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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.[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]

"After a while, I thought, '[Working out of a garage] is kind of embarrassing, but bands didn't really seem to care," Easter said in 2025.[9] 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."[10]

Easter explained the studio's layout to Music Radar in 2021:[11]

[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.

Due to the confined space of the interior, studio sessions often also took place in the home's driveway,[12] under the carport.[13]

Equipment

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Shelley LaFreniere, Mitch Easter and Scott Miller recording Game Theory's album The Big Shot Chronicles at Drive-In Studio, September 1985
124 Shady Boulevard in Winston-Salem

An early advertisement, which listed Shady Boulevard as a mailing address for the studio, itemized its recording technology:[14]

Artists

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Other artists who recorded at Drive-In include Pylon ("Beep"),[15] 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.[16][17]

References

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  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. ^ Gear Club Podcast (March 29, 2024). Gear Club Episode #94: The Gear and the Garage with Mitch Easter. Retrieved December 16, 2025 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ Hogan, Peter (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of R.E.M. Omnibus Press. p. 40. ISBN 0-7119-4901-8.
  11. ^ 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
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ "Drive-In Studio". Discogs. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  15. ^ Pylon - Beep / Altitude, retrieved March 26, 2023
  16. ^ Mills, Fred (June 14, 2007). "Mitch Easter: Perfect Sound Forever". Magnet. Archived from the original on October 22, 2013.
  17. ^ "Sense Of Place North Carolina: Mitch Easter". NPR. April 22, 2016. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
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36°08′12″N 80°10′27″W / 36.136778°N 80.174154°W / 36.136778; -80.174154