this is being posted to multiple forums so if my editorial comments seem like they are pointing a figner at "you", please considering that there are trillions of people in the world and I am indeed not pointing a finger at "you".

Hey everybody. Recently I was compelled to do something shocking. Via e-mail, I approached Chris Cummings, co-owner and show booker of Artisans’ Café and asked him just what the heck is going on here. My motivation for this derived from the fact that I am sick of hearing about everyone else’s uninformed speculation about a coffee shop. What follows are the questions I asked him and his answers. The topics covered are those that I wanted him to address, which I feel he did with a great deal of candor and benevolence. If you find this “interview” lacking, I encourage you to do your own damn interview which you would have done by now if you were that interested so I don’t want to hear any complaining about my skills! I hope this helps those of you who have not made up your mind about the place. I especially hope this makes those of you who have made up your mind about the place feel lousy.


(John)
Hello. My name is John Manini. I am the show booker at Le Voyeur Cafe and general man about town in Olympia. It seems Artisans' Cafe is causing quite a stir in the local music scene and to this I say good show! I have been witnessing lots of people wondering about your establishment.... in online communities and in casual conversations. Many question have been repeatedly coming up and everyone seems comfortable speculating rather than actually seeking the truth. Enter me. If you have the time, could you please respond to the following questions so that I may pass the answers along to my peers? Many of them find the cafe to be a bit of an enigma and removing some of the mystique may result in a rise in your number of patrons.

(Chris)
Thank you for trying to get some clarity! I'll just go ahead and
answer your questions in a list, no intention of seeming short, of
course.

(John)
When do you book shows (days and times) and what kind of acts are in your niche if you will... what is your target audience?

(Chris)
I book shows first on the weekends (friday/saturday) and prefer to
have those reserved for more performance based music, if you know what I mean. I also like to host, lower-key music pretty much every evening except for Tuesday nights, which are reserved for our open mic night which started out as more of a poetry event, but has turned into more of a music open mic (Although, poetry is definitely welcome!).


Target audience....
Olympians... and I'm not going to limit Artisan's performances to
music that appeals to any certain genre, per-se... rather, I see the
niche of Artisan's as kind of inverted thinking from the norm....
maybe I'm just tired and too strung out on coffee to communicate this correctly, but I think its a way of saying, we're open to everyone. The only reason I exclude metal or hardcore music, is because its not really suited to my small cafe environment.

(John)
Do you charge admission... or allow bands to charge a cover if they are looking to make money or raise money for a cause?

(Chris)
I don't charge admission, however, I am open to negotiating with
bands if they're looking to make money. Those negotiated by scenario.

(John)
I assume you do not pay acts who play (Le Voyeur does not... so I just assume) Do performers get any special hospitality: free latte per band member or the like?

(Chris)
I don't pay performers. I do allow performers to have a merchandise table, have a tip jar and promote it over the mic.
I do give bands general hospitality like free coffee and free food,
Groups that bring in the people, I am more than happy to provide free food and drink and dessert to. I am also more inclined to give local artists free food, drink and dessert because I know that they'll tell their friends, just like any other consumer, if they like our product. Also, I'm going to begin encouraging the artists that perform here to promote our products from the mic only if they really like them (ie my incredible cake).

(John)
do you have a house PA/sound system or are bands required to bring their own?

(Chris)
I have my own PA system and prefer that bands don't bring their own because space is limited. They are, of course, welcome to use their own equipment as far as mics etc. go.

(John)
How many times per week or moth are you having shows?

(Chris)
I want to have shows as often as possible.

(John)
Any recurring weekly events happening or planned?

(Chris)
As far as weekly events goes, Tuesday open mic is the only one that
is set right now. It starts at 7 supposedly but never really gets
going till around 7:45... but we're chill like that here. I am
setting up a few more weekly/monthly reoccurring events... like a
swing night and also an electronica/dj night....

(John)
Do you require a demo cd submission or link to web content in order to get a show?

(Chris)
I do generally require some sort of a demo from performers.

(John)
How do you promote your shows other than the attention getting A-Board outside the business and the website under construction?

(Chris)
My promotion engine has been going slow the past few weeks because I have been incredibly busy and 1 person can only do so much. However as time allows (and if I think the priority is high), I have lots of contacts that I inform via email and different bulletins. I also believe that good connections are 95% of everything. So I strive to make good connections with people that will help me promote if there is some kind of mutual benefit from it. I also am a graphics designer on the side (more on the side than ever before in fact) so I make attractive full color posters.

(John)
As a fellow booker, I get an abundance of acts to whom I cannot offer shows. This is just based on a limited number of days in the week. May I pass on your contact info to bands I cannot accommodate (assuming I think they would "fit" at your cafe of course)

(Chris)
I'm sure that you're very busy with all of the shows that you do. I
would be honored to have you pass on my information to performers to see if I can get them on my schedule. And don't worry about trying to filter anyone. Go ahead and just pass out my info and I'll filter who I don't want.

(John)
Your website states that the acts performing there have to be "family friendly". This is a very open ended statement which artists, musicians, and other creative types could easily construe or to some, misconstrue to their delight.
As a performer, hypothetically, I would rather know in advance that my monologue with three words considered by some to be profane would not be welcome on your stage rather than find myself on your bad side after having performed it. Most people do not want to spend to much time trying to decode other people's morality; phrases like "family friendly" do not yield the same global definitions as they once did.
Since Artisans is the venue and is ultimately going to have the last say on who performs, it would be best to know in certain terms: how does Artisans define "family" and/or "family friendly"?


(Chris)
As far as family friendly goes… I know it’s vague, and I did that on
Purpose. My intention is to at least have some sort of conversation
with every artist that performs at my cafe. After listening to their
demo or whatever, and having a conversation with the artist, it
usually gives me a better idea on how to communicate what is and
isn't acceptable in the cafe. I will say this... my rule is pretty
much... if you can say it on the radio, I'm fine with it. There are
also, at times, children in the cafe and I just ask artists to pay
attention to that... if they see a lot of kids to just take it easy
on explicit language. Other than that,
no racism, no excessive use of explicit terms (ie. song lyrics are: **** (see ed note below)

I don't want that, but I won't limit an artist to no cursing... I personally think that well placed explicit terms are the best method to communicate things at times), no nudity. But again, after listening to a demo and having a conversation with the artist, I generally have an idea if its going to be something that I have to deal with or not.

****ED NOTE Chris asked me to not quote his example of explicit lyrics. Let me assure you it was a hilarious and spot on example
of completely gratuitous use of profanity. Allow me to give you a squeaky clean version that you can attempt to translate into your idea of profanity:
“darn, oh heck, gee! This non-specific, mundane activity lacks pleasure and enjoyment and I must be rid of it immediately. And by the by, I harbor intense negative feelings towards certain members of the female community who refuse to engage in adult related activities with me.

(John)
Are there any types of performance or art or bands you will not host?

(Chris)
Right now, my venue is not open to screamo/metal kinds of music,
simply because it is too loud for my small room. In the future,
however, Artisan's is looking to expand and get a much larger space which would open up my venue to metal/screamo and what not. I do run things rather loud during shows, so I have no problems with drums... its just that as we all know, metal is quite a bit louder than just having drums... that’s why its so fun!

(John)
You currently inhabit a pace that was formerly Cafe Veritas which had an overt Christian theme. With the virtually overnight transition to Artisans, many people wonder how much of the religious aspect still inhabits the new business. Does Artisans have any religious leanings in its business? You have every right not to answer this question because who' s business is it anyway and what should it matter? But this question is the one that compelled me to write to you. This is what everyone is asking. People are saying "Artisans seems like a nice place, but aren't they wacky Chrisitans?" I know of members of the queer community who boycott Artisans based on the fact that they think there might be Christian leanings in the cafe. Additionally, I know of people who will not go in until this question is answered, but refuse to investigate for themselves. I believe this to be wrong and foolish and I am sick of hearing the ignorant speculation. I don't care about the personal beliefs of the owners employees and friends... I am asking about the business itself. Does the cafe have a similar religious theme as its predecessor?

(Chris)
As far as the religious thing goes… The simple answer is no but I'll
go ahead and go into detail. Artisan's has no connection whatsoever to Veritas. The owners of Artisan's Cafe are, my mother and myself. I am a christian but I'm not sure what that has to do with anything. There are no christian leanings in the cafe as far as I can tell... but I'm not really sure what that means. I don't give preference to christian artists... I just want good shows... so if you suck you suck and I don't want you... whether you're a christian or not. Same goes with if you're good you're good. I don't allow preaching or praying or anything from the mic... but if people want to pray over their coffee... whatever. I think that’s crazy that some of the queer community don't like it here (which is fine if it’s for normal reasons... i.e. they just don't like it like any consumer might just not like it.) We have lots of regulars that are in the gay and
lesbian community and they love it here... and we love them! There
is no religious theme to this cafe. This is NOT a christian club,
christians are welcome just like everyone else. I'm just here to do
business, to provide the community with the best coffee, food and
desserts in our genre with fun entertainment and dazzling art in our
great gallery space. Simple as that, I guess. I never understood
why people go assuming things. I must thank you for being willing to ask questions. I guess the problem is gossip and rumors (haha)... a regular customer of mine said to me the other day (in a completely unrelated conversation) "... and that’s why in every religion ever in the world its taught that you shouldn't gossip; cause you just end up with stupid speculations like this!"

(John)

I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to answer these questions. Regardless of what you say, upon receiving a completed reply, I will come down there for several cups of coffee and try at least 4 things on the menu and bring as many friends as I can so they can decide if they like the cafe based on the contents of it's coffee cups rather than the color of... well... you get the idea.

(Chris)
Again, I appreciate you taking the time to ask the questions. I put
Community Entertainment Cafe underneath Artisan's name for a reason. I guess its just my (and my mother's) goal for the place; to advance the community with entertainment and in a quality cafe! So come down and have a cup of coffee...
oh and don't forget to ask for me to make it... cause they call me
"The Stallion" here... and for good reason! ha ha!

Sincerely and best regards,
Chris Cummings
The Artisan's Cafe
109 N. Capitol Way
Oly, Wa 98501
360.570.2202

If you have read this far, stop whatever you are doing and go down to Artisans’ and buy a cup of coffee right now.