Catherina Maclellan, Olympic Symphonium & The Great Canadian Song Quest

We’ve got an exciting show coming up on May 8th featuring Catherine Maclellan & Olympic Symphonium.   Catherine Maclellan is the 2009 recipient of the ‘Solo Artist of the Year’ Award for the Folk Music Awards.  She was also selected to perform & write on behalf of Prince Edward Island in the Great Canadian Song Quest.  Catherine shared the stage with several of her indie/folk peers including Joel Plaskett & Jay Sparrow.  CBC’s Great Canadian Song Quest encouraged residents to submit local artists & landmarks that represented their home province or territory.  Artists would be nominated to write a song about a favorite landmark or location in each province.  The result was 13 unique perspectives on 13 unique locations unified by one great country.   

Canada’s music industry may not have the mainstream output that the US does at the moment but there is a sense of loyalty that nurtures many of our favorite artists.  Catherine Maclellan seems to have found a spot at that table; beating out Joel Plaskett for ‘Solo Artist of the Year’.  She has recently joined the ranks at True North Records and is making a name for herself as the newcomer to watch.  True North houses many of the Canadian greats including Bruce Cockburn, Randy Bachman & The Golden Dogs to name a few.   It could just be a matter of time before Catherine Maclellan qualifies as one of the elite in Canadian folk music.

     Joining her will be; Olympic Symphonium.  Olympic Symphonium serves as a softer & gentler avenue for the three accomplished Maritime musicians.  Nick Cobham, Kyle Cunjak & Graeme Walker, all share the workload of singing and songwriting but rotate around various instruments.  It is interesting to hear a trio of musicians, who are usually inclined towards a more upbeat rock drive, exploring the contemplative & gentle side of the music.  It seems they aren’t afraid to use a little time to slow down and find the right voicing in their music.  Since the trio each play a variety of instruments, it enables them to explore the music extensively; to explore the nuances of different instruments and sounds.

Manuela joins us @ the streaming cafe, Andy Shauf tour...

  Well, I feel as though maybe I should introduce myself; since this is my first week as a Streaming Cafe marketing division...person.  (Watch for updates on the official title)   My name is Aaron and I’m going to be taking on the in house audio, as well as blogging, online marketing, graphic design, & whatever else gets sent my way!  I’m originally from Saskatchewan & have just recently moved to Kelowna.  I’ve been fortunate to be involved in the Streaming Cafe after only living here for a few months.  I love all sorts of music & am always looking for new music.  So please feel free to send me your recommendations and I’ll do what I can to check them out!  

  Since I’m making an introduction for myself I thought I would highlight a couple of my friends that I met back home in Saskatchewan.  One past guest & one upcoming:

  Andy Shauf is heading out on 21 date tour.  Mainly covering Ontario, he will be doing a few dates in Saskatchewan and Manitoba along the way.   Andy Shauf has a way of drawing his audience in and not letting go until the show is over.  Every chord and every word seem to linger a moment before they release into the atmosphere.   The music is contemplative yet innocent.  Andy’s following has been at a steady incline as it seems the more people who hear the music, the more people are instantly drawn to it.

  The other artist I’d like to draw attention to is Manuela, who is joining us on this upcoming Saturday (February 20th).  Manuela is a former classmate of mine, and it has been a pleasure to watch her grow from one stage to the next, fairly quickly.  Though she is still young it doesn’t take long to realize that she has a great amount of maturity in her voice & songwriting.  Her songs are catchy yet thoughtful, groovy yet intimate.  Manuela seems to be destined for mainstream success on some level.  Catch her concert at 8pm pacific at http://streamingcafe.net   Or if you’re in the Kelowna area, come on down to 596 Leon Ave!

http://www.andyshauf.com/

http://www.myspace.com/themanuela

Julie Doiron Across the World

Julie Doiron is one of Canada’s long-time indie darlings. The music is charming & tender but not shying away from her more electric roots. It successfully crosses back and forth between atmospheric and raw to quirky indie rock. She can make you contemplate the deeper issues and then make you smile on the next track. It’s these kinds of things that show Julie Doiron is a musician with a little bit of experience under her belt. Julie can be found on the scene in the early 90s as the bassist & vocalist of Eric’s Trip. Since then, Julie Doiron has released several solo albums including the most recent  ‘I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day’ in March of 2009. It doesn’t take a long time before you realize that Julie Doiron makes music because she loves making music.  It seems to be that kind of integrity behind the creation that draws people to her music and keeps them coming back for more.  Maybe that’s why the mayor of Bruno, SK, named June 7th ‘Julie Doiron Day‘ after her sold out concert in the town of only 600. There’s a connection between Julie and her fans that has been going strong for many years.   

I’m sure we can all relate to creating a mud monster friend with our own pulled teeth.

Julie joined us at The Streaming Cafe in January and is now gearing up to perform in the Cultural Olympiad in Vancouver during the 2010 Olympics. After that she will be taking on Japan & China through the first half of March.  I think it’s pretty clear that Julie is doing what it takes to get her music heard by the world.

Speaking of the Cultural Olympiad, I must point out what an impressive event that is in and of itself. With all the hype about speed skating, skiing, and, of course, hockey, it’s easy to overlook everything else going on in Vancouver over the coming weeks. Not only will the world’s finest athletes be flocking to Vancouver but so will many of the world’s finest artists. Feist, City and Colour, Steve Earle, Joel Plaskett, Stars, Florence K, The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, & The Kronos Quartet are just a few of the artists performing. It’s great to see such a large selection of Canadian artists providing entertainment for the events. Canada has a rich collective of music & arts, and I think the Olympics are going to serve as a canvas for Canadian culture - and I don’t mean just hockey.  

Aaron

A.A. Bondy and listening to new music

I’ve been listening to a few new artists in the last few weeks. I think we all go through times where we want to here stuff we already know and through other times where we want something new. Our new tech/ flash/ iphone team member Aaron got me into this artist A.A. Bondy. I’m really digging it so far. I’ve listened to his most recent album “When the Devil’s Loose” quite a bit and I just got his older, more critically acclaimed album “American Hearts.” He’s sort of a mix between Andrew Bird and Pedro the Lion / David Bazan. I saw a video of him on Hearya.com which was awesome and so I bought the album. Music is always an impulse buy. 

I’ve also been getting into the Dirty Projectors, a very popular band in my circle of friends, but something I’ve never really gotten into. There sound is much more outside the box, with crazy off time drumming and vocal melodies.  Amidst the madness is something beautiful though, something very intelligent. If you want something new I'd encourage you to check them out. 

thanks for reading, 

Zach

David Wilcox's Musical Medicine.

David Wilcox, a great folk singer from the States, is an amazing performer and poet. We had the pleasure of hosting David in the early days of the cafe. His intimate performance was captivating, spiritual and life giving, yet it had its more light hearted side. We have a podcast out this week featuring David which you can download on Itunes just search for "Streaming Cafe." Here is the funnier side of David, as he does the voice over for our Friends over at Sayvee.

But on the more serious note Davidwilcox.com has this amazing section which he calls Musical Medicine. It's really an cool thing. He's listed a bunch of his songs by mood, so you can listen to all David's song on love, heartbreak, addiction, etc. This is really worth checking out. Here is the link: http://davidwilcox.com/?page=cds&category=01--MUSICAL_MEDICINE&display=2006

From the musical medicine section entitled "inspiration for these economic hard times" here is David Wilcox from his performance at the Streaming Cafe. 

thanks for reading,

Zach