Voted Favorite Show of 2011 - Jon Bryant & Jodi Pederson

by Michael Donley


Thanks to everyone who voted for their favorite Streaming Cafe show of 2011!
We are happy to announce that the top voted show was Jon Bryant and Jodi Pederson. The performance was originally broadcast live online on January 22 and really was an amazing show for what was for both their second appearance at the Streaming Cafe. It was East meets West with Halifax native Jon Bryant together with Vernon's own Jodi Pederson. The cafe was packed with eager listeners  and we were lucky enough with to partner with Jon and Jodi to release a couple live tracks from the show for download in our store (listen below).

We will be rebroadcasting the entire performance all day New Years day and Eve and will announce the winner of the $50 iTunes card early next week.

Thanks to everyone for helping to make 2011 a great year of live independent music at the cafe!

"BENCHED" | A Photographic Exhibition

by Michael Donley
We are very happy to be displaying some amazing photos on our cafe walls by John van der Woude. John is launching his photographic exhibition with an opening reception on January 6th with live music from DJ Rich Taylor. The photos will be showcased for the next month at Streaming Cafe so be sure to come down and take them in.
For more info go to the FACEBOOK event. https://www.facebook.com/events/126256077489292/
Here's a little video invite to the opening reception of "Benched" at the Streaming Cafe on Friday, January 6th from 6pm - 9pm. Hope to see you there!



More About John van der Woude
WEBSITE - http://www.johnvanderwoude.com/
I'm an award-winning artist, initially studying art and design at Camosun College in Victoria, BC and later received my BFA from NSCAD University in Halifax, NS in 2007. I work predominantly in photography and have shown my work across the country and am included in numerous private collections.

I choose photography as the medium for most of my artwork because I've always found photographs interesting in how they challenge how people see themselves and the world around them. A photograph is, but its nature, a visual capture of a moment in real life, but it is nothing more than a snippet, without context and meaning (save the meaning that the viewer imposes on the photograph). All art reflects the viewer, but photography amplifies this by allowing the viewer to know that there is a semblance of truth in every photograph, but allows the viewer to give a false context to the entire scene.

Specifically with this series of photographs, they are, on the surface, simply documentations of the benches in various subway stations, specifically those within the city of Montreal. While there is no human presence being shown, there is still evidence that these benches are used on a regular basis, be it through graffiti, the oil stains from people’s hair or by the general uncleanliness of the surroundings.

But subways are an important part of today’s urban social landscape. When used in urban development, subways ensure a more vibrant, accessible and convenient city for its population and the benches within the stations symbolize a continuous flow of transit-users, where thousands of people from a vast array of different demographics will sit every day. From a societal aspect, it is one of the few places where this takes place, creating a congregation of different income levels, ethnicities, religious beliefs and ages silently interacting every day.

On an aesthetic level, Montreal, with the varied architectural designs for each subway station, creates an interesting juxtaposition between modern design influences from various eras, from the 1960s to the 1990s. And the designs are reflective of the time that they were built, using aesthetics common with the era, to create a design time-capsule that funnels tens of thousands of commuters through its concrete walls on a daily basis. The stations would never look the same if they were built in today's era of cost-effectiveness and functionality. That’s not meant to detract from the design, but rather to suggest that it’s a snapshot of a different design aesthetic where function took more of a backseat to showmanship.

Greg Sczebel Christmas Show Video Highlights

by Michael Donley
This last Saturday, Dec 17th we had an amazing festive night of music with Greg Sczebel and friends. The show was not only streamed live on our site and at Castanet where Greg took live questions, but it was also broadcast live on the airwaves at Kelowna's The Q103.1  Greg performed two sold out shows and on a scale of Christmas, i'd have to say there were both equally festive!

Stream Team visits Oughtred Coffee & Tea

by Joel Thiessen

Beans, Beans the magical seed

the more you sip the more you see

the more you see the more's reveal

that all coffee is not equal.

 - Joel Thiessen

Jason, Brad and Michelle in the coffee lab.

Recently a few of us on The Stream Team were given an opportunity to visit the coffee roaster who supplies beans to the Cafe.  Oughtred Coffee & Tea make a large claim in saying that they "Specialize in hand picked, certified organic, shade grown, certified responsible, premium estate, small batch roasted coffees." That is quite a mouthful - if that statement were coffee I would've definitely burned a hole through the roof of my mouth. Needless to say, we took them up on their offer for a chance to see what goes on behind the beans.

Right off the bat, as soon as we step out of the car, air in the parking lot wafted with the saliva inducing smell of fresh roasted coffee - we've come to the right place. Right away we are greeted by Micheal Oughtred (son of proprietor John Oughtred) who hands us each a hair net and proceeds to guide us through the office side of the building. To get to where the actual roasting happens we have to move past a small board room which Michael says is for training their customers. He went on to say that getting top quality coffee beans to their customers is only half of what is required for a good cup of coffee, Oughtred is not only dedicated to getting the coffee to you, but also educating you on how to fully utilize and get the most out of every bean.

Next is a coffee lab that is stocked with every brew method imaginable. This is where new bean blends and roasts are tested on different brewing devices (as different methods will extract a variety of flavours and aromas from a single roast) as well, this is where Oughtred will set up a brew station that resembles that of a client's in order to try out and fine tune bean selection and quantities before heading out the the physical location and setting that brew system up.

Freshly imported green coffee beans.

Michael Oughtred shows us their cool roasters!

Once in the roasting facility the truth about Oughtred's small batch boutique roasting becomes very apparent. With no more than 5 workers in the warehouse, every task at hand is done so with precision, pride and efficiency. Green coffee beans are received through the bay doors at the far end of the facility. The beans are separated into origin and species and are stored until their turn to roast. When their time comes the beans are gathered up and once more, scanned for any imperfections before being put in the roaster in 60 lb batches. Oughtred doesn't use the conventional rotating drum-style roaster and instead employs and innovative air convection style roaster called 'Air Bed Roasting' which roasts the beans faster, more accurately and much efficiently. A feature that I thought was very cool was the fact that these roasters actually remove the chaff from the outside of the beans that would traditionally be burnt during the roast, the smoke from the burning chaff would then be absorbed into the bean which really mixes up the aroma and flavour of the roast. But there's no smoke here!

Coffee Beans mere seconds after coming out
of the roaster.

Next the roasted beans are removed from the roaster and cooled as quickly as possible to prevent the beans from continuing to roast themselves with stored up heat, finally the beans are hand measured, packaged and sealed.

And thus the tour is concluded!

Oughtred prides itself on making the largest little impact on the environment as possible. Just a few of their initiatives include being carbon neutral in their shipping and receiving of beans, using afterburners to remove any and ALL pollution from their roasters, utilizing the excess heat from the roasters to heat their entire facility including reception, meeting room, coffee lab and bagging room. They also recycle a whopping 95% of all waste leaving the facility!

Before we left Michael gave us a little demonstration of a very cool coffee brew technique called a Hario Pour Over. This is a one or two cup technique that is very delicate and allows the coffee beans to express their full range of flavours that are often hidden when brewed using a Drip or French Press. But that will be a How-To write up for another day!

"Hario"

For more information about origins of beans, coffee techniques or ordering information visit Oughtred Coffee & Tea online at www.Oughtred.com.

Christmas Market & Art Show

Over the past couple of years we've been able to host some incredible arts & craft shows with some top notch artists (to drop a few names, people like Sparky Jones, Suzanne Kruse, Rena Warren, Shauna Oddleifson, Carrie Harper, Nikki Balfour). Now, we've been helping put together a huge Christmas Market, Art Show, & Concert this weekend (Dec. 10 - 11) together with Bo.ttega & TribeHouse where some of these same artists (& others) will be strutting their stuff up at a brand new venue called Bo.ttega. It's a family-friendly thing so if you're around, pop on up to scope out this open house (& the latest word is that there may even be pony rides on Sunday).

Bo.ttega Farm Inn in the heart of South East Kelowna is hosting their first Christmas Open House featuring some of the Okanagan’s Finest Artists, Crafters & Musicians all within Kelowna’s newest venue. Bring your family to enjoy the spirit of the season browsing through the market and experiencing local artisans, crafts, baking and music.

Saturday December 10th and Sunday 11th from 11am – 5pm with a Christmas concert on the 10th at 7.30pm

This two day open house will connect you with outstanding local Etsy crafters in our community, such as Sparky Jones, Suzanne Kruse, Rena Warren, Shauna Oddleifson and many more. Artwork from local artists will be on display for sale including John Revill, Alex Fong, Dave Watland, Nikki Balfour, Carrie Harper, and Steve Huculiak.

Christmas Carols will be echoing through the halls courtesy of local musicians, and you will find savoury European baking, Glog wine (Glühwein), artisan coffee and stollen bread to warm you up while you explore Bo.ttega.

Admission is $2, with all proceeds going to the Kelowna Foodbank, children are free.

Special Evening Event: Christmas Concert, Saturday December 10th – Tribe House is hosting ‘Christmas Presence’, an evening of seasonal songs and stories featuring Andrew Smith, Norm Strauss, Graham Ord, Kim McMechan and Brian Wiebe. This evening event is $10 and tickets are available at Streaming Cafe 596 Leon Avenue, from Bottega during the day on the 10th or by contacting thetribehouse@gmail.com to pre book a ticket.

For more information visit our website at http://bo.ttega.com or on our Facebook page – facebook.com/BottegaKelowna

About Bo.ttega
Bo.ttega is Kelowna’s newest venue – a modern farm inn set against the backdrop of beautiful South East Kelowna. Bottega is one of a small number of retreat venues that offer complete privacy and exclusive use of the entire facility to make your time together something of your own creation. Modern west coast architecture, short term accommodations, and multi purpose meeting and event areas are among the unique aspects of the property.

Directions:
Bo.ttega
4485 Sallows Road.
S.E. Kelowna V1W 4C2
Canada

Phone: 778 477-5771
Email: info@bo.ttega.com

Vote to win! | Top Show of 2011

by Michael Donley

As 2011 comes to a close, we look back at the 50 live streamed shows produced this year that featured close to 80 artists performing in front of our timber wall stage.

We thought this would be a great time to ask you our audience... "What was your favorite Streaming Cafe show of 2011?"
We`ve compiled the top 10 viewed shows of the year for you to vote on, but feel free to show support for your favorite artist and add them to the list. Simply head to Facebook and cast your vote and be entered to win a $50 iTunes card!
The winning show will be rebroadcast in its entirety on New Years Eve and Day.
Before you head over to vote, have a look and listen to all of our 2011 show video highlights in our Past Performances Section.

TO VOTE CLICK HERE!

Video Overview of December Shows

by Michael Donley
We end off the 2011 year in a big way by showcasing some world class talent from with in our British Columbia borders.
Dominique Fricot, The Wild Oaks, Windmills & Greg Sczebel
Our production team will be taking off the Christmas break but the cafe as always will be open for business to serve up some festive egg nog (rum!) latte`s.  We`ll be back with a new year of live music January 7th.

Merry Christmas and the best of the season from all of us here at Streaming Cafe and thanks for helping to make this an amazing year of live indie music.

December 3rd - Dominique Fricot
Dominique Fricot is a Vancouver-based solo artist with a lot to offer. Not only does Fricot charm his audiences with his captivating banter, but he also has the ability to move his audiences through song with his heartfelt lyrics and soulful melodies. Standing 6 foot 7, Fricot commands the stage with his rich baritone and his emotive fusion of rock, soul, folk and jazz.
Check out this amazing performance from Dominique.

Dominique Fricot - If Baby Could Walk (Live) from Fistful of Sound on Vimeo.

December 10th - Wild Oaks & Windmills
Wild Oaks
The Wild Oaks is the song writing combination of Jacob Verburg and Jesse Clarke (former member of Old Man`s Beard). Together they write music that displays their talent as song writers and musicians. After a few jams in the spring of 2011 the boys found the musical combination incredibly creative and fulfilling. They are very excited about their new project, so look for them in a coffee house or street corner near you.

Windmills
Based out of Kelowna, BC - Windmills is Cory Myraas.
Windmills is described as an electric indie folk-rock band, but more importantly Windmills is a one man loop-artist, meaning every song is created and based around looping melodies and percussion, as well as vocals live during live performances.


December17th - Greg Sczebel and Friends "Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time"
Greg joins us once again for what is sure to be an epic night of Christmas cheer!
Greg is a two time Juno winner and his latest holiday single "Perfect" is currently #4 on iTunes holiday charts.  Here`s the video for that song.


All these shows will be broadcast FREE live online at 7pm (PST) @ http://streamingcafe.net/, where via our live chat window you can send in your questions live to our artists!

Award Winner Hits The Airwaves at SC

by Malcolm Petch

All too often when someone is referred to as an “award-winning artist”, the award turns out to be a relatively unknown presentation from a relatively unknown organization or group. That may seem harsh, but take it from me: I’m an award-winning artist.

Greg Sczebel, on the other hand, is a genuine award-winning artist. He’s taken home nine Covenant Awards (Canadian Gospel Music Association) plus been nominated three additional times. He’s been a finalist, a semi-finalist, and a third-place winner in the well-known International Songwriting Competition (ISC). He’s been a finalist and a two-time Grand Prize winner in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, another big one. He’s won four Shai awards (formerly the Vibe awards). He won a Western Canadian Music Award for his album Here To Stay. And, at the pinnacle for Canadian musical artists, he has won two Junos, one in 2005 for his first album (Here To Stay), and the second this year for his newest album (Love and the Lack Thereof).

But it doesn’t stop there: Greg Sczebel, live and in person, has played at Streaming Café! He and we liked it so much that we had him come back. And that was so good that we invited him to do a Christmas special. That, too, was out of the park, so we prevailed upon him again to make his way to our log-pile wooden wall – and he’s going to do it!

Saturday December 17 at 7p.m. and again at 9:30p.m., Greg Sczebel and friends will be honouring us with Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time, an evening of festivemusic and entertainment.

Rumour has it that Greg will have to interrupt a tour with Paul Brandt in order to show up at the café. And if you’ve watched Canadian television at all over the holidays (or probably American TV, too), you’ll know that Paul Brandt has a well-received Christmas tour that he takes on the road each year. So for us to be able to pry Greg away from a gig like that shows how much he likes showing up at SC!

"Perfect" #4 on iTunes

Little side story: when Kelowna was host city for the Western Canadian Music awards in 2010, Greg Sczebel and band were booked to play at one of the local venues (but not at SC). As we were setting up in the café for the musical guests who were to be featured on our stage, Greg and his band trooped into SC to order sandwiches on their way over to the venue at which they were playing. Hats off to the Streaming Café baristas! They make a mean enough sandwich that even artists booked to play elsewhere will take a detour just to nab some good food – I’d say that speaks for itself.

Back to Sczebel and Christmas 2011: Greg released the first single from his new Christmas album at the start of November. Within hours of its release it had climbed to #41 on the iTunes Holiday music chart. And within days it had climbed to #4 – right behind a couple of Bieber songs and right AHEAD of another Bieber song. Here's the video for "Perfect".

And Greg played that song at his Christmas concert with us way back in 2010 – if you were with us in person or online you would have seen/heard this song far before anyone else in the country… makes you think that it’s worth coming out to the gig, doesn’t it?! Here's the video from that performance...

The Christmas event last year was such a success that we’ve decided to do two seatings, one at 7p.m (our normal start time) and a second at 9:30 p.m. Only the first show will be streamed online, so if you can’t make it in person be sure to catch the early show on the website!

Adding to the festivities, for the first time in history we are going to be simul-casting the show on radio station Q103.1, ‘live on the air’ at the same time we’re live on the web (and again, it will only be the first showing, the one at 7 p.m., that will go out over the radio waves).

I would suspect – and of course, I could be wrong – that this is the first time anywhere in the world and at any time in history that a live performance will go out simultaneously on computers via the Internet, on Blackberry devices, on iPhones, and on FM Radio. Just think, even if you’re driving in your car and cannot even safely look at your iPhone (and please don’t if you’re driving!!!), you can still catch the show in real-time on Q103.1

How cool is that?

So, now you’re faced with a choice: should you listen on the radio, on your phone, on your computer, or in-person?

No matter what you decide, December 17^th promises to be a wonderful celebration of Christmas merrymaking and jollification with genuine award-winning artist Greg Sczebel. Come join us at the café at either 7 p.m. or 9:30 p.m.: tickets are on sale now, $20 advance and $25 at the door (sorry, TICKETS ARE SOLD OUT!). Or catch the show online or on-air at 7 p.m.

We will all be Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time.

Merry Christmas

POP Okanagan videos

by Michael Donley
Last month The Downtown Kelowna Association hosted Pop Okanagan in the Kelowna city centre. The festival brought 60 bands to the downtown core and we here at Streaming Cafe hosted 8 bands in two days.
Over the last month or so we`ve managed to tackle the video footage from the October weekend and I thought i`d put it up in one post for your viewing pleasure.
On a somewhat similar note a couple of the bands that performed that weekend at the cafe are making their way back in the coming months; Portage and Main (along with Ma Petite) perform January 14th and Sidney York perform April 21st.

Live painting and live music... this Friday!

Nikki Balfour is holding an art show at the cafe featuring her latest series titled 'Drift'.  Jimmy Balfour brings a fresh addition to this show setting with music while Nikki paints. Live painting and live music... pretty cool! 
Be sure to come down and take in this unique event.
Streaming Cafe on Friday November 25th, 6-9pm

Nikki's art will be displayed at the cafe from November 25th to December 23rd, so be sure to come down and take it in. Find more about Nikki Balfour on her site @ http://nikkibalfour.com

Cafe Chalk Art Masterpieces: Part IV

by Michael Donley

Here`s the latest collection of our chalk masterpieces. You`ll notice our shiny new Steam Whistle chalk board that has heightened our artists freedom of expression or at very least has brought a consistent green beer theme to every design.

thanks to Vicky & Joel for their endless journey of artistic self-promotion!

Streaming Cafe and Castanet Streaming Mayoral Debate

Streaming Cafe is partnering with local go-to news source Castanet to bring a mayoral debate live streamed to Kelowna voters.  It’s a bit off path from our norm of streaming indie music but we believe it’s a great avenue to support the community by helping voters to make educated decisions on who to cast their ballet at.  

The debate will not be streamed on our website but you can take part and watch @ http://www.castanet.net where online and emailed questions will be taken. 

Come down in person if you are in Kelowna to the cafe and take in the evening in person.

Here’s  an article from Castanet about the evening.

by Wayne Moore 

For the first time during this election campaign, you'll have a chance to hear candidates running for mayor debate the issues live through your computer.

Photo: Castanet Staff

(l to r)Sharon Shepherd, Walter Gray, Cal Condy and Ken Chung will all take part in a Kelowna mayoral forum hosted by Castanet Thursday evening

Castanet.net will be hosting a mayoral forum Thursday night from the Streaming Cafe begining at 7 p.m., Castanet has teamed up with The Streaming Cafe to produce and broadcast the forum to give everyone a chance to see and hear the candidates.

Incumbant Sharon Shepherd along with challengers Ken Chung, Cal Condy and Walter Gray will be in attendance.

Kim Ouellette, who is also running for mayor, will not be at the forum. She is not taking part for health reasons.

Each candidate will be given an opportunity to make a brief opening statement followed by a question and answer period.

Questions will come from Castanet reporters and members of the general public.

If you have a question you would like relayed to the candidates, please forward them to news@castanet.net.

Please indicate which candidate you would like the question directed to.

During the live show you can also send in e-mails to news@castanet and tweet questions to: @CastanetNews

iTunes featuring our weekly podcast!

by Michael Donley
iTunes is featuring Streaming Cafe`s weekly podcast right now on the podcast channel. Pretty cool to see a nice big SC banner on the store!

Our free weekly podcast features performances from our live streamed shows mixed with stories and behind the music insight from the artists.

Over the last two years we have featured close to 90 artists and are proud to continue in support of independent music in Canada.
Thanks for your support in helping to make the podcast a success...keep listening/watching!

Kim McMechan & Norm Strauss - Dual Artist Album Release

by Malcolm Petch

How many local artists do you know who have recorded and released 14 albums? Yep, that’s what I thought.

But Kelowna’s Norm Strauss fits that bill. In fact, he’s part of a dual-artist album release this month along with Kim McMechan, showcasing his newest full-length recording, Twelve-Track Mind.

While Norm is definitely part of the local scene, he’s at least as strongly (if not more so) a part of the global scene, traveling regularly to Germany and other European destinations to do tours and recording. You could just as readily find Strauss in a house-concert setting as you could on a big stage during a huge festival like the annual one that happens in every year in Cologne, Germany.

Strauss’s latest disc was recorded for the most part in his home studio out in West Kelowna, with snippets and pieces being recorded at a few other studios in the region. When it was time to be mixed, however, the data was all sent over to Germany, where it was mixed and mastered in a studio just outside of Dresden. The studio itself is set in a little hamlet called Rhorsdorf in a ‘schloss’, which translates as ‘castle’, although the facility is more like an extremely large manor house or family estate. Strauss went over to oversee the album’s mixing, and then hit the road for a little tour in support of his new project.

Freshly back from that jaunt, Strauss will be marking the Canadian debut of his newest work at Streaming Café on November 19th at 7:00 p.m. C’mon out, hear the new music, and pick up a copy of this new album!

Alongside Norm that evening will be another local artist, singer/songwriter Kim McMechan, who also has a new album to unveil titled Paper Sun. McMechan’s album was produced by Canadian heavy-weight Colin Linden, who (it’s rumoured) also played on a track on Strauss’s new album.

Though she’s only ‘officially’ got one album under her name listed on her website (2006’s Little Grey House), McMechan is no stranger to the world of music and recording. Several of her early songs were popular around the world, being recorded by different artists.

Kim started her musical career on the piano (well, she says it was actually in front of the mirror as a ten-year-old with a hairbrush for a microphone) but has concentrated more on guitar in recent years because her piano was so heavy to lug around. An avid poet and photographer as well as a musical artist, McMechan has been spreading her artistic influence over an ever-widening canvas for quite some time. She is also a writer and editor, so the fact that she receives rave reviews for her ability to craft meaningful and authentic lyrics should come as no surprise.

The chance to record with Colin Linden came as a result of winning a FACTOR grant, and Kim headed into the process with eyes and ears wide open. She reports that the album is now finished, which we sincerely hope is accurate, because her show with Norm Strauss is on November 19, not all that far away!

Come join us for this McMechan / Strauss dual-artist album release event. It promises to be a great evening of music!

Here's a FREE track from Kim's new record.


Norm's new album...

Buffaloswans

by Malcolm Petch

In the tradition of the Traveling Wilburys and other super-groups (or fun-groups or project-groups), BuffaloSwans showcases a number of individual artists who decided to come together as a band.

CBC’s Jon Siddall describes them this way: “Buffaloswans make music you feel you always knew, like a beautiful old friend you keep meeting for the first time.” That’s a great quote; it gives one the sense that sitting in a Buffaloswans gig for the first time would be a truly enjoyable experience, with none of the mind-numbing sensations that can come from an evening of never-before-heard music.

Indie engineer and producer Scott Bell is the hub around which Buffaloswans have formed. As a producer, Bell had contributed in one fashion or another to projects by most of the folks who now make up the band, so when he started feeling like he wanted to get out from behind the console and make a bit of his own music, these were the people he naturally invited to be involved. That recording project from 2006 gradually morphed into a gigging band, and Buffaloswans became a fixture on the Vancouver scene. Joining Bell in the official Buffaloswans line-up these days is JamesLamb on lead guitar, Stephan Mihajlovich on percussion, Steph’s sister Jobi Mihajlovich on keys and BGVs, and James Green on bass.

Yes, some of those names are familiar to long-time SC fans. James Lamb has been with us before, both as a solo artist and as a supporting cast member for other artists. And James Green – well, the name might be known, but we want to assure you that this is not the James Green who is running for mayor of Vancouver as an indie candidate in this month’s municipal elections.

The music of the Buffaloswans is natural and straightforward. The instrumental/vocal arrangements (and use of reverb) are strongly evocative of CSNY, Roy Orbison and other artists of their era; the earlier reference to the Traveling Wilburys is not so far off the mark. As they say on their reverbnation page, the Buffaloswans sound can be found “frolicking somewhere between the dusty vintage past and the psychedelic rafters of the future”.

October marked the release of the band’s second album, The Body Electric, following their self-titled debut album (i.e. Buffaloswans) from 2007. A lot of bands don’t even exist for that long, so to have an album that took a year to record coming out four years after their first album shows that there is a good deal of stick-to-itiveness in Buffaloswans. And yes, that’s right: The Body Electric took a year to record, with the final pieces of the puzzle being trombone, fluglehorn, french horn, saxophone, bass clarinet and cello, all tracked in the first week of May at Ogre Studios this last spring. The album itself was mixed later that same month, wrapping up a year of production work, and all of those ingredients finally saw the light of day (in public, anyway) just last month.

And now they’ve taken it all on the road. Fresh on the tail-end of a romp through southeastern BC, Buffaloswans will be gracing the stage of Streaming Café on Saturday, November 5^th at 7:00 p.m. (596 Leon Ave Kelowna).  If you’ve managed to read this blurb before Saturday, then c’mon out and check them out in person! If you can’t make it down to the Café, or if you’re reading this after the fact, then tune in to the Buffaloswans on our website, either live on November 5^th, or via post-show videos on the bands SC performance page. 

Video Overview of November Shows

by Michael Donley

November is going to be a great month of indie music at the cafe.
Once again we've put together some clips and info so you can get to know the performing artists.

NOVEMBER 5th – Buffaloswans
Frolicking somewhere between the dusty vintage past and the psychedelic rafters of the future, Buffaloswans are a 5 piece beast from Vancouver, BC who play in the fields and forests of Cosmic American Music.
In this video the band the band puts down their instruments for a good old fashion sing-along.



NOVEMBER 12th – Sheree Plett
Sheree Plett returns to the Streaming Cafe for her fourth appearance with the release of her brand new album Hello Night. Her unique vocal texture and endearing songs always always remind us why we love her so much.  She is joined by husband Eisenhauer and production whiz and artist in his own right Jonathan Anderson (Jonathan Inc.).
Here's a clip from Sheree's Sept 2010 performance at the cafe.



NOVEMBER 19th – Kim McMechan & Norm Strauss
Both Kim and Norm perform at the cafe to celebrate the release of their new albums!
This past summer Kim McMechan, thanks to a FACTOR grant, recorded her new album Paper Sun with Canadian blues legend Colin Linden.
Norm Strauss releases his 15th full-length solo recording (holy crap!) Twelve Track Mind.  He returns to Kelowna fresh off a tour in Germany.




Saturday, November 26th. there will be no show. The Streaming Cafe staff and crew are taking off the night to be carefree and boisterous.

As always if you can't make it out to the cafe to watch these shows in person, they will be streamed live to our site @ 7pm (PST), where you can send in questions via our live chat.

Movember...roam proud!

by Malcolm Petch

Dine Alone Records, home to artists such as City and Colour, Hey Rosetta, Alexisonfire, Attack in Black, and SC faves Yukon Blonde and Grey Kingdom, are up to something this month.

Yep, it’s Movember, and Dine Alone Records are donating their collective faces to raise awareness of prostate cancer Canada.

The label has created a Network page where artists, other labels and fans can join in – and the consolidated efforts will add all the collections together, giving the network a huge amount that will have been raised. 

“This is a cause that Dine Alone has always felt passionate about,” says Joel Carriere of DAR and Bedlam Music Management, “and we hope to make this our most successful year ever.”

Artists who have already set up teams and joined the network include Yukon Blonde, City and Colour and The Coppertone. The Coppertone is offering some cool incentives based on donations, and, as an example of what can be done to help, The Sheepdogs (Bedlam Music Management artists) have formed their own team and will be donating $1 from each ticket sold to their November 26 show at Copps Coliseum.

Never heard of Movember? Surely you jest. “Mo” (slang for moustache) and November come together each year for Movember, a challenge to men everywhere to change their appearance (and the face of men’s health) by growing a moustache. The rules are simple: start with a clean shave on the first of the month, and then grow a moustache for the entire month. Guys taking part in this commit to growing a moustache for 30 days. (I can’t find any info on what guys who already have facial hair should do, nor what ladies who want to participate should do…). The moustache becomes the ribbon for men’s health, the means by which awareness and funds are created for prostate cancer.

Dine Alone is also planning to run auctions throughout the month of Movember for items including test pressings of City and Colour albums previously unavailable to the public (limit of 10 copies), an Alexisonfire Old Crows / Young Cardinals printer spread, a signed Matt Good canvas, a signed book from Nikki Sixx, and a Universal Music bundle that has, among other things, box sets from Nirvana, Sound garden, and Airborn Toxic Event.

“We are asking for people to s upport our efforts by making whatever donation they can in support of Prostate Cancer Canada,” says Carriere.

If you want to participate, or learn more about the auctions when they open up, you can join the Dine Alone Network at http://bit.ly/danetwork and/or you can join the Dine Alone team directly at http://bit.ly/damovember

If you think you’ll look funny with a stache, worry not: you can still catch all the live shows at SC this month from the comfort of your own livingroom without ever having to go out in public – check us out at streamingcafe.net

Happy Movember

Del Barber wins WCMA awards!

Del with CBC Radio's Margaret Gallagher (Anna Kalfa)

by Michael Donley
A big congratulations goes out to Winnipeg's Del Barber, who recently took home two 2011 Western Canadian Music Awards for Roots Solo Recording and Independent Album of the Year. 


Since Del's performance at the cafe in October during the 2010 Breakout West Festival, he has been touring non stop and I even by chance heard him on CBC's Q with Jian Ghomeshi in early April. His BOWF performance at Streaming Cafe was not only videoed and recorded in our regular fashion, but CBC came out and recorded the show that they posted as part of their Concerts on Demand series on their site (listen here).
It was a great performance as CBC stated - "The Streaming Café is the perfect place to here him play - on a small stage against a wall made of stacked rounds of dried cherry wood. It was a warm and engaging venue for a singer who plays from the heart."


Here's a clip we put together from his performance at Streaming Cafe.

Cafe Art Display: Cherie Hanson

We are very happy to be displaying some amazing works on our cafe walls by the talented Cherie Hanson. Her art will be showcased for the next month, so come down and take them in. Visit Cherie's website for more information on her art.

Cherie Hanson's Bio
Cherie Hanson taught English and Acting for over twenty years. After retirement, she began her life as an artist and writer. She has written two poetry anthologies in the past year. Her exhibitions in Canada include Kelowna, Vernon, Summerland, Prince George, Edmonton, Toronto and Vancouver. She has displayed art in Sacramento, New York and Los Angles in the United States. Currently she has works for sale in a gallery in Palermo, Italy.

2007 was the year that Cherie attended the Biennale of Contemporary Art in Florence, Italy. Out of the over 800 artists in attendance, her work was awarded one of the 63 jury prizes. In addition, she was selected to have a secondary showing in the Grand Hotel in Florence.
2009 found her in Vienna, Austria attending a juried group show.

Her hand made Christmas cards have been selected by the City of Kelowna as the official card from the Mayor's office.

She has work in two public art installations in Kelowna. Her medallion is in The Spirit of Kelowna public display in city hall and a painted tile in the Park Bench project in the city's North End.

Cherie has adjudicated photography and video production for the Central Okanagan Photography Society and for the Okanagan Film Festival Society.

In addition, Cherie's graphic design can be purchased through the web site Designyouwall.com. The company creates the wallpaper for the show Extreme Makeovers and has done the set decoration for many block buster movies.

Cherie continues to write and is currently working on a book. She teaches art and blogging classes. She is busy creating work for an upcoming show called "Dress Up."

For contact, to view the art, to

250-763-4269
cheriefranceshanson@gmail.com
http://www.cheriehanson.com