Biography
Mitch Easter gained recognition both as the leader of Let's Active and as a producer central to the rise of American jangle pop. Born in Winston-Salem, NC, where he later established his well-known Drive-In Studios, he formed Let's Active in 1981 after a brief stint with the Sneakers; that year also marked his first significant production credit when R.E.M.'s debut single "Radio Free Europe" appeared on the independent Hibtone label and quickly gained underground traction. R.E.M. issued the Chronic Town EP in 1982, and the band's landmark Murmur album the following year established the group as a major new force in American pop, bringing Easter widespread notice alongside the 1983 release of Let's Active's debut EP Afoot, which featured the cult favorite "Every Word Means No."
He soon produced a string of independent records, including Chris Stamey's It's a Wonderful Life, the Windbreakers' Any Monkey with a Typewriter, and Game Theory's Real Nighttime, solidifying his association with the jangle pop aesthetic. Let's Active delivered Cypress in 1984, the same year R.E.M. released its second album, Reckoning, Easter's last collaboration with the band. After two additional Let's Active LPs—1986's Big Plans for Everybody and 1988's Every Dog Has His Day—the group disbanded, prompting Easter to focus primarily on production for artists such as the Connells, Australia's the Hummingbirds, and British shoegaze act Moose. Following his work on Velvet Crush's Teenage Symphonies to God, he toured with the band, after which he handled sessions for Pavement and Helium.
Easter maintains his production work at the Fidelitorium and performs with Shalini, which has issued three albums, as well as the Fiendish Minstrels. His first solo effort, Dynamico, appeared in 2007.
He soon produced a string of independent records, including Chris Stamey's It's a Wonderful Life, the Windbreakers' Any Monkey with a Typewriter, and Game Theory's Real Nighttime, solidifying his association with the jangle pop aesthetic. Let's Active delivered Cypress in 1984, the same year R.E.M. released its second album, Reckoning, Easter's last collaboration with the band. After two additional Let's Active LPs—1986's Big Plans for Everybody and 1988's Every Dog Has His Day—the group disbanded, prompting Easter to focus primarily on production for artists such as the Connells, Australia's the Hummingbirds, and British shoegaze act Moose. Following his work on Velvet Crush's Teenage Symphonies to God, he toured with the band, after which he handled sessions for Pavement and Helium.
Easter maintains his production work at the Fidelitorium and performs with Shalini, which has issued three albums, as well as the Fiendish Minstrels. His first solo effort, Dynamico, appeared in 2007.
Albums
