Drive-In Studio
Drive-In Studio was a recording studio in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, founded by Mitch Easter in July 1980, shortly after the break-up of his band The dB's. R.E.M.'s debut single, "Radio Free Europe" (1981), and their first extended play, Chronic Town (1982), were recorded at the studio in 1981. The studio was established in what was initially Easter's parents' garage, at 4527 Old Belews Creek Road, and became an important part of the early indie rock scene of North Carolina.
Shelley LaFreniere, Mitch Easter and Scott Miller recording Game Theory's album The Big Shot Chronicles at Drive-In Studio, September 1985. | |
| 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. |
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."
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
Due to the confined space of the interior, studio sessions often also took place in the home's driveway, under the carport.