Drive-In Studio

Drive-In Studio
Company typeRecording studio
IndustryMusic
FoundedJuly 1980
FounderMitch Easter
Defunct1994
FateClosed due to relocation
HeadquartersWinston-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]

Equipment

124 Shady Boulevard in Winston-Salem

An early advertisement, which listed Shady Boulevard as a mailing address for the studio, itemized its recording technology:[13]

Artists

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]

References

  1. ^ Option. Sonic Options Network. 1988. p. 60.
  2. ^ "Mitch Easter: Producing R.E.M. and building his studio". tapeop.com. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  3. ^ Douglas, James (October 20, 2021). "Mitch Easter's 40 Year Odyssey of Sound". Triad City Beat. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  4. ^ Barker, David (October 15, 2007). 33 1/3 Greatest Hits, Volume 2. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-1-4411-3003-7.
  5. ^ Amar, Erin (March 2011). "Mitch Easter – Beyond and Back". Rocker Magazine. Archived from the original on October 13, 2013.
  6. ^ Palmer, Robert (March 2, 1983). "The Pop Life: Studio Flourishes in a Carolina Garage". The New York Times. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  7. ^ Douglas, James (October 20, 2021). "Mitch Easter's 40 Year Odyssey of Sound". Triad City Beat. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ Hogan, Peter (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of R.E.M. Omnibus Press. p. 40. ISBN 0-7119-4901-8.
  10. ^ 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
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "Drive-In Studio". Discogs. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  14. ^ Pylon - Beep / Altitude, retrieved March 26, 2023
  15. ^ Mills, Fred (June 14, 2007). "Mitch Easter: Perfect Sound Forever". Magnet. Archived from the original on October 22, 2013.
  16. ^ "Sense Of Place North Carolina: Mitch Easter". NPR. April 22, 2016. Retrieved March 21, 2023.

36°08′12″N 80°10′27″W / 36.136778°N 80.174154°W / 36.136778; -80.174154