The New Acme Hall Studios Lets Musicians Shine On 9th Street

A husband-and-wife team with local roots and a whole lot of experience in the music world have opened a new recording studio and lesson space, and it seems destined to bring a lot of song to 9th Street.

Rebecca Pronsky, a Park Slope native, and Rich Bennett, who grew up in Staten Island, recently celebrated the opening of Acme Hall Studios at 435 9th Street, on the corner of 7th Avenue. Pronsky fell in love with singing at an early age, while Bennett has been playing, and teaching, guitar for nearly as long. Having met so many incredible musicians in their lives, they decided to create a space for all of them — a place to share what they’ve learned, continue learning themselves, and maybe even help inspire future generations of musicians.

The new space, named after the old social club it’s housed in, can accommodate artists looking for a place to record, plus they’re offering lessons to children and adults on many different instruments, as well as special interest workshops.

We asked Pronsky to tell us a bit more about the new spot, her connection to the building’s history, what makes teaching music so fun, and more.

Park Slope Stoop: Tell us a bit about your — and Rich’s — musical background.

Rebecca Pronsky: I grew up in Park Slope and started singing early. I went to Berkeley Carroll for elementary school and our choir recorded a tape (remember those?) at a recording studio in the East Village. It was probably the most exciting experience I had had to date. It made me want to do this for the rest of my life. I did a lot of choral singing and musical theatre in high school and in college I studied ethnomusicology and jazz. I started writing songs around then, and in the 12 years since I’ve made five records and toured all over the U.S. and Europe. I also kept up a full schedule of vocal students throughout that time and really developed my teaching skills.

Rich was born in Brooklyn but grew up in Staten Island. He’s a superb guitar player and composer. He studied music at NYU and we met shortly after graduation when I had just moved back to New York and was finding my sound. Over the years, Rich has become quite the impressive audio engineer and producer. He’s also been teaching guitar since college and is probably the best guitar instructor I’ve ever come across.

What made you decide to open Acme Hall Studios, and why did you choose to do so in Park Slope?

After a decade of touring, performing, and teaching, Rich and I wanted to create a space where many of the talented musicians we’ve come to know could share their expertise with learners. We also wanted to have a space for artists to exchange ideas and create new work. So many of the students I’ve worked with over the years have recorded demos, and there are so many professional musicians in the area who need a space to do recording and mixing, that it naturally made sense to make the space a recording studio as well. Taking lessons inside a professional working recording studio is really inspiring for our students. They see right in front of their eyes where their music can go if they keep at it.

What are some of the services you currently offer, and what can neighbors expect to find in the future?

We offer private lessons in guitar, bass, drums, piano, ukulele, and voice. Our educational focus is on the tween/teen age group, plus adults. With so many music and rock band programs in the area catering to younger kids, we feel that a more serious space like ours is long overdue. Acme’s faculty is made up of top musicians and audio experts. The influence of working artists in a professional space makes our learning environment unique.

This summer Acme will run a short band/recording summer program for advanced middle and high school musicians. We’ll start rolling out small group workshops this spring and begin teaching recording techniques in the fall.

Who does your recording studio cater to?

So far we’ve had in our recording studio: a solo cellist, a punk trio, an ambient synth project, a shoegaze band, and an electro-disco outfit. Our recording engineers are dedicated and invested. Our main goal is to give people the highest quality we can, without adherence to some kind of dogma. We do not align with any music scene in particular; we just want everyone who comes through here to leave with a product they’re excited about.

What’s one of the most exciting things about providing musical instruction to people?

For me personally as a vocal instructor, the most exciting moments usually come from teaching adults. I’ve had a lot of adult students who came to me fearful of singing, having been told (usually by a teacher) they were bad at it at some early point in their lives. Music teachers who say things like that to kids should get another job! That stuff can be traumatizing! So often a student like that, who has been reticent to sing, eventually opens up in lessons and amazing things happen. One of my students last semester is a poet and she told me she had writers block for two years and after her first voice lesson she wrote almost an entire book of poetry. That kind of thing really moves me.

Your 125-year-old building must have some interesting secrets — did you come across any while you were doing construction?

The building has an amazing history. It was built in 1890 as a social club called Acme Hall. There was a bowling alley in the basement, a pool hall on the 2nd floor and a two-story ballroom on the 3rd floor, which is still there, though it is used for offices. In front of the building on the 9th Street side there was a beer garden. That disappeared once the subway was built. In the 1920s there was a restaurant called Diamond’s which was the scene of a famous shooting involving an argument about the Brooklyn Dodgers. I know there were also some special events that took place there such as a local bird show. Around mid-century it was converted into illegal garment factories.

When my father, Howard Pronsky, bought the building in 1982 it was in pretty bad shape. I remember my dad brought home a lot of spools of fabric, hemming, and stuff like that which was left over from the defunct clothing factory, for me to use as art supplies (I was really into beading and crafts). My father tells me that when he was buying the building he met the grandson of the builder who showed him a family heirloom silver ladle with the words “Acme Hall” on it.

Aside from Acme Hall, what’s one of the most interesting things you’ve seen change in the neighborhood since when you were a kid? And what’s one thing that’s gone that you miss?

The neighborhood has changed a lot. There used to be a Chinese restaurant and a bodega on nearly every corner. The variety is unbelievable now — there’s so many specialty shops: salad, cupcakes, grilled cheese, etc. Unfortunately, there’s a lot less ethnic diversity, and I think we’ve lost a lot of artists and writers. A lot of the character of the neighborhood, the weird places and oddball people, are gone.

There are so many spots I remember and miss. There was Al’s Toyland on 7th Ave between 3rd and 4th Street which just had tons of cool things. Also Soundtrack, a more recent closure, was one of the last record stores in this part of Brooklyn. I definitely miss that place. We still, somehow, have the Record & Tape Center on 5th Ave between 8th and 9th. That place has been in that location for 43 years and we just bought some great LPs there for Acme’s turntable. And Faith’s Bakery on Lincoln Place had these really giant dense bagels. Of course, my favorite store as a kid was the old Little Things (where the Starbucks is now on 7th Ave). I had an epic sticker collection in 4th grade that was generated entirely by trips to Little Things.

There’s this Facebook group called “30 Something And Grew Up in Park Slope” and people just go on and on about these old haunts. I know comedian Colin Quinn grew up on the same block as me (although somewhat earlier) and he loves to talk about all the old places.

Is there anything else you’d like neighbors to know?

We’ve only been open two weeks but the response has been wonderful. We give lessons on a semester basis but since this is our first semester open, our registration is rolling. Should a student become interested in lessons at any point in the semester, he or she may begin lessons then, space permitting. Folks can get in touch with me about lessons: rebecca@acmehallstudios.com and Rich about recording: rich@acmehallstudios.com. Or call us at 929-265-ACME.