The Music Lab

This place is great for the sole purpose that it allows me to play music (especially drums!!) at whatever volume without anyone leaving me nasty anonymous notes on my door. So that’s a plus.
Additionally, the neighborhood is great. Super, super close to the brown line, plenty of street parking in the evenings and on weekends. And it’s within walking distance to great bars and restaurants on Lincoln Ave.
The guy who runs it is also a very nice guy.
However, for what it is, the price is a bit much. The rooms are small and not nearly soundproofed enough. If the guys next door are playing, their bass causes me to have to play louder than I’d like. Additionally, since it’s above a doggy day care place, every now and then the hallway reeks of dog urine. Oh, and you can’t flush toilet paper down the toilet, not that you’d want to risk sitting on it anyway. Also unfortunate is the complete lack of temperature control – my space easily breaks 100 degrees in the summer months. It’s not pleasant to have three sweaty dudes with a bunch of equipment in a 100+ degree glorified closet.
Unfortunately this place seems to have a monopoly on music practice space in my neighborhood. It could definitely use some work, but for what it is it definitely gets the job done. My irritable neighbors and I greatly appreciate the service!

Back in the day when I lived in Logan Square I was in a band and we practiced at a space in Humboldt Park. The space was pretty convenient and you always knew when the Chicago Puerto Rico parade is taking place. I actually had someone tag my backpack while I was waiting for the bus… while the backpack was still on my back. And I really didn’t think I was that buzzed at the time but I completely didn’t notice the handiwork.
I have moved from Logan Square to Lincoln Square and have started practicing once again with the drummer from my previous band. The most convenient space is the Music Lab. I had seen their ads forever in the Chicago Reader and had passed by the space thousands of times but never really noticed the place. It really doesn’t stand out, mainly because the first floor houses a doggie daycare. Evidently that ain’t too rock and roll.
The spaces are fairly small but that seemed to work out just fine. The sound bounced off the walls and worked out pretty well. The spaces also smelled of dog urine but overall it isn’t a bad practice space. The location, the price and the acoustics all fall in the positive column, while the doggie daycare is a minor distraction.
So in short the Music Lab is a hidden, urine scented gem.