The Heart of Sunday Night: A weekly Tom Waits jam takes on a life of its own

A St. John's bar has started openingits doors every Sunday night "for musicians, bawlers, and bastards performing the music of Tom Waits."

Musician Mark Bragg started Nighthawks at The Black Sheep lastfall, as a means of getting out of the studio and playing a regular gig.

• Tom Waits on CBC-TV's 90 Minutes Live

Over the past few months, the tribute to the American singer-songwriter has taken on a life of its own at The Black Sheep pub on Water Street.

With Bragg on piano and guitar, Josh Ward on bass, and Chris Donnelly on drums, the show draws a good crowd, who show up to front the stellar band for a song or two.

One contributor to the show is Waits superfanand bartender Bill Haynes, who hasn't stepped on stage in over a decade.

"Music is my favourite thing in the world, and Tom Waits is my favourite thing in music," said Haynes.

"For me, it's good because it'ssomething I never thought I was going to do again."

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He's become a staple of the show, and an unofficial Nighthawk.

Listen to the full piece in the audio player above.