Drive-In Studio
 Shelley LaFreniere, Mitch Easter and Scott Miller recording Game Theory's album The Big Shot Chronicles at Drive-In Studio, September 1985. | |
| Company type | Recording studio |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | July 1980 |
| Founder | Mitch Easter |
| Defunct | 1994 |
| Fate | Closed due to relocation |
| Headquarters | Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S. |
Drive-In Studio was a recording studio in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, founded by Mitch Easter in July 1980, shortly after the break-up of his band The dB's.[1] R.E.M.'s debut single, "Radio Free Europe" (1981),[2] and their first extended play, Chronic Town (1982), were recorded at the studio in 1981.[3] The studio was established in what was initially Easter's parents' garage,[4][5] at 4527 Old Belews Creek Road,[6] and became an important part of the early indie rock scene of North Carolina.[7]
At the time of R.E.M.'s stint at the studio, "the set-up was really simple," Easter said in 1994. "I had almost nothing in the studio back then, except a tape machine and a console and two compressors and one delay device. We couldn't do any fancy stuff."[8]
Easter explained the studio's layout in 2021:
[The studio] was tiny. The entire space was probably about 225 square feet. It was a two-car garage that had been divided up before my parents got the place. The previous owners split it up and turned it into a one-car garage, and then the other half they made into a children’s bedroom and this sort of utility room. The car area was where the band stood together, the children’s bedroom was the control room, and I think the bass and guitar amps were isolated in the little utility area next to the control room.
— Rod Brakes, Music Radar, June 3, 2021[9]
Due to the confined space of the interior, studio sessions often also took place in the home's driveway,[10] under the carport.[11]
Equipment[edit]
An early advertisement, which listed Shady Boulevard as a mailing address for the studio, itemized its recording technology:[12]
- Quantum 20-input mixing console
- 3M M56 sixteen- and two-track recorders[9]
- Lexicon Prime Time M93 digital delay[9]
- Allison Gain Brain limiters[9]
- AKG, Shure and Electro-Voice mics
- Electric and acoustic reverb
- TEAC four-track
- Cassette
- Drums
- Organ
- Electric piano
- Amps
- Toys
Artists[edit]
Other artists who recorded at Drive-In include Pylon ("Beep"),[13] Suzanne Vega ("Gypsy"), Game Theory (The Big Shot Chronicles) and The Connells (Boylan Heights).
Easter closed Drive-In in 1994, and moved to Kernersville, North Carolina, where he opened his current recording studio, Fidelitorium Recordings.[14][15]
References[edit]
- ^ "Mitch Easter: Producing R.E.M. and building his studio". tapeop.com. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
- ^ Douglas, James (October 20, 2021). "Mitch Easter's 40 Year Odyssey of Sound". Triad City Beat. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
- ^ Barker, David (October 15, 2007). 33 1/3 Greatest Hits, Volume 2. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-1-4411-3003-7.
- ^ Amar, Erin (March 2011). "Mitch Easter – Beyond and Back". Rocker Magazine. Archived from the original on October 13, 2013.
- ^ Palmer, Robert (March 2, 1983). "The Pop Life: Studio Flourishes in a Carolina Garage". The New York Times. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
- ^ Douglas, James (October 20, 2021). "Mitch Easter's 40 Year Odyssey of Sound". Triad City Beat. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
- ^ CLTure (February 10, 2022). "Fidelitorium is a studio dreamed up and executed very much in the vision of its owner, Mitch Easter". CLTure. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
- ^ Hogan, Peter (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of R.E.M. Omnibus Press. p. 40. ISBN 0-7119-4901-8.
- ^ a b c d "Producer Mitch Easter shares the inside story of R.E.M.’s early recording sessions: 'It was glorious. They rehearsed a lot just because they liked to play together'", Music Radar, June 3, 2021
- ^ Menconi, David (September 22, 2020). Step It Up and Go: The Story of North Carolina Popular Music, from Blind Boy Fuller and Doc Watson to Nina Simone and Superchunk. UNC Press Books. p. 155. ISBN 978-1-4696-5936-7.
- ^ Stamey, Chris (April 15, 2018). A Spy in the House of Loud: New York Songs and Stories. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-1-4773-1624-5.
- ^ "Drive-In Studio". Discogs. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
- ^ Pylon - Beep / Altitude, retrieved March 26, 2023
- ^ Mills, Fred (June 14, 2007). "Mitch Easter: Perfect Sound Forever". Magnet. Archived from the original on October 22, 2013.
- ^ "Sense Of Place North Carolina: Mitch Easter". NPR. April 22, 2016. Retrieved March 21, 2023.