Craig Cardiff shares some tips for indie musicians

by Nico Boesten - originally posted by the TribeHouse Artist Collective here: http://tribehouse.org

Craig Cardiff came over for a Dutch pancake breakfast after playing 2 very intimate back-to-back shows at the Streaming Cafe. After touring relentlessly for several years, recording a discography of 20 albums, playing well-known venues across North America, having gone through the whole mainstream management thing (Feldman), he now tours alone & manages himself. Hence the name of the company he started, “Agentless“.

Inspiring stuff.

We were able to catch a quick little interview with him before he had to catch his flight over to Vancouver for 3 consecutive shows at the Railway Club but the conversation went a lot different than I had expected. I was really interested in hearing his thoughts on the house concert network we're building as part of TribeHouse but it turned out that Mr. Craig Cardiff had a lot more "under the hood" which I was stoked to hear about.

Here’s a guy who works his ass off, has a solid following (6K+ fans on Fbook ain’t shabby), and has dudes like Gordon Lightfoot saying things about him like “(Craig) is a songwriter that needs to be heard”.

I think it would be fair to say he’s one of those “successful” artists.

And, of course, there are hundreds of thousands of other indie, travelling, hard-working musicians who are all wondering what the magic potion is as to how he got to this level. He played the show at the Streaming Cafe with 5 strings because there wasn’t enough time to restring his whole guitar after arriving late on a flight from Ottawa and was quick to admit that there are a slew of guitar players out there that could shred circles around his playing.

So what’s his secret? Here’s what he said...



“Be happy with what you have instead of what could be.”

Love it.

It was a privilege to connect with someone who I would consider a true patron to the world of indie artists. He's got a ton of ideas cooking (sorry, can't spill all the beans because he made me sign an NDA) but one that you should check out is Agentless.ca. Craig Cardiff is someone to follow & watch – some really refreshing views on the music industry & enough innovative ideas to tip a flock of cows.

Craig Cardiff's Website: http://craigcardiff.com

PS: And make sure you check back to http://streamingcafe.net for some clips from his live performance - should be up by the end of the week RIGHT HERE.

Jordan Klassen featured on Bruce Willis' Latest Film

by Michael Donley
When checking back at some older videos we had posted on YouTube, I came across a few comments. Those comments lead me to find that Jordan Klassen's music was just featured in a new film starring Bruce Willis & Forrest Whitaker, ‘Catch .44’.  The new movie features Jordan's song "Hot Ashes" that he performed at Streaming Cafe in 2010. Some other of Klassen's music has found their ways onto television series' including USA Network’s ‘Royal Pains,’ and the iTunes version of late 90’s TV show ‘Felicity’.

Below is the clip we had posted from his August 2010 show at the cafe. I specifically remember the night of Jordan's performance he barely had a voice left. After sound check, he held his head over a humidifier and sipped tea until he hit the stage. With a bit more rasp in his voice then he might normally have, he still he managed to pull off a solid show.



Jordan is releasing a new EP mid February called "Kindness" and has a free download available on his bandcamp for a limited time. He also has teaser video on his site. http://jordanklassenmusic.com/
Definitely worth checking out!

Streaming Cafe 2011 Live Compilation!

by Michael Donley


2011 was a great year for us at Streaming Cafe. Our following has continued to grow, not only online, but in the physical sense at our location in Kelowna. We`ve had the new addition of a liquor licence, our pour over coffee bar and the offering of our premium coffee beans from Oughtred Coffee. Our baristas have pursued with passion to bringing the art of quality coffee to our patrons.

We’ve had the pleasure of partnering and hosting many community Arts events and have displayed numerous artists’ works on our cafe walls. We are elated to have seen the cafe seats full for the 80 established and upcoming indie artists that graced our stage.

One of the projects we've been very excited to work on is the release of tracks from these live performances. As an extension of our mantle “to discover, connect and promote independent artists” , half of all proceeds from these live tunes go directly to the artist`s pockets. This has given fans the opportunity to take of a piece of the live show “home” to enjoy, long after the show has ended.

We`ve put together a snap shot of our live shows in the form the Streaming Cafe 2011 Live Compilation, that is now available for download in our store. It features sixteen artists that have performed in front of our handcrafted wood wall this last year and at only $10 is a great way to support Canadian indie music.

Canadian Workhorse Craig Cardiff

by Malcolm Petch

Craig Cardiff plays a back-to-back pair of shows at Streaming Café on January 21, helping to kick off another year of fabulous live acoustic shows in front of the wood wall.

The Canadian Icon Gordon Lightfoot says this about Cardiff: “A songwriter who needs to be heard” – and a brief time exploring the music available from Cardiff online backs up that sweeping statement. This isn’t music that can exist unnoticed in the background sonic landscape; Craig Cardiff seems to carry that indefinable presence that draws the listener in to an experience deeper than just a casual listen.

Cardiff was born in Waterloo, Ontario in 1976. He’s part of a musical family, and his two sisters sometimes show up as backing artists on his albums. Known primarily for his soft voice and his use of loops when he performs (voice and guitar loops, not electro-pop percussion), Cardiff is also notable in the music industry for his apparent preference for a wider audience rather than a fuller wallet. He has given away music in different contexts, whether that’s the offering of free album downloads (like his 2010 EP “Songs for Lucy”) or the inclusion of a free CD, designed to be given away to others, in the packaging of his 2007 release, Goodnight (Go Home).

This attitude toward music distribution is not exclusive to Cardiff, of course, but it’s interesting and more than a little coincidental that his record label, MapleMusic Recordings, was also the Canadian home for RadioHead’s physical release of In Rainbows back in 2007. (RadioHead, you’ll recall, stood the industry up on its ear that year by releasing Rainbows completely independently, and first offered the album as a digital download from its website for whatever people wanted to pay – in other words, you could get it free if you wanted to. The industry heavy-weights said that was foolish and suicidal. But the band still went on to sell over three million copies of that album within a year, and won two Grammy awards in 2009 due to its success). Other artists who’ve released music through MapleMusic include David Usher, Colin James, Martha Wainwright, Joel Plaskett, and Spirit of the West.



Cardiff’s newest release is Floods & Fires, produced by Ben Leggett and released late in 2011. The songs have a distinct contemporary singer/songwriter feel to them, and are certainly worthy of a listen prior to Craig’s appearance in Kelowna. Interestingly, Cardiff has also released ‘books’ such as The Book Of Truths and The Book Of Songs, covering topics like lyrics (Book Of Songs) and “curious and candid anonymous sharings from audience members” (Book Of Truths).

There’s not a lot of biographical information about Cardiff floating around online. He’s definitely got a web presence, but other than a few sparse details about who he is and where he came from, most of his online sites deal (understandably) with his music. But that’s the beauty of the live shows coming up at Streaming Café: fans everywhere, both in the café and online, will be able to ask questions of Cardiff live and in-person, and his answers will be available for the whole world to hear. Check out these shows on January 21st in person (at 7pm or 9pm) or online (7pm PST only) and ask all the questions you’ve ever wanted to about everything you’ve ever needed to know about Craig Cardiff – it should be good!

Video Overview of January Performances

by Michael Donley
It's a new month, a new year and a new line-up of Canadian indie music at Streaming Cafe. We are entering into our third year of bringing live streamed concerts to music lovers and we are really excited about the artists that are on the horizon! You can get to know this months performers by reading up and watching.
As always if you can't make down to our cafe in Kelowna, 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 the artists.

January 7th - Reuben Bullock
Reuben Bullock is a singer-songwriter from Calgary, Alberta.

Here's a quote that sums up Reuben “Bullock's voice is intimate and immediate; note-perfect to deliver his testaments and make them resonate. He somehow manages to evoke some of the greatest folk singers without even once sounding imitative.” –FFWD Weekly

January 14th - Ma Petite and Portage & Main
Ma Petite is Melbourne born musician, Indiana Avent's solo project. After spending almost a decade in the music industry playing violin for artists such as Bon Iver, Soko, Dan Mangan, Gotye, Jordan Klassen, Lamplight, Zachary Lucky, and Treelines among others, Avent decided to put her own originals out into the world.


Portage & Main performed at the cafe during POP Okanagan Festival back in October and we are happy to have them back for a double bill with Ma Petite.
Portage & Main strikes a chord in the same Canadian vein as Neil Young and The Band, with its southern guitar and haunting vocals. While the boys didn’t physically ride the timeless rails like tramps, the songs are as honest and genuine as if they had, displaying the insight of old souls whose hearts are fixed and bound to a boxcar travelling across the country.


January 21st - Craig Cardiff
One of Canada's most impressive workhorses, Craig Cardiff joins us for what is sure to be an amazing night of music. Craig has released over 14 albums in as many years and continues to tour non stop.
This show will have two seatings, 7pm & 9:30pm (only the 7pm show will be streamed ) and tickets are now available at the Streaming Cafe.


January 28th - Lauren Mann and the Fairly Odd Folk
Lauren Mann and the Fairly Odd Folk bring their captivating indie folk-pop melodies to cafe to end the month of January.
“Lauren Mann along with her Fairly Odd Folk are lovely. Lovely to hear and lovely to work with. We enjoyed having them at the 2011 Calgary Folk Music Festival. From what I’ve seen, it looks like she’s at the beginning of a promising career.” -Kenna Burima, Calgary Folk Music Festival