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!

[BEST NEW MUSIC]

Witches is the new rock band from singer/songwriter Cara Beth Satalino. Satlino’s earthy vocals have always brought to mind female artists like PJ Harvey or even Chan Marshall but with Witches they are giving a setting that accentuates her pipes even more. Here Satilino’s stunning vocals and powerful songwriting collide with walls of cascading guitar rock. It is a striking combination to behold. The hyper guitars wail behind Satalino as the bass and drums keep up at a steady pace. Mining indie rock circa the mid-nineties, Witches won’t grab you with immediate hooks but they make up for it in the long run with superb songwriting that beckons you to listen closer. What starts out as something ordinary soon turns into an amazing and beautiful display. Oh, and those lyrics…

“When the final stone is cast, we’re gonna end up undefeated – all humming to the car alarm. I guess its never easy. We all are underpaid. Oh, but we love it anyway. I’m looking forward to it.”

I can not wait to hear what Witches do with a full album’s worth of material. Until then these three songs will do just fine.

Label: Salinas/Mandible

Big Rivers

www.myspace.com/witchestheband

Much thanks to my partner Will for turning his brain into mush and (apparently) sitting in front of his computer this weekend for 37 hours straight in an attempt to transform the this website into something that’s not only informative, useful and up-to-date, but that also gives us a bit more legitimacy.  It always bugged me that we didn’t have a fully functioning website, but now that dream is a reality. Cue single tear trickling down my cheek.

Anyway, we’re certainly not done updating all the band / album pages.  In fact, I have a feeling that in order to accomplish that, I’ll need to log my own 37 hours sometime soon.

That being said, we’ve decided to make Beartrappr.com more of an interactive experience.  Until now, the home page was merely an outlet for press releases.  While we’ll continue to post that stuff, the press releases have a new place to call their own right here.

From this point on, the front page will be a vehicle for us to blog it up: tidbits about upcoming projects, new young bands to feast on , general thoughts about the scene and maybe even the occasional rant about whatever happens to be pissing us off.  I can’t speak for Will, but I hate almost everyone.  That’s obviously hyperbole, but seriously…what’s wrong with you people?

More importantly, when I started Beartrap, my hopes were that it could become a community of sorts – a forum for like minded people who love great music, want to make new friends and consequently, help and share resources with those new pals.  Maybe the blog part of Beartrappr.com can be a part of that.  I’m open to suggestions and even the occasional guest blog…as long as you keep it positive and it’s focused on something DIY / independent / punk rock.

So that’s it for now.  Stay tuned for more shenanigans and hopefully an improved, continually evolving Beartrap PR.  Cheers!