Mitch Easter is a musician and producer, best known for his work with R.E.M., though he has worked with many other acts and was the frontman for the band Let's Active.

Born in 1954 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 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 fellow 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.

Let's Active released an EP and three albums before splitting up. Easter had by then become known primarily as a producer, and worked with a number of artists, some of them perhaps because of his influence on the early R.E.M. His production credits include recordings by Pavement, Game Theory, Marshall Crenshaw, Velvet Crush, Ken Stringfellow (of The Posies), and The Loud Family.

Easter's current studio is The Fidelitorium near Winston-Salem. He is currently in two bands with the same lineup, Shalini and The Fiendish Minstrels. They consist of his wife, Shalini Chatterjee (vocals, guitar, and bass), Eric Marshall (drummer, also in the last lineup of Let's Active), and Easter on guitar, bass, vocals, and a number of other instruments. Chatterjee sings and writes most of the songs in Shalini (a more straightforward Cheap Trick-style hard pop project), while The Fiendish Minstrels perform Easter's songs, which reportedly continue in the tradition of Let's Active's more idiosyncratic material. When performing without Marshall, they go by the name Fiendish (Parlor) Minstrels. Shalini has released two albums, We Want Jelly Donuts and Metal Corner. The Fiendish Minstrels have yet to release any official recordings.

External Links

• Fidelitorium Recordings
• Mitch World USA (Mitch Easter fansite)

1954 births | Living people | Songwriters

Mitch Easter