The Hideaway Studio in Minneapolis, one of the hidden gems of the Midwest studio scene, is expanding its internship program. The studio, which has thus far been known largely as a hip-hop studio, has recorded several heavy hitters including Snoop Dogg, Atmosphere, Brother Ali, Cloud Cult, The Matches, Doomtree, Dessa and Dave King. The push is part of an effort to make the studio a more accessible resource for mainstream and commercial use among the general public.
”We kind of opened the doors more publicly to welcome outside engineers and producers and bands in need of a place to record,” says Joe Mabbott, the studio’s founder. ”The previous approach was a little bit more low-key, word of mouth without advertising or looking outside.” Adam Greenwald, a McNally Smith College of Music student studying music business production and minoring in hip-hop, says that the opportunity has been extremely helpful and informative. ”I took production classes and learned about the process, but you can only do so much recording at school, whereas here eight hours can go by and you really see what the process is like,” Greenwald says. ”What is so great about interning with The Hideaway Studio is that Joe [Mabbott] is someone who understands the hands-on nature of learning and wants to involve you whenever possible – from setting up microphones for recording bands to changing drumheads, Joe teaches by giving a task and allowing you the chance to first figure it out for yourself.”
Mabbott says that he understands the philosophy, having worked as an intern himself. “I know the opportunity of getting to be part of a studio; it’s where I learned most of the things that got me started in the right direction,” he says. ”School definitely helped, but actually being in this environment made things click.” The studio currently has four interns and Mabbot said the goal is to have two to three experienced interns at a time, on a rotating basis, to provide as many opportunities as possible. Anyone interested in participating in The Hideaway Studio’s internship program is encouraged to email Mabbott directly at joe@thehideawaympls.com.