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If You Make It (Babies Will Nap)

Even though Will has a more personal relationship with Dave, the creative force behind the amazing If You Make It, I wanted to take a few minutes to commend this infinitely entertaining website.  Not only has Dave filmed some great DIY / punk bands in many different settings and situations, he’s unknowingly given my son, Nate, a legitimate reason to sit back, chillax and bond with Dad…and as an added bonus, prep for some serious nap time.  As any overworked parent will tell you, that deserves infinite praise.

If anyone has firsthand experience with tiny, squirmy babies, you’ve probably tried anything and everything to encourage sleep.  When Nate was really young, it was easy – bouncing him on my knee or taking him for a ride on the porch swing seemed to do the trick.  Now that he’s officially a “toddler” and consequently very active / mobile, sometimes it requires something a bit more engaging, whether it’s chasing each other around the house to the point of exhaustion or filling the hours with whatever you can before there’s nothing more to do except nap.

Enter Nate’s growing infatuation with The Pink Couch Sessions.  I mean, it’s not like he asks for it by name (he is only one, after all), but the simple, charming concept captivates his attention like nothing else.

In one of  those “anything and everything” moments of desperation that just so happened to intersect with an email from Look Mexico, I discovered something that both Nate and I could enjoy together – bands on a pink couch playing heartfelt, inspiring, punk-influenced music to no one in particular.  While I’m not sure if it really amounts to anything,  I think that as parents, we’re always looking for those special connections with our children.  Nate may grow up to harbor completely different hobbies and interest than his Dad, but right now it’s really awesome to hold him in my lap for 20 minutes and share some charismatic, unplugged performances from some extremely talented DIY bands.

Our current playlist of videos include Pink Couch Sessions from the likes of the previously mentioned Look Mexico (Nate’s favorite), Madeline, Cheap Girls, Attica! Attica!, P.S. Eliot, Lemuria and Defiance, Ohio.  Other bands not in Nate’s rotation but that also deserve noting include Annabel, Bridge And Tunnel, Tin Armor, Good Luck, Paper The Operator and Mountain Asleep.

It’s truly a testament to both Dave and the bands that something so basic and simple – plopping a stationary camera in front of a couch for an acoustic song – could work so well, but it totally does. Chalk it up to talent, enthusiasm, a carefree vibe and an underlying sense of community that If You Make It fosters.

I highly suggest that you explore the site.  It’s not just for babies (although my baby can’t get enough) and it boasts much much more than The Pink Couch Sessions.  There are tons of  live videos from bands such as Slingshot Dakota, Street Smart Cyclist, Iron Chic, Get Bent, The State Lottery, The Ergs, Algernon Cadwallader and many more, not to mention a section titled Albums where you can download some great underground records for free.

There are plenty of music-based websites that are haphazardly thrown together and rarely updated, so it’s nice to discover one that has obviously been assembled with love and care, and perhaps more importantly, focuses on some amazing DIY bands.  Get over there NOW!