Mitch has THE tone I love!

blue330 · Post by **blue330** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 4:58 am

It's those "kissing" fish...you know, in the 80s, you put stickers on things! The original significance escapes me now. You may note the knob modifications, as well. After all this time, I figure all that has become its own type of "original"!

johnallg · Post by **johnallg** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 12:37 pm

And another DCM joins the forum ranks!! Great to see you got one, Mitch!

rkbsound · Post by **rkbsound** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 4:22 pm

Mitch, it's been really great that you've provided us with the photos and some background to your sound. That said, I have found it difficult over the years to find much information about bands such as yours from the 80's. If there is such a resource available, in print or on the web, can you point us in that direction? If not, do you have any plans to put out a bio on yourself, your bands, and detailed liner notes about the recordings you have made and produced? I think that it's an important part of music history that needs to be told, and that a great deal of people would be interested in what you have created, details on how you did it, and your philosophies on all of it.

atomic_punk · Post by **atomic_punk** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 5:37 pm

Just caught up with this thread, it's great to have you visiting the Forum, Mitch! Welcome, and hope you continue posting here...

marc61 · Post by **marc61** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 9:18 pm

Hey Mitch, I will get a message to Donna for you...

Hope I am not embarrassing you but, I have to share this quick story -

Mitch was kind enough to let our band(The Cyclones) stay one night at his home when we played for the first few times out of NYC back in the fall of 1981 I believe. So here we are, driving lost though North Carolina, looking for Mitch's house.

Finally, it seems like we're on the right block, so I get out of the car, and start looking into the windows of all the homes, hoping to see a familiar face. In this one home, I see this young man fixated on his TV, watching a band perform a song, not live but using production techniques that made it fascinating to view(I wanna say it was The Logical Song by Supertramp), anyway, it's Mitch, so I knock on the door, he lets us in, and we all spend some time mesmerized by what's going on.

What we were watching was a huge paradigm shift in the world of music. It was the early days of MTV, and music was discovering this new format to get it's message out, the video.

blue330 · Post by **blue330** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 6:01 pm

Marc was very kind to leave out the part about how the house smelled like dogs! And I think it's going to be up to Mr. Phelps to write that book. He's right, it's hard to find out nuts and bolts info on so many records. What bugs me is that when you do read about bands or sessions, it's usually from a "personality" angle. Which is fine, but I'd usually prefer to know exactly what that fuzz box was on "Satisfaction", you know? (OK, maybe everybody knows it was, say, a Maestro. I have no idea.) I do wish we had a publishing house devoted to utterly nerdly music topics, alas.

lyle_from_minneapolis · Thu Jul 12, 2007 6:39 pm

Just wait till you get a load of the Beatles forum. We go nuts peeling that onion. ("Who's voice does the countdown before Taxman?" etc...) But nerds are, after all, cool.

blue330 · Post by **blue330** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 7:41 pm

So Mark, what bass is Paul playing on "That Was Me"? Not a strictly Beatles question, I realize! But do you know? It's as pleasing a bass sound as one could ask for.

walker · Post by **walker** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 2:32 am

Hey Mitch - just checked out the video that Phelps posted. Nice playing! THat rick sounds great when someone really "leans into it." I'm looking forward to checking out the recordings of your '68. I've got a '68 4001 that's my favorite to use when recording.

Rock on.

leftybass · Post by **leftybass** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 4:47 am

I'll second that---Mark's '68 is one of the best-sounding 4001's I've ever played (upside down).

GREAT feeling neck on that bass too.

rkbsound · Post by **rkbsound** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 4:58 am

"Dynamico" should be arriving at my house today. I've heard the songs that Mitch has posted on his websites, and I can't wait to give the whole cd a listen. I was waiting to see if it might go up on iTunes, but now I can't wait any longer!

lyle_from_minneapolis · Fri Jul 13, 2007 5:31 am

Mitch, one can only guess, but my guess would be the Hofner. He just doesn't go into those details, so we speculate like crazy. One thing we all have noticed is that he appears to have abandoned use of his Rickenbacker for quite some time. Maybe it's too heavy for the old boy...he has complained of this in public.

But who knows? He appears to favor the classic image of himself with a Hofner in these later days, but in the studio he is probably more open to using other basses. I will defer to those more knowledgable.

rkbsound · Post by **rkbsound** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 3:38 am

Well, I only just received Dynamico, and while I have only given it a quick run through, I am really excited about this new release. Plenty of Rick tones, with a decidedly modern approach (for me, that means some dirt thrown in). The production is typical Mitch (ie, great) and I think I heard a nod to both the Beach Boys and the Beatles -- Glazed and Phantoms of Ephemera? Glazed is my new favorite song. It really seems like you could make a 9 minute version, because I'd like that song to go on for awhile.

I'm headed for vacation and we're taking 2 cars. That means un-interrupted listening for many hours. I look forward to adding some more comments as well as hearing from anyone else on Dynamico.

By the way, Mitch, I thought it didn't transfer to my iPod because it comes up as Easter, Mitch instead of how names usually populate. Smart move! -- Jeff Phelps

rkbsound · Post by **rkbsound** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 4:53 pm

Ok, back after about 10 days with Dynamico. I'll try not to sound like a crazed fan, because I obviously like Mitch Easter's material...except I don't yet own "Every Dog Has It's Day".

Dynamico is definitely Mitch Easter's best album to date. I read an interview in which he stated that some songs have been around since Let's Active. I'm trying to pick them out - there are definite patterns that represent that time, but I can't tell if a certain song is just representative of his style or if it is from Let's Active.

What I like about Dynamico is that Mitch has not strayed from "what works". Too often, as bands or artists move on in their careers, they decide to experiment with material that strays from what their fans like. It is certainly their perrogative to do so, but if the new material sucks, then it just sucks. It's also disappointing.

What Mitch has done on Dynamico is to continue to improve the material that he sells. What I liked so much about Let's Active, I now really like in Mitch's new material. The song writing is really good and fun. Sometimes a bit confusing, but that's part of the fun. The best part of the music, however, is Mitch's ability to create fantastic, complex songs that are superbly produced, and yet maintain a sound that is "real" and very organic. I believe he strives for the "organic" part, based on what I've heard him say, and this is apparent. Most importantly, his style makes the music he creates easy and enjoyable to listen to.

Like much of Mitch Easter's previous work, Dynamico will have staying power and sound just as good 20 years from now as it does today. Thanks, Mitch, and please don't stop. You got it right.

rkbsound · Post by **rkbsound** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 9:29 pm

I just wanted to keep this thread up a little longer, since I'm still really enjoying Dynamico!!

Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Mitch has THE tone I love!

Re: Mitch has THE tone I love!