W hen his touring days finally came to an end, musician and producer Dan McLoughlin had a wealth of insider knowledge about the industry. And with a garage full of musical instruments and recording equipment, McLoughlin decided to open a music school.
Garden Street Music first opened in a brownstone on Garden Street, but with space limited, McLoughlin relocated the school to its present location at 1018 Washington St.
Now, the space is a music school and a recording studio that allows beginners and professional musicians alike to have fun with music.
The studio, located under the Hudson City Savings Bank, is appropriately named The Vault.
With all McLoughlin’s musical talents, even he admits that learning to play music was difficult.
“I didn’t always like taking lessons as a kid,” McLoughlin said, “but the [teachers] that made it fun, that let me play the songs I liked, really got me interested in music.”
One of the most important things about teaching music, McLoughlin said, is making sure it’s fun for the students.
“A lot of people I know might have been musicians,” McLoughlin said, “but they had the fun zapped right out of it at an early age.”
Now, McLoughlin is trying to create a positive atmosphere for his students.
The school often uses the studio space as a theatre, showing music movies for registered students. “We had a Halloween party in the studio,” McLoughlin said. He hired the children’s group The Fuzzy Lemons as entertainment.
All in the family
After getting a dual degree in music and sound recording from SUNY Fredonia, McLoughlin took an internship position at the famous Dreamland studios in Woodstock, N.Y. Soon after, he got some off-hour studio time and invited his friend Chris Trapper to record a couple tracks in the studio.
On recording day, Trapper and his band were short a bassist and McLoughlin filled in. After the session, the band clicked and started touring.
In 1998, the band was signed to Capitol Records and was soon playing arena-sized venues like Fleet Center in Boston and opening up for well-known acts like Matchbox 20.
After years on the road, McLoughlin decided to come back to the East Coast, where he and singing/songwriting wife Anne settled into Hoboken.
“Hoboken is one of my favorite cities in the country,” McLoughlin said. “[It’s] one of the last cities that hasn’t been overrun with chains. [I like] that there’s a lot of mom-and-pop shops.”
Anne, who manages the school, originally encouraged McLoughlin to open up the studio.
“She’s very supportive of what I do,” said McLoughlin. “She was the brainchild. You know [the saying] ‘Every man needs a good woman behind them’? Well, she is mine.”
Once in Hoboken, McLoughlin and his wife started a family. Now, 1-year-old Finn is following his father’s footsteps.
“He already likes music,” McLoughlin said. While I play to him, he’s pulling at the guitar strings. We sing to him all the time.”
Instead of a bedtime story, Finn is lulled to sleep with a bedtime rock ‘n’ roll tune. “He gets all the standards,” McLoughlin said, “like Old McDonald.” School of Rock
In addition to teaching regular classes, Garden Street Music offers a variety of events for the students as well.
“During the summertime, we bring a group of kids into the studio to jam, and we record them,” he said. Copies of the CD are given to the children after the session.
“We also had a producer workshop, and showed the children how to use the mixing board, and pro tools, and how to [record] a guitar properly.”
The best part of the events is that all the children “get to meet each other,” McLoughlin said. “It’s the kind of thing I really wish I had as a kid,” he said. “It’s like [the movie] School of Rock, but without Jack Black.”
For more information on lessons, or the extra-curricular programs at Garden Street Music please visit: gardenstreetmusic.com. Comments on this piece can be sent to: current@hudsonreporter.com