Urbina is way more of a mover and shaker, a go-getter who turned his passion for music into a popular online show, Pink Sofa Hour. Two years ago, he began welcoming local musicians into his home to chat about themselves and their art, from indie acts to solo singer-songwriters. The namesake is a reference to the cherry blossom-colored couch where the musicians perform during each livestream.
Now, after building up a healthy following via his YouTube channel and social media, Pink Sofa Hour and the cushioned stage are moving from Urbina’s cozy confines into a more official space in the brand-new Couched Studios spot in Broomfield.
With a soft launch set for Sunday, December 1, the 1,400-square-foot studio will serve as a permanent home base and a legit production center for Pink Sofa Hour, complete with a team of talent that will handle everything from lighting to editing. Up until now, it’s been all Urbina, so he’s looking forward to concentrating his efforts on hosting the entertaining, informative deep dives.
“For me, I think, the other major component is the planning that goes into having people come to the studio. Beforehand, it was really just my apartment. I did all the audio engineering and video and camera work myself at that time,” he says. “But the way it’s going to work at the new space is that we’ll actually have a full production team, which will allow me to focus on the role of doing the interviews, whereas before I was also audio-engineering and all kinds of stuff.”
Of course, that will come once all the work that goes into opening the brick-and-mortar Couched Studios is finished. The final touches are nearly complete when Westword catches up with Urbina, who explains that the official opening had to be pushed back a month because of a pesky burst pipe, but he’s rolling with the punches while remaining locked in on what still needs to be done. “I think we’re going to have our hands full with installation this month,” he admits.
Urbina estimates that the renovation, including filling the fresh space with state-of-the-art equipment, has reached around $1 million at this point. That’s a lot of dough to put into an endeavor that started as a passion project. For Urbina, however, it’s not necessarily about the return on investment.
“It was on my mind for a long time. In fact, I would say, it’s always been a dream of mine to start a studio,” he says. “With that kind of venture, context is really important. When I started Pink Sofa Hour and I saw the reception from the community and that people really appreciated what I was trying to do, I thought that perhaps eventually it would become a reality.
“One of my mental prerequisites for it was to reach a certain level, what I would call community presence,” adds Urbina, who moved west from his hometown of Miami five years ago to work in tech. “Since I started Pink Sofa Hour, I’ve worked with a lot of different artists, and now a lot of different venues, as well.”
Couched Studios will look much different when it officially opens its doors on December 1.
Courtesy Pedro Urbina
“We have a lot of people excited about the idea and where we’re going with it. To me, it felt like a good time to do it,” Urbina says. “I always wanted to provide people with a higher level of production quality for all of the interview stuff.”
Plus, it’ll be a place where people — musicians and fans alike — will want to hang. “Suffice it to say, it’s a pretty cool-looking space. It’s going to have a lot of funky art. We’re going to do a big mural in there. We’ve got a pretty sophisticated LED array for controlling backlighting for artists,” he notes. “The space is pretty big. It’s probably big enough to host forty to fifty people for a live audience.”
He’s envisioning intimate, Tiny Desk-like get-togethers. “That’s something I’m excited about as well: the opportunity to host little house concerts,” Urbina says. “I think that’s been increasing in popularity lately. I think artists really appreciate them, because it’s a very different atmosphere from a bar. People are there to actively listen and not necessarily hyper-socialize and get drunk.”
There’s even going to be a pink-tiled bathroom, naturally. Along with the ambience, Couched Studios is going to offer recording and editing services for an hourly fee, as well as equipment rentals for a day rate (a deposit will be required). While the schedule is still being ironed out, there’s also going to be a curriculum of drop-in and regularly scheduled classes (prices will vary per class).
“As a modern studio, we have a lot of options for recording, including video, in addition to all the audio recording services that we’ll offer, which we put a lot of thought into,” Urbina explains. “We are going to be testing the waters with a couple different pilot programs around the workshops and different community events. Maybe hosting a listening music club. The space is really acoustically well designed. It sounds incredible in there.”
He’s also thinking of a monthly residency setup for interested local artists that would include complimentary marketing and management services. As a musician himself, Urbina knows those two aspects can sometimes be a burden for aspiring creators.
“Typically, the most annoying parts around doing music nowadays are all the social media and graphics and logos and stuff of that nature,” he says. “Based on the size of our team and all the different bases that we cover, we basically can do a lot of A&R, label-style help and management in-house.
“There are a lot of cool opportunities for local musicians to partner with us. This is sort of like a no-strings-attached type of deal,” Urbina continues. “We’re not looking to establish ownership over IP or anything like that. It’s fundamentally a free service that we would offer once a month.”
Details on how to get into that rotation will be available after next month’s grand opening.
Earlier this year, Urbina established Couched Media LLC, the for-profit counterpart of the nonprofit Pink Sofa Production Syndicate (PSPS). Through Couched Studios, every dollar from the paid bookings and services will be reinvested into PSPS to support artists who may not be able to afford such resources on their own, benefiting a wider range of creatives, no matter where they may be in their musical journeys.
In February, Urbina and Couched Studios will be part Amazon Prime's The Block, a reality-meets-renovation series during which Urbina hopes to connect with fellow entrepreneurs.
He's a busy man, but he admits he wouldn’t have it any other way, even if he’s putting the boiling-frog theory to the test during these times of “intense pressure,” he says.
“I’m learning all kinds of things about how to stay productive and sane and consistent with the amount of pressure I’m under at a constant level,” he explains. “My weakness is probably performing well under pressure for very long periods of time. That is where I’m learning my lessons recently.”
But as the finish line approaches, Urbina is readying for the kick.
“I feel like it’s been two to three months of straight pressure at this point. This has shown me where I need to improve so that I can keep my level of productivity high,” he concludes. “When you've got a project like this — it’s something that I’ve put a lot of heart and myself into, and it feels very different than engaging in a tech office job where I get to leave my work at the door for the most part.”
For more information about Couched Studios, visit the Pink Sofa Hour website.
