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 rural Winston-Salem, North Carolina, [1] founded by Mitch Easter in July 1980, shortly after the break-up of his band The dB's. [2] R.E.M.'s debut single, "Radio Free Europe" (1981), [3] and their first extended play, Chronic Town (1982), were recorded at the studio six months apart in 1981. [4] The studio was established in what was initially Easter's parents' garage, [5] [6] at 4527 Old Belews Creek Road, [7] and became an important part of the early indie rock scene of North Carolina. [8]
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." [9]
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 [10]
Due to the confined space of the interior, studio sessions often also took place in the home's driveway, [11] under the carport. [12]
An early advertisement, which listed Shady Boulevard as a mailing address for the studio, itemized its recording technology: [13]
Other artists who recorded at Drive-In include Pylon ("Beep"), [14] 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. [15] [16]
Real World Studios is a residential recording studio complex founded by Peter Gabriel and situated in the old Box Mill building in the village of Box, Wiltshire, England, near to the city of Bath. It is closely associated with the Real World Records record label, Real World Publishing, and the WOMAD Festival, whose offices are also based at the complex.
Winston-Salem is a city in and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the fifth-most-populous city in North Carolina, and the 90th-most-populous city in the United States. The population of the Winston-Salem metropolitan area was estimated to be 695,630 in 2023. It is the second-most-populous city in North Carolina's Piedmont Triad region, home to about 1.7 million residents.
Murmur is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on April 12, 1983, by I.R.S. Records. The album was recorded at Reflection Studios in Charlotte, North Carolina, with musicians Don Dixon and Mitch Easter serving as producers. Murmur drew critical acclaim upon its release for its unusual sound, defined by lead singer Michael Stipe's cryptic lyrics, guitarist Peter Buck's jangly guitar style, and bass guitarist Mike Mills's melodic basslines. In 2003, the album was ranked number 197 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". It retained the position in the 2012 list and was raised to number 165 in the 2020 revision.
Chronic Town is the debut EP by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on August 24, 1982, on I.R.S. Records. Containing five tracks, the EP was recorded at the Drive-In Studio in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in October 1981, eighteen months after the formation of the band. Its co-producer was Mitch Easter, who produced the band's "Radio Free Europe" single earlier in 1981.
Reckoning is the second studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on April 9, 1984, by I.R.S. Records. Produced by Mitch Easter and Don Dixon, the album was recorded at Reflection Sound Studio in Charlotte, North Carolina, over 16 days in December 1983 and January 1984. Dixon and Easter intended to capture the sound of R.E.M.'s live performances, and used binaural recording on several tracks. Lead singer Michael Stipe dealt with darker subject matter in his lyrics, with water-related imagery being a recurring theme on the album.
The dB's are an American alternative rock and power pop group, who formed in New York City in 1978 and first came to prominence in the early 1980s. Their debut album Stands for Decibels is acclaimed as one of the great "lost" power pop albums of the 1980s.
Let's Active was an American rock group formed in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 1981, and often identified with the jangle pop guitar work of the group's frontman and songwriter Mitch Easter. After disbanding in 1990, the group reformed in August 2014 to play a benefit show in North Carolina.
Mitchell Blake Easter is a musician, songwriter, and record producer. Frequently associated with the jangle pop style of guitar music, he 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.
Pylon was an American new wave/post-punk band from Athens, Georgia, United States. The band's danceable sound, a blend of new wave, post-punk, jangle pop, alternative rock and funk rock, 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".
"Radio Free Europe" is the debut single by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in 1981 on the short-lived independent record label Hib-Tone. The song features "what were to become the trademark unintelligible lyrics which [sic] have distinguished R.E.M.'s work ever since." The single received critical acclaim, and its success earned the band a record deal with I.R.S. Records. R.E.M. re-recorded the song for their 1983 debut album Murmur. The re-recording for I.R.S. became the group's first charting single, peaking at number 78 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song is ranked number 389 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2009, it was added to the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry for setting "the pattern for later indie rock releases by breaking through on college radio in the face of mainstream radio's general indifference."
Birds of Avalon is a rock band from Raleigh, North Carolina whose sound fuses elements of psychedelic and progressive rock. The band consists of Cheetie Kumar (guitar), David Mueller (bass), Scott Nurkin (drums), Paul Siler (guitar), Jason Alyward (drums) and Missy Thangs (keys).
Insanity Wave is a power pop band based in Madrid, Spain with a style usually defined as “snotty power pop” or “crazy guitar pop”. The band started up in 1991 formed by a bunch of high school friends. The band consists of José María Martínez, Colman Gota, Pablo Heras.
Vanessa Briscoe Hay is an American singer for the Athens, Georgia bands Pylon, Supercluster and Pylon Reenactment Society.
Randall Eugene Bewley was the guitarist for the Athens, Georgia, band Pylon. Born in Bradenton, Florida, United States. He lived in Sarasota, Florida, Washington, DC and near Atlanta, Georgia while growing up. Bewley attended the University of Georgia art school where he met Michael Lachowski, a fellow art student. They became roommates and decided to form a band. He and Lachowski, along with fellow art students Vanessa Briscoe Hay and Curtis Crowe, formed Pylon, having their first performance in 1979. On their first trip to New York City, they were reviewed in Interview Magazine.
"7 Chinese Bros." is a song by R.E.M. that was first released on their 1984 album Reckoning.
The Baseball Project is a supergroup composed of Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Scott McCaughey, Steve Wynn and Linda Pitmon formed in 2007. The performers came together from discussions between McCaughey and Wynn at R.E.M.'s March 21, 2007 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. They invited Buck to play bass guitar and Pitmon on drums and recorded their first album, Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails later that year. Their first public appearance was on The Late Show with David Letterman in June of 2008, preceding the release of any recorded material.
2011 is the eleventh studio album by American rock band The Smithereens, released on April 5, 2011 by eOne Music.
The Cyclones were a rock and roll band that helped pioneer the new wave music scene that erupted in the New York City area during the late 70s, early 80s. A female fronted trio, they began as a rockabilly cover band, became an original group in 78/79 which lasted until 1984. Original members included Dan Reich on drums and Walter Sczesny on bass. The group came into its own with addition of singer/guitarist/songwriter Donna Esposito. After a few transitions on bass guitar, the band's stable lineup was complete in late 79/ early 1980 with the addition of Marc Seligman.
Afoot is the debut six-song EP by the American indie rock band Let's Active, first released in 1983 by I.R.S. Records.
Give Me Mine is the second album by American rock band Jonas Sees in Color, released independently on April 16, 2013. Recorded on 2-inch reel-to-reel tape at Fidelitorium Recordings, the album is a departure from the band's previous material of pop rock to a more minimalist hard rock sound. The album was produced by Ted Comerford and mastered by Jamie King. Mixing and "gizmos and gadgets" are credited to Fidelitorium founder Mitch Easter, established musician and producer of artists such as R.E.M. and Ben Folds Five, among others.