For almost as long as Internet Video has been available (I see you RealPlayer), there have been in-studio performances filmed and broadcast. Over time, these kinds of sessions have become easier and easier to create. The cost of great looking cameras has dropped exponentially, editing software doesn’t require a ten week course to understand and, of course, YouTube has essentially removed the barrier to entry for distribution.
With that in mind, it’s still incredibly difficult to get a great sounding recordings, not to mention a performance from the band that is actually compelling to watch. We rounded up a few recent sessions that we’ve run across that are doing a great job across the board and are likely deserving of your Like and Subscribe.
There’s a delightfully surprising amount of these so expect an update on more sessions in the future.
Q Sessions
Embedded above is “The Atmos” performance from Sad Baxter and above that is a supercut of various performances from the Q Sessions. Recorded by Mike Purcell under the Monkey Riot Recordings name, these cuts all stem from Berry Hill’s County Q Studio. Since they’re a professional studio, the performances sound great (and work as a calling card for the studio).
We briefly mentioned the Anchor Thieves performance in another post but there’s performances from The By Gods, Hurts to Laugh, Bill Eberele, Tom Pappas Collection, the aforementioned Sad Baxter and some other regional acts. By the time you read this, there may even be a Hari session in place.
Found Sounds
Admittedly, there’s only one session available from Found Sounds thus far so it might be best to withhold judgement but this 20-minute piece with Commander Keen in the Cookeville Wherehouse Skateshop is a stellar first entry. It looks great, sounds great and the band delivers multiple songs worth keeping your attention. Don’t miss the Nirvana cover they pull out at the end.
Lightning 100
Ahh, Lightning 100! While the DIY / underground side of Nashville certainly seems to prefer the varietal offerings of WXNA, you gotta give it to Lightning 100 for having a deep archive of local music. From their YouTube page you’ll see hundreds of sessions captured in-studio, at venues around town or at bigger events like Bonnaroo from both local artists and national acts. It’s extremely commendable that you can see a video from repeat repeat listed right next to one from Phoenix.
The list of videos goes back some 12 years, so it’s a lot to shift through. We put together this playlist that cherry picks some of those performances from local artists. It’s not exhaustive by any means but you can punch through and see performances from Daniel Pujol, Jessi Baylin (with Courtney Jaye), The Features, Richie, All Them Witches, Andrew Combs and Erin Rae, Self, Steelism and… well, the list is long.
As mentioned, this list of in-studio series is not everything – not by a long shot. There are 615 Sessions, 615 Bus Sessions, the now defunct Balcony TV or Lake Fever Sessions and tons more that I’m not even, yet, aware of. Regardless, there’s lots to unearth and hopefully the above will serve as a decent starting point until our next installment.