We all start somewhere. I couldn’t have been luckier as to where I got cut my teeth. Yesterday, Renee Thayer-Allison closed the doors of Eclectic Etcetera Coffee House.

I was 18 when I first stepped in there. I introduced myself to Renee, said I had heard people play music here and wondered if I could have a show. She said sure. I had brought my guitar with me and offered to play her something as an audition, to make sure that she thought I was right for the venue. She told me the fact I was ready to do that gave her faith enough that I was a good fit. And she hasn’t stopped having faith in me since.

Renee became like family, and her coffee house a second home. Eclectic Etcetera will be missed, but I will always have the memories. I plan to make many more memories with all the great people I met there over the years.