And yet another Na-newbie steps up to the plate...

[gnat60]

Allrighty folks, I have been in town since Feb. 06 and am feeling pretty much settled in now. There are, however, a few things lacking:

I need a cool place to meet people, perhaps a cool Jazz bar or some Quasi-Hippy joints? You know, places with laid back global fusion music and open minded conversation etc...

Thanks!

[riverrat]

Heya, gnat60. Where'd you come from?
Hrm, quasi-hippy? I think there's a market for such a place in Nanaimo, but I can't think of many....or any....
*eyes squeeze shut*
Well, I think there might be a bit of that going on at Demeter's Vault, a cool new cappuccino / lunch place kiddie korner to the Thirsty Camel, which is definitely "quasi hippy", and has great food, though neither of these places is especially cheap.

Pirate Chips gets its share of odd characters, too (also on a corner of the intersection overlooked by Thirsty Camel and Demeter's Vault). Go downtown!

A unique experience can be had at Friends, a multi-ethnic, economically-priced, gourmet restaurant on Townsite. You can smoke sheesha (sp?) in hookahs! (I think.)

Then there's the radio station (CHLY). Lots of hipsters bummin' around those parts.

I recommend getting involved downtown, if you wanna meet people, or work at RMH ( ), or go to Malaspina University-College.

[gnat60]

Thanks for the reply.

I will write those places down and check them out. I have actually tried to go to "Friends" a couple times but they were closed. I hear it is excellent!

Allrighty then, time to get off to work, will check out this forum later....

Oh and.... I am originally from Victoria, an avid listener of CFUV and Village 900, and since I have been up here I have become a huge fan of Malaspina radio. I just can't seem to listen to mainstream anything anymore

[riverrat]

Cool. Check out Pins of Light on Sunday afternoons sometime. (Not my show or anything. Cool "different" music spanning a few genres - psychedelia, soul-prog, alt-blip, and maybe some more I can make up on the fly here...)

I dunno those Vic stations cuz I've never been a radio listener really. I can't stand being at the mercy of dj's - and more often than not, the flakey drawn-out ramblings of the indie dj's are just as annoying as the plugs and ads on the commercial waves. But of course, then it's no wonder that I don't find a lot of new music myself (well, until recently).

[gnat60]

Thanks again. I understand what you mean about the rambling on of the dj's. It is annoying at times, especially listening to the ones that "think" they are cool.

If you ever get the opportunity on a Sunday at 10pmish, you can hear the "Jimmy Twilight's Lonesome Lounge" it is truly zaney and excellent, you really should tune into it at least once in your life. 4 out of 5 doctors reccomend it! (CFUV 101.9 FM or 104.3 Cable or on the Net at http://cfuv.uvic.ca/ )

If you want to listen to current global events, there is a hard hitting, to the root talk show on Monday's at 5 pm to 6 pm - Gorilla Radio with Chris Cook.

Okay now for some new music to point you at: DJ Cheb i Sabbah, very cool Algerian root fusion.

Thanks again, I will tune in on SUndays for the Pins of Light

Appreciated.

[Nick]

Welcome, Gnat!

Friends is an excellent restaurant. I went there for my birthday last February and had frog's legs. They tastes like soggy chicken. mmmmm!