Last Friday, October 9th, Noah Gunderson and the Courage packed out the Q Cafe with a sold out EP Release show. It was an amazing night. 

We are doing a Back to School Ballard show on Friday the 25th with Ambulance, VerleeRose, The Lost Episode, and Mothers Know Best. Kick off the new school year by supporting local music! Doors open at 7:30. $7 at the door and students get in for only $5!

(myspace.com/allenstone)

With a jazz vibe and danceable beats, it’s easy to get lost in the catchy, pop-ish sound of Allen Stone’s music; but if you listen to the lyrics, you’ll find that there is more to his songs than pleasant tunes. Love, politics, religion, and self-doubt influence Allen’s music, addressing the issues that the youth of all generations have struggled to answer through, in his own words, “the universal language of song”. Growing up, most people feel as though they are given a role and are expected to act within the confines of that role. Allen is no exception to this, only, unlike most teens, he was placed in the role of being a pastor’s son. “Being a pastor’s son, you’re placed in a box,” he says. So when Allen began attendance at the Moody Bible Institute in Spokane, he found himself questioning the things that he had been taught while in his “box”, leading him to write “Last to Speak” at the age of 19.
“[It’s about] why I believe what I believe; what had been pushed on me as a child; what I had just, kind of, let be just because it’s comfortable.  It doesn’t just touch on the church, it touches on the politics of sexual abstinence and other things that are pressed on our generation, and at the end of it, it’s like, ‘What do I do?’”
    It’s that question that drives most of Allen’s music; if his audience is left thinking and wanting to change the world for the better, he has accomplished what he set out to do.
    “I think what we’ve lost in our music culture is our ability to create and inspire change. I think about old Creedence [Clearwater Revival] records, or Marvin Gaye, those artists that really stirred up change in a generation.  Then you look at people who don’t do anything but write pop songs that people can dance to in clubs so that they can make some money – that’s where music is right now… I do have a side of me that’s just pop, but the heart of what I do, really, is to try to provoke inspiration inside of people.”
    After signing with an independent Christian label and recording the album “Change”, Allen found himself displaced from his small hometown of Chewelah, Washington and trying to find his way as a musician in Seattle.  However, now that he is no longer working with the label, he shies away from being classified as a “Christian artist”. 
    “[Religion] plays into a lot of the lyrical content, but it’s not blatant… I wouldn’t take a stand via my music, but it’s in there, for sure… That’s a different side of my life. I write about my spirituality but it doesn’t always coincide with Christianity – I kind of branched out a little bit.”
    His song “Satisfaction” is just one example of his “branching out”, as it tackles the issue of commercialism in the church, something that he says he saw a lot of when he came to Seattle.
    “My family was very paycheck-to-paycheck, my dad never made a lot of money… The church is an incredibly awesome thing, but there’s also the business side of church, and growing up as a pastor’s son you see that, and you see these mega-churches and the pastor’s fly in helicopters, and it’s like ‘What is that about?’”

    It’s not just the church that this self-proclaimed “hippy kid from the middle of nowhere” sees as needing reformation. While he would be honored to have the option to sign with a major label, he feels that the people behind the scenes of the industry can really stunt the creativity of musicians, and he is enjoying the freedom of being an independent artist and making his own plans.
    “I just love relating to people, I think I probably got that from my father… and music allows me to do that through the universal language of song. Getting up onstage and being able to interact with people, I love it. That’s why I do music, it’s not for any kind of recognition, God knows!”
    Part of this plan includes the release of his first full-length album, which is to be released on August 14th at the Q-Café – the first place he performed in Seattle. “It’s very intimate, that’s what I like about the Q,” he says. “You really have to pay attention to the music… you’re not just background noise there. It does a great job, not only connecting the audience to the music, but also connecting artists; there’s just an aura, an energy… it’s fun, it’s feel-good.”

– Katherine R. Parker

House of Heroes to play at Q Cafe July 27th at 8pm. Tickets are $13 at the door or $11 presale. For presale tickets, go to www.qcafe.org/2009/07/08/live-music-house-heroes

Hey there wonderful Q Cafe supporters and friends!

Today marks the start of Seattle Weekly's "Best of Seattle 2009" poll, which will be printed in their July 29th issue. There are two titles where you can vote for the Q Cafe, "Best Non-Rock Venue" and "Best Indie Coffee House." I think we have an especially good chance of winning the "Best Non-Rock Venue" title, so pretty-please-with-a-cherry-on-top vote for us!!! And forward this on to friends who like the Q Cafe as well! Post it on your facebook, myspace, or even twitter it!  Winning one or both of these titles would really help us to get our name out there into the Seattle music and coffee scene!

http://vimeo.com/4284920

This week Alarm Magazine chose the Q Cafe as their DIY Venue Spotlight. It features an interview with Melissa Cushman, the Q's Music, Art, and Rental's Coordinator. Check it out and tell us what you think!
The article can be found here: Alarm Magazine