Pink Couch Sessions showcases musical artists playing mostly acoustic instruments. The artists are filmed while playing on a pink couch and the videos are uploaded to online video streaming services. The Sessions mostly feature bands from the genres of DIY - punk and folk punk. The studio where the Sessions are filmed is in Brooklyn, NY. Dave Garwacke hosts the website that features the videos, he records the videos, and he manages the artists' appearances. Garwacke is a drummer, programmer, and pioneer of documentary in the punk scene. Pink Couch Sessions are hosted by If You Make It, a website which also features tour documentaries, comic strips, podcasts, and album downloads all featuring bands from the same community as those on Pink Couch Sessions.
Contents
Inspiration
The idea for Pink Couch Sessions came from Dave Garwacke wanting to document the music that his friends and the members of his community were making. While living in New Paltz, NY, Garwacke lived in a house that hosted local bands. When moving to Brooklyn, NY, Garwacke felt dismayed that, aside from a few tapes, there was no record of the community of musicians that had lived and played in the house in New Paltz. To fix this perceived problem, Garwacke set up a studio in his apartment in Brooklyn and began recording artists as they toured in the tri-state area. Garwacke hoped that Pink Couch Sessions could stand as a record of the music that was being played in the tri-state area and that if high-quality and visually interesting recordings of artists could be produced then more people might become aware of their music.
Sound Quality
Originally, a Panasonic GS-320 camera was used to record the artists. There was no external mic or manual gain control but the natural acoustics of the room led to a high quality sound. Currently, a Canon HF100 is used for recording the artists. An AT-822 stereo condenser mic is used to capture sound and the videos are recorded in HD.
Selected List of Artists
With over one million Youtube and Vimeo views for the Pick Couch Sessions and over 100 videos produced, the Pink Couch Sessions have gained a notoriety in the DIY punk and folk punk scenes. The following is a selected list of artists that have played a Pink Couch Session: