posies), and Birds of Avalon.

As a musician, Easter played with the Sneakers during the late 1970s; was the frontman for the band Let's Active during the 1980s and released his first solo album 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.

Biography

Born as Mitchell Blake Easter November 15, 1954, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 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 the Sneakers, who released a number of singles and an album in the late 1970s. Stamey and 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 engineer, and worked with a number of artists, some of them perhaps because of his influence on the early R.E.M.

Easter's current recording studio is Fidelitorium Recordings, located in Kernersville, NC. He currently plays occasionally under his own name. His first solo album in 18 years, Dynamico, was released on Electric Devil Records on March 13, 2007.

External links

• MitchEaster.com
• Fidelitorium Recordings
• Mitch Easter Official MySpace
• Interview with Easter
• Interview with Mitch Easter in Rocker Magazine 2011