Legendary Hyde Street Studios Launches New Music Showcase

Photo by BRUNO EMMANUELLE on Unsplash

This article was made possible by the fine folks at Hyde Street Studios.

Get ready, San Francisco! This Friday, December 2nd, Bottom of The Hill will see the launch of the Studio Snapshot series – a sneak peek into the halls of the legendary Hyde Street Studios. Each show will feature acts that have one essential element binding them together: they’ve all recorded recently at Hyde Street. Four large studios share this space, along with several smaller rooms used for recording, foley and voiceover work. The music business has changed, but the halls at 245 Hyde St. are as busy as they were back in the early days, and each season yields a new crop of great music.

Hosted by Chris McGrew from Wally’s HydeOut (studio C) and Trent Berry from Dreamrack Studios (studio B), the quarterly live series will present the newest music soaking up the sound and vibe of these classic rooms. The gold and platinum discs lining the halls speak volumes: Santana. Tupac. Green Day. Herbie Hancock. Chris Isaac. XXXTentacion. OneRepublic. Cake. George Clinton. Souls of Mischief. Pharcyde. Tower Of Power. Bob Mould. Joe Satriani. Creedence. The Coup. It’s a dizzying list spanning five decades.

“We thought it was time to curate live performances showcasing the new and upcoming artists that have just recorded at Hyde Street – artists who have tasted the special inspiration when recording here,” says McGrew.

“Musicians are genuinely energized when they come here and see all of these albums on the walls. They soak in the history and they dig deep, because they want to do something that equals the legacy that surrounds them,” adds Berry, co-owner of Dreamrack Studios. McGrew and Berry are the joint MCs for the event.

“Whoever said art is dead in San Francisco clearly forgot to tell the dozens of musicians that work and record in this complex 24 hours a day,” McGrew chimes back in. “Other studios exist in the Bay. But what separates this place entirely is that we have a thriving community. There are ten separate rooms on two floors under the same roof, all working both independently and together. It’s like a cul-de-sac where everyone knows everyone else, and they all help each other out.”

Poster for the first Studio Snapshot

“Except instead of hopping next door to ask for a cup of sugar or flour, we borrow each other’s guitars, amps, microphones, and cymbals!” laughs Berry. “And, yeah, when musicians come here, they feed off the community. They interact with other studios’ musicians in all of our shared spaces, like the kitchen and the courtyard. It’s like running in a marathon as opposed to running solo. The mass of musical humanity all around pushes you and encourages you.”

McGrew adds, “All the acts on the bills will have this shared bond. They all came to this sacred space, and it made them reach inside to that place of musical truth that comes so easily here.”

Berry nods his head in agreement. “Yeah, this studio transforms these artists. They all bring their A-game. I know how they feel. I’m just a kid from Akron, Ohio, and every time I walk from the Tenderloin into this space, it’s like Dorothy going from black and white into Oz….You feel compelled to make something great.”

The first Studio Snapshot show is Friday, December 2nd at Bottom of the Hill, featuring Seal Party and Fourth Position, who both just finished records at Wally’s HydeOut. Learn more and get tickets right here.