Couch Guitar Straps
Encyclopedia
Couch Guitar Straps is a vertically integrated design, manufacture, and web store located in Signal Hill, California
. The company was founded by owner Daniel Perkins in his Long Beach apartment and later garage in the late 1990s and early 2000s. At the time, he couldn't otherwise find a guitar strap in music stores or online that he liked for his Fender Telecaster
guitar. Couch primarily makes vegan guitar straps, belts, and wallets out of automotive and upholstery vinyls, including some vintage found or "deadstock" fabrics. Couch brands itself as company that manufactures its products in the United States, and was featured in December 2008 print issue of Entrepreneur Magazine and US News And World Report where Perkins says "vision design and ingenuity can't be exported, these are the things that Americans specialize in".
Couch primarily sells its products through its web store couchguitarstraps.com, and also sells wholesale to over 100 retail stores worldwide. The Couch factory ships orders daily from Los Angeles County to the United States and world including shipments to customers in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, and over 30 countries world wide. Couch was featured in June 2010 "Go Global" issue of Success Magazine
about the international component to their business.
free" company, a term originally credited to US clothing manufacturer American Apparel
. Couch helps to offset their higher US production costs by subletting their facility for band rehearsal in the evenings.
(National Association of Music Merchants) and won one of 4 Best In Show Designations from a field of over 1500 exhibitors at the 2009 NAMM tradeshow in Anaheim, California. Couch was also covered by Wired.com
for the "Best New Gear" at the 2010 NAMM show.
of Wilco
appears in a photograph of the May 2010 Issue of Premier Guitar Magazine wearing a Couch Guitar Strap on his 1959 Fender Jazzmaster
, and mentions “I’ve had neck and shoulder problems, and the Couch strap is vinyl so it seems to be a little more comfy." Other artists who have purchased or worn Couch Guitar Straps include Tommy Kessler
of Blondie
who uses the Dark Red Skullphone guitar strap on tour. Beck
, Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio
, touring members of Keith Urban's band, Mastodon
, Man or Astroman?, Scott Crouse of Earth Crisis
, Eric Wilson of Sublime
, Tegan & Sara, Nicki Monninger of Silversun Pickups
, John Cale of Velvet Underground, Mike Gordon of Phish
, Kathy Valentine of The Go-Go's
, Lou Barlow
of Sebadoh and Dinosaur Jr., Rick Jeschke Deliz of Ha*Ash, Nick Valensi of The Strokes
, Jon Brion
, Matt Costa
, Supernova
, T.S.O.L.
and Perkins' band The New Fidelity
. Singer and bass player Tyson Ritter of platinum selling All American Rejects appears on Season 2 Episode 3 of Fox Television's House MD
as a fictitious rock star wearing his guitar with a Couch Strap in a photo shoot. Hugh Laurie, the actor who plays "House", was given a Couch Strap as for his 51st birthday present in June 2010 by Vince Duque, an Assistant Producer on the show. Couch provided all white straps to match similar all white Vox Amplifiers and Gibson Guitars for the guitar players in the Green Light video by R&B Artist Beyoncee.
, Man or Astroman?, street and gallery artist Skullphone, i am 8-bit, and Social Studies Designs.
organizations like PETA
, donating products for giveaways and is listed on the PETA's "Shopping Guide To Compassionate Clothing" at Peta.org. Couch is a member, contributor, or donor to PETA
(People For Ethical Treatment of Animals), Farm Sanctuary
, and ARME (Animal Rights Media Education), as well as the Surfrider Foundation and Schools of Rock Nationwide.
Signal Hill, California
Signal Hill is a small city in California located in the Greater Los Angeles area. Signal Hill, completely surrounded by the city of Long Beach, was incorporated on April 22, 1924, roughly three years after oil was discovered in Signal Hill. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
. The company was founded by owner Daniel Perkins in his Long Beach apartment and later garage in the late 1990s and early 2000s. At the time, he couldn't otherwise find a guitar strap in music stores or online that he liked for his Fender Telecaster
Fender Telecaster
The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender.Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music...
guitar. Couch primarily makes vegan guitar straps, belts, and wallets out of automotive and upholstery vinyls, including some vintage found or "deadstock" fabrics. Couch brands itself as company that manufactures its products in the United States, and was featured in December 2008 print issue of Entrepreneur Magazine and US News And World Report where Perkins says "vision design and ingenuity can't be exported, these are the things that Americans specialize in".
Couch primarily sells its products through its web store couchguitarstraps.com, and also sells wholesale to over 100 retail stores worldwide. The Couch factory ships orders daily from Los Angeles County to the United States and world including shipments to customers in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, and over 30 countries world wide. Couch was featured in June 2010 "Go Global" issue of Success Magazine
SUCCESS (magazine)
SUCCESS is a business magazine in the United States published by SUCCESS Media, a company owned by VideoPlus L.P. According to the company the magazine is "designed specifically to serve the growing entrepreneur," and the magazine's primary focus is in providing information and content in the areas...
about the international component to their business.
Production
Couch bases its production at its 1000 square feet (92.9 m²) facility in Signal Hill, California with 4 employees who work to design, manufacture, and ship their products. Additional production is done by subcontractors in downtown Los Angeles, and the surrounding areas of East LA and Vernon. Couch identifies its in-house manufacturing employees as being guitar players and designers, and identifies itself in its newsletters, packing materials and many product descriptions as a "sweatshopSweatshop
Sweatshop is a negatively connoted term for any working environment considered to be unacceptably difficult or dangerous. Sweatshop workers often work long hours for very low pay, regardless of laws mandating overtime pay or a minimum wage. Child labour laws may be violated. Sweatshops may have...
free" company, a term originally credited to US clothing manufacturer American Apparel
American Apparel
American Apparel is a clothing manufacturer in the United States. It is a vertically integrated clothing manufacturer, wholesaler, and retailer that also performs its own design, advertising, and marketing...
. Couch helps to offset their higher US production costs by subletting their facility for band rehearsal in the evenings.
NAMM
Couch is an exhibiting member of The NAMM ShowNAMM Show
The NAMM Show is one of the largest music product trade shows in the world, founded in 1901. It is held every January in Anaheim, California, USA, at the Anaheim Convention Center...
(National Association of Music Merchants) and won one of 4 Best In Show Designations from a field of over 1500 exhibitors at the 2009 NAMM tradeshow in Anaheim, California. Couch was also covered by Wired.com
Wired News
Wired News is an online technology news website, formerly known as HotWired, that split off from Wired magazine when the magazine was purchased by Condé Nast Publishing in the 1990s. Wired News was owned by Lycos not long after the split, until Condé Nast purchased Wired News on July 11, 2006...
for the "Best New Gear" at the 2010 NAMM show.
Artists Associated With Couch Guitar Straps
Nels ClineNels Cline
Nels Cline is an American guitarist and composer, currently the lead guitarist of alternative rock band Wilco. David Carr of the New York Times describes Cline as "one of the best guitarists in any genre."-Career:...
of Wilco
Wilco
Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John...
appears in a photograph of the May 2010 Issue of Premier Guitar Magazine wearing a Couch Guitar Strap on his 1959 Fender Jazzmaster
Fender Jazzmaster
The Fender Jazzmaster is an electric guitar designed as an upmarket sibling to the Fender Stratocaster. First introduced at the 1958 NAMM Show, it was initially marketed at jazz guitarists, but found favor among surf rock guitarists in the early 1960s...
, and mentions “I’ve had neck and shoulder problems, and the Couch strap is vinyl so it seems to be a little more comfy." Other artists who have purchased or worn Couch Guitar Straps include Tommy Kessler
Tommy Kessler
Tommy Kessler is American guitar player currently in the new wave/rock band, Blondie. He joined the band in April 2010, replacing guitarist Paul Carbonara who had left Blondie to pursue other projects. When not touring with Blondie, he performs as a guitarist in the fictional 1980's Rock Band...
of Blondie
Blondie (band)
Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
who uses the Dark Red Skullphone guitar strap on tour. Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
, Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio is an American punk rock band that formed in McHenry, Illinois, in 1996. The band's line-up consists of Matt Skiba , Dan Andriano , and Derek Grant...
, touring members of Keith Urban's band, Mastodon
Mastodon (band)
Mastodon is an American heavy metal band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1999. The band is composed of bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders, guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds, guitarist Bill Kelliher and drummer/vocalist Brann Dailor...
, Man or Astroman?, Scott Crouse of Earth Crisis
Earth Crisis
Earth Crisis is an American metalcore band from Syracuse, New York, active from 1989 until 2001, reuniting in 2007. Their most recent record, To the Death, was released in May 2009 through Century Media....
, Eric Wilson of Sublime
Sublime (band)
Sublime was an American ska punk band from Long Beach, California, formed in 1988. The band's line-up, unchanged until their breakup, consisted of Bradley Nowell , Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh . Michael "Miguel" Happoldt also contributed on a few Sublime songs, such as "New Thrash." Lou Dog, Nowell's...
, Tegan & Sara, Nicki Monninger of Silversun Pickups
Silversun Pickups
Silversun Pickups is an alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2002. The band comprises Brian Aubert, Nikki Monninger, Christopher Guanlao, and Joe Lester....
, John Cale of Velvet Underground, Mike Gordon of Phish
Phish
Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...
, Kathy Valentine of The Go-Go's
The Go-Go's
The Go-Go’s are an all-female American rock band formed in 1978. They made history as the first all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts....
, Lou Barlow
Lou Barlow
Louis Knox Barlow is an American alternative rock musician and songwriter. A founding member of the groups Deep Wound, Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh and The Folk Implosion. Barlow is credited with helping to pioneer the lo-fi style of rock music in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
of Sebadoh and Dinosaur Jr., Rick Jeschke Deliz of Ha*Ash, Nick Valensi of The Strokes
The Strokes
The Strokes are an American indie rock band formed in 1999 in New York City. Consisting of Julian Casablancas , Nick Valensi , Albert Hammond, Jr. , Nikolai Fraiture and Fabrizio Moretti ....
, Jon Brion
Jon Brion
Jon Brion is an American rock and pop multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, composer and record producer.-Early life:...
, Matt Costa
Matt Costa
Matthew Albert Costa is a singer-songwriter from Huntington Beach, California.He has five independent releases: two self-recorded EPs, and three full-length CDs released via Brushfire Records.-Life:...
, Supernova
Supernova (band)
Supernova is an American pop punk band formed in Costa Mesa, California in 1989. The band has released three full-length albums, numerous singles and EPs and were part of the original 1995 Vans Warped Tour line-up...
, T.S.O.L.
TSOL
TSOL is an American punk rock band which formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California. TSOL is short for True Sounds of Liberty although they are rarely referred to by their full name....
and Perkins' band The New Fidelity
The New Fidelity
The New Fidelity is an American mod/power-pop band founded in Long Beach, CA in 2005. The New Fidelity are heavily influenced by 1960s pop and rock, and most of their music is steeped in two-, three-, and four-part harmony...
. Singer and bass player Tyson Ritter of platinum selling All American Rejects appears on Season 2 Episode 3 of Fox Television's House MD
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
as a fictitious rock star wearing his guitar with a Couch Strap in a photo shoot. Hugh Laurie, the actor who plays "House", was given a Couch Strap as for his 51st birthday present in June 2010 by Vince Duque, an Assistant Producer on the show. Couch provided all white straps to match similar all white Vox Amplifiers and Gibson Guitars for the guitar players in the Green Light video by R&B Artist Beyoncee.
Collaborations
Couch has produced design collaborations with Fox RacingFox Racing
Fox Head, Inc. is privately owned action sports brand founded in 1974. Fox designs, develops and distributes clothing and accessories to over fifty countries primarily focusing on off-road motorized biking.- History :...
, Man or Astroman?, street and gallery artist Skullphone, i am 8-bit, and Social Studies Designs.
Philanthropy
Couch uses vegan, animal-products-free construction materials, and has associated itself with animal rightsAnimal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
organizations like PETA
Peta
Peta can refer to:* peta-, an SI prefix denoting a factor of 1015* Peta, Greece, a town in Greece* Peta, the Pāli word for a Preta, or hungry ghost in Buddhism* Peta Wilson, an Australian actress and model* Peta Todd, English glamour model...
, donating products for giveaways and is listed on the PETA's "Shopping Guide To Compassionate Clothing" at Peta.org. Couch is a member, contributor, or donor to PETA
Peta
Peta can refer to:* peta-, an SI prefix denoting a factor of 1015* Peta, Greece, a town in Greece* Peta, the Pāli word for a Preta, or hungry ghost in Buddhism* Peta Wilson, an Australian actress and model* Peta Todd, English glamour model...
(People For Ethical Treatment of Animals), Farm Sanctuary
Farm Sanctuary
Farm Sanctuary is an American animal protection organization, founded in 1986 as an advocate for farm animals. It promotes laws and policies that support animal welfare, animal protection and vegetarianism/veganism through rescue, education and advocacy...
, and ARME (Animal Rights Media Education), as well as the Surfrider Foundation and Schools of Rock Nationwide.
External links
- Couch Guitar Straps official website
- Facebook/ Couch Guitar Straps Facebook Fan Page