Photo by Bobbie Knopp
Park Street Studio sign
Park Street Studio is a new multipurpose facility in the Greater Milwaukee area flexibly designed for content production and as a live music venue. Located in the outskirts of Port Washington, Park Street Studio is a one-stop shop for artists’ audio and visual needs. The acoustically treated space is owned and operated by singer-songwriter Will Pfrang and his father Charlie.
A few years back, Will Pfrang had been looking for a new rehearsal space for his band, pop rock act Will Pfrang and The Good Land Gang. “We wanted something where you could make a lot of noise and not bug the neighbors,” he explains. “It started with the idea that it’d just be a place for some storage, but then it ended up turning into something totally different.”
At the time, Pfrang had been co-running Hit or Miss Studio with roommate Jack Fricke in the basement of their Port Washington house. While they had fun with that setup, Pfrang wanted something that could be built over time into an all-encompassing resource for artists. After acquiring the building in 2020, they immediately got to work on what would become Park Street Studio, enlisting close friends and contractors to help furnish it.
“There was so much construction,” Pfrang recalls. “We got it framed out and put in some drywall and a stage. Then about a year ago we had our first show.”
Sound, Lights and More
Photo by Bobbie Knopp
Park Street Studio
Park Street Studio
Park Street Studio is a multi-pronged deal. The space is equipped not only to record but also produce audiovisual content in the form of music videos, photo shoots, interviews and podcasts. The studio has installed professional lighting, a QSC sound system, PTZ cameras and a laser projector for online streaming.
In the main hall with the stage there is a kitchen, balcony and large seating area that all make for a comfortable live music experience; the entertainment is front-and-center, and guests may bring their own refreshments to enjoy.
|
|
“Getting to spend so much time with my pops on this has been the best,” Pfrang reflects. “Some days we’ll be troubleshooting something, and it’ll drive me crazy, but the overarching experience has been super fun.”
Park Street Studio welcomes artists of all styles and genres, currently featuring a rotating cast of engineers. Those who have worked with the space so far include The Panoptics, Mas Verde, Hanna Simone and Nate Scheurell.
Demystifying Technology
Photo by Bobbie Knopp
Park Street Studio
Park Street Studio
Pfrang recognizes the difficulty many musicians have with getting to the studio and communicating a sound, as he has dealt with that himself; he elaborates, “When you talk to an engineer, it’s important that they're not only technical but also kind enough to work with you through it, and I’ve been lucky to work with a lot of talented engineers. Tom Riddle from Stories Studio in Milwaukee is somebody who has demystified so much for me. I’m finally at a point where I can jump in and confidently get the sounds that I’m looking for thanks to him.”
Emphasizing the importance of release strategies, Pfrang is excited to have various avenues of content creation in addition to the music side available in one place. He envisions taking advantage of the studio’s surrounding area to build artists’ release packages, as well as build a collective of photographers, videographers and engineers to do so.
“Port Washington is beautiful in the summertime,” Pfrang adds. “We want to offer bands and songwriters preparing to release projects to come up and stay here in town for the week, where we’ll build out content by getting clips of them hanging out around town, shooting live performances on the stage, doing interviews, recording alternate versions of songs…things like that.”
Park Street Studio has hosted several events so far, donating portions of proceeds from each one to different charities. Pfrang is planning a concert series at Park Street Studio for next fall, which will host both local and touring acts for intimate performances at the space. The series will be live streamed for those who cannot attend in person.
As of now, the exact location of Park Street Studio is private. Folks may learn where it is upon becoming clients or attending one of their events. “2024 is going to be all about output,” Will Pfrang concludes. “We’ll be seeing what the studio is capable of offering in terms of shows, shoots and sounds.”
Visit parkstreetstudio.org to get in touch. Follow them on Instagram @parkstreetstudioswi for updates.
