Mitch Easter and his 330 Jetglo

admin · Post by **admin** » Sun Aug 27, 2000 4:56 pm

There are a couple of photos of Mitch Easter in 1984 at a concert in Raleigh, North Carolina at the link below.
Mitch Easter and 330 Jetglo

anonymous · Post by **anonymous** » Wed Jan 17, 2001 2:51 am

those photos are making me feel old, now Im starting to know what its like for you old farts when you see old pictures of the Byrds in the 60s....man it sucks to get old....tell me it aint been over 15 years ago when those were taken....
FATRAT
(puts his teeth back in)

anonymous · Post by **anonymous** » Wed May 02, 2001 3:53 pm

I am a big Let's Active fan...between Petty, Buck, the Beatles and then Mitch I just HAD to get a Rick, and I did (in 1985). Mitch is the master that nobody knows about. He made REM what it is today! Need I say more? Too bad Mitches big plans for everybody didn't include himself.

wormdiet · Post by **wormdiet** » Sat May 15, 2004 7:52 pm

Update on MItch Easter.. .. .

I just got back from a show by his wife's band, Shalini (His wife's name is Shalini Chatterjee). ANyways the first two bands of the night were just great. No ricks though. . . MItch himself was playing. . . . DRUMS of all things and doing a darned good job.

What was cool was the fact that the club was very small. . . I was about 5 feet from the band during their set. Mitch and co. had the barseats five feet away during the remainder of the evening. THey all seemed to be very laid back, down to earth folks. I advise all power-pop fans to check out Shalini.

marc61 · Post by **marc61** » Sat Jun 12, 2004 4:52 pm

I used to be aquainted with Mitch. In fact I replaced him in a band that he was the bass player, although I did a poor job of it.I've also recorded in his studio.

He definately had more than a working knowledge of any instrument I ever saw him touch.Can't think of a musician I respect more.

A quick Mitch Easter story: One night my group had to stay at his home in North Carolina. We were searching for his address when I finally got out of the car to search. I walked up on his porch and there he was watching the newly invented MTV (A Supertramp video was on) and he was sitting there mesmerized. None of us had seen MTV before and we all had a lengthy conversation about how this new revolutionary format was going to affect the music industry.

rkbsound · Post by **rkbsound** » Wed Jun 16, 2004 2:17 pm

Marc, my introduction to Let's Active was when MTV, in the early 80's, featured them on a Sunday night special that did documentaries on hot bands. It was a great show, and I instantly became a Let's Active fan.

It's obvious what impact MTV had on Mitch, because it could not have been long after that that his band was on it! I still distinctly remember clips of that show in my head, particularly Mitch stating that he could get any sound he wanted out of any guitar, basically. The video for "Waters Part", with the 330, is classic.

A friend of mine later pulled a flyer off telephone pole in South Carolina that was advertising an REM show with Let's Active opening up. I wish I still had it. Long live Mitch Easter!

Any more Mitch Easter stories and information, particularly about how he got/gets his sound/tone, would be greatly appreciated. Favorite amps, guitars and effects? What was he like to work with (even though you replaced him)? This information seems impossible to come by. Thanks -Jeff

I still listen to the Let's Active material with sheer awe. I can't understand why Mitch Easter isn't a giant in the music industry now. Maybe he is? Anyway, I wish he'd tour upstate NY. Seeing him perform live would be a highlight for me.

wormdiet · Post by **wormdiet** » Wed Jun 16, 2004 3:39 pm

At the Shalini show his wife was playing a solidbody Gretsch. . . the kind that looks like an LP. Had a weird sparkly finish but I do not know the model.

She also had a crazy accoustic - it was shaped like a FLying Vee!

big_g · Post by **big_g** » Wed Jun 16, 2004 6:19 pm

You guys just made me think of "The Db's", was their leader Peter Holsapple? They were of that era and type of band. They were on Bearsville records just about the time it went out. Then did another couple of records on WEA, but never had the impact of the "Picture This" part of their career.
I remember that Rhino put that album out on cd for a short run; I wish I could find it again.
They had a song called "Amplifier", one of the best little rock songs no one ever heard much outside the college campus radio areas.

iamthebassman · Post by **iamthebassman** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 3:20 am

"An amplifier's just wood and wire, and wire and wood don't do any good..."

I love the Dbs, and Let's Active. Did anyone get the album Stamey and Holsapple put out as a duo in "91? Great stuff.
Is Let's Active available on CD? All I have are the LPs. Got to see Let's Active here in Austin around '90, and then a couple years later Mitch with backing band.

marc61 · Post by **marc61** » Thu Jun 24, 2004 1:14 pm

I also knew the Db's back in the day.For a short time I remember Peter dated the singer from my group The Cyclones. Will Rigby, the drummer was a very cool guy. I remember traveling south with the group and he hitched a ride to North Carolina with us.Funny and easy going, IMO as fine a drummer as you could ever want to hear.

I also played on stage with Peter when we did a benefit for the singer for our group when she was ill for an extended period. I believe we played 2 or three Big Star songs. Peter sang and Adny Shernoff of the Dictators joined us for a tune.

Jeff,As far as working with Mitch, I did an EP with a Hoboken based group called 'The Vines"( no not the Aussie guys, they weren't born yet) in the mid 80's in Drive-In studios. He didn't produce it but, he turned the knobs and I remember it being a fun time.While Mitch was being told by so many how great he was, he didn't seem to have the egos of some of his contemporarys(yes, Chris Stamey, I'm talking about you). I think Let's Active played in a club with us in North Carolina during that period where we had to stay by his house.

Just to clarify from an earlier post. Mitch lived in North Carolina but, somehow found time to fill in on bass with The Cyclones before I auditoned for them. Coincidently, I had seen the band at CBGB's when they played on the bill with a friend's band. My memory was that while I liked the band, I thought the bass player was terrific. I may have an old demo somewhere with Mitch playing with the group.trust me, I was a poor substitute.

I have alot of the old music from these guys on vinyl. All the early Db's,Sneakers,Big Star etc including the very first REM single recorded at Drive-In and released by Hib-Tone records.

Kinda strange what happened in those days. If I had been a betting man, I would have thought The Db's, The Bongos, Fleshtones and Let's Active would have had much more success. I wasn't surprised that REM became successful out of that scene, but it did surprise me they became one of the biggest bands in the world.

studiotwosession · Post by **studiotwosession** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 2:06 pm

Resurrecting an old thread here because of the cool bands mentioned, the dB's and such.

I was not in Chgo during their heyday, but did live there in the 90s when I heard that they were actually more popular there than anywhere else. I think they got a lot of support from one of the local stations.

rkbsound · Post by **rkbsound** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 5:17 pm

Youtube finally has some Let's Active videos up!