Strong Side Studios, Franklin Square

The sound engineers at Strong Side Studios usher singers, dancers, and musicians of all ages into the spotlight at their professional recording studio. They foster a relaxed recording environment, welcoming groups and solo artists in their soundproof booths to lay down R&B, hip-hop, pop, rock, and country tracks. And they'll even help folks with no recording experience create a Christmas album or record a steamy Valentine's Day song to present to their loved one. Kids get into the mix at birthday parties, during which each party-goer gets to records the song of their choice. To conclude the festivities, they unite the group to harmonize for a recording of Happy Birthday, which all the attendants take home on a CD to play for their parents or to sell boot-leg copies of on the playground.

They also welcome folks to use their space to get fit, as they offer fitness classes including boot-camp and Zumba, whose high-energy dance moves might prep a budding music-video star.