From September, 2001 to July, 2004, I was lucky to be involved in running the musical program at Café Nostalgica, a small and friendly venue located in an old brick house on the University of Ottawa campus. The night began on the suggestion of bartender Lenny Valiquette, but became the baby of Marc Spooner, a PhD student and instructor on the philosophy of creativity. For most of this time, I was the music host of the weekly Thursday night open stage, with K.L. McKay hosting the poetry readings that opened the evenings. Together, we tried to create a warm environment that would encourage the sharing of original works. Every week for three years, patrons of Nostalgica enjoyed quality acoustic performances of local, national, and international artists, prompting the Ottawa Citizen to call the venue "a hotbed of emerging young talent." The success of these nights led to the creation of acts like The Soul Jazz Orchestra, and helped the Café develop into a room that would host concerts by Alpha Yaya Diallo, Mighty Popo, Bingie Barker & Raggamuffin, and Lucky Ron.

On the eve of the open stage's second anniversary, we came together and recorded Thursday Heroes: Live at Café Nostalgica, featuring nineteen original poems and songs performed by the evening's most regular performers. While Marc and I coordinated the project, the preservation of these special performances could not have happened without the financial support of the U of O grad students association or without the fine recording job of Peter Webb.
I'd like to sincerely thank them and all the patrons, staff, poets, and musicians at the Café for a magical three years.

See MUSIC page to hear a sample of the title track to Thursday Heroes: Live at Café Nostalgica.