Of all the things a little coffee shop could do to differentiate itself from Dunkin McStarbucks, small-business thinking seems to have won out.

Damn near 100% of my lyric writing is done in what I call my “field offices”, known to most as beaneries and coffee bars within 2 miles of my house. Since I’ve moved to a new home in Nashua, NH, I’ve been on the hunt for a new field office- some local establishment with a vibe conducive to making long strings of rhyming words. Finding one, for me, is a lot like finding a church; you have to experience the place and simply sense whether or not it’s right.

I’ve only been to the Riverwalk Cakery and Coffee House twice since I moved here, but I think I’ve found my field office. The atmosphere is typical beanery fare, the coffee’s good, but the difference lies in the people that run the place.

Last week I met with a drummer and a local friend at the Cakery and, late in the day, I wanted a pastry. That damned chocolate scone had been singing to me for about 3 hours and I just couldn’t stand it anymore. Sadly, the place had already closed down their Visa machine and I, as always, carry no cash.

“Oh, just take it,” was the response. Not even an expectation of payment next time or any kind of prior arrangement. I was not a regular- like I said, this was only the second time I’d been in that joint. Somewhere there is a sales manager at Dunkin McStarbucks shouting “you idiot, you don’t give stuff away for free!”

I don’t know where that somewhere is, but at least in Nashua, NH, the price of one chocolate scone has made me a customer for life. That’s the kind of vibe that facilitates writing.

Oh, and believe me, I will be paying for the scone next time I’m there writing lyrics.

Just a brief note from my morning office. Where it’s cold. And caffeinated. I want to know what kind of music YOU want to hear!