Capitol Hill has a new live music venue that keeps a spot on its stage open to even the rawest of talents. The new Capitol Hill version of Cafe Racer has brought its old ways to the new Pike/Pine space with a dedication to local music of all genres and a mix of talents from veteran songwriters to first-timers ready to make their premier contributions to the Seattle music scene.

“We’re always looking for a first timer,” Cafe Racer’s Cindy Anne tells CHS. “I need somebody this week. Call Nellie!”

That would be Cafe Racer music director Nellie Albertson. Anne and Albertson were on the search this week for an up and coming artist to fill the “first timer” spot on the club’s Thursday night showcase after the club’s first choice had to cancel because of a possible COVID exposure. On Thursday nights, the venue welcomes a group of three to four artists to its stage that always includes one slot for a rookie first-time Cafe Racer performer.

“We need new music,” Anne says.

CHS reported here on the plans for husband and wife team Jeff Ramsey and Cindy Anne to bring Cafe Racer to Capitol Hill in the 11th Ave space neighboring art bar Vermillion that had previously been home to Barca for 20 years.

Ramsey said the new Racer mixes the feel, chow, and booze of the old cafe with upgrades like a new sound system to support a nightly schedule of live shows as it also continues to grow Cafe Racer Radio at caferacermusic.com.

The new Cafe Racer debuted last Friday with a night for friends and family and a grand opening the next night with music from Velvet Q, Moroccan Dog, Tay EB, and MT Fog. Old favorites like the OBAMA — Seattle’s Official Bad Art Museum of Art — were also unveiled in the new space. Other things like the gender neutral bathrooms are brand new.

The old bar also got some new color and spirit. “Getting rid of the red and the Goth kind of energy felt great,” Anne said. Sorry, darklings.

A new, larger, more hugely expensive venue means a somewhat more buttoned down approach to planning and logistics. The ongoing COVID-19 crisis, for example, means the new club needs resources Ramsey and Anne couldn’t have predicted like someone at the door to check vaccination status in addition to IDs.

“We were an art collective. And now we’re going to dig down into music,” Anne says.

The hope is that, even in the middle of Capitol Hill’s nightlife district, Cafe Racer can continue to serve its primary customer — the artists.

“Instead of looking at it all from the eyes of the audience,” Anne said, “everything is through the eyes of the musician. Everything is music focused.”

The result is a “genre fluid” schedule full off opportunities for musicians and a process designed around helping those artists make a living. Through Cafe Racer, musicians, even those just starting out, can set up ticket sales and collect tips from the audience.

“I had one musician burst into tears when she got her check,” Anne said. “Of course you’re a musician worthy of getting paid!”

Friday and Saturday will feature musicians with ticketed shows. Anne says online pre-sales will focus on a neighborhood audience with prices as low as $8 a show.

For the part of the crowd that maybe travels across a bridge and shows up on in the neighborhood on a Friday or Saturday night wanting to check out a show, tickets will be $20 at the door.

“We’re doing it a little different,” Anne says.

Mondays, meanwhile, are reserved for everybody. That is Cafe Racer’s karaoke night.

As the new Cafe Racer begins to fill its calendar and Anne and Ramsey work to help the new venue successfully navigate the challenges of pandemic-era live music, the hope is to continue to expand their “mission to support the DYI musician” with new resources to further foster the Seattle music scene including a plan to add recording studio space to the club.

In addition to help earning money to support their work, Anne knows the greatest resource Cafe Racer can provide musicians — especially in these uncertain times — is confidence.

“The musician has an art,” Anne says. “And usually that comes from somewhere in their soul. It’s a really vulnerable place to be sometimes when you’re sharing that much intimacy.”

“We’re really there to support that.”Anne said it was especially exciting for her to be able to see the looks on the faces of musicians who came to the Friday night opening and were surprised to find their portraits on the Cafe Racer walls in prints made by Ramsey to honor the DYI artists. Anne said she hoped they felt like stars.

“When you’re just up and coming, I feel like confidence is everything,” Anne said.

Cafe Racer is now open at 1510 11th Ave from 4 PM to Midnight on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursday, and 4 PM to 2 AM on Fridays and Saturdays. Closed, for now, on Tuesdays. You can learn more at caferacermusic.com.

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