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.
Easter in 1988 producing Game Theory's Two Steps from the Middle Ages
Easter producing Game Theory's Lolita Nation in San Francisco, 1986. L–R: Easter, Michael Quercio, Scott Miller.
Easter in the 2014 reunion of Let's Active. L-R: Suzi Ziegler, Easter.
R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternative rock bands, R.E.M. was noted for Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style; Stipe's distinctive vocal quality, unique stage presence, and obscure lyrics; Mills's melodic bass lines and backing vocals; and Berry's tight, economical drumming style. In the early 1990s, other alternative rock acts such as Nirvana and Pavement viewed R.E.M. as a pioneer of the genre. After Berry left the band in 1997, the band continued its career in the 2000s with mixed critical and commercial success. The band broke up amicably in 2011 with members devoting time to solo projects after having sold more than 90 million albums worldwide and becoming one of the world's best-selling music acts.
R.E.M. performing in 2003. From left to right: Mike Mills (partially cropped), Michael Stipe, touring drummer Bill Rieflin, and Peter Buck
The church steeple of St. Mary's Episcopal Church in 2015; this is all that remains of where members of R.E.M. lived briefly and performed their first concert on April 5, 1980.
Mitch Easter (near left) was R.E.M.'s producer until 1984, helping to define the band's early sound.
Michael Stipe (left) and Peter Buck (right) on stage in Ghent, Belgium, during R.E.M.'s 1985 tour
