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Friday, December 30, 2011

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!



Thursday, December 29, 2011

"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.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

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!





Friday, December 9, 2011

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.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

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

Thursday, December 1, 2011

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!


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 17th 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