A place for soup at 3 a.m.

To El Cajon–based pianist Joshua White, “vibe” is the determining factor for just about every place he chooses to spend his time. “My number-one music venue is the Athenaeum Library in La Jolla. It’s a combination of the room and the warmth of the sound you can get,” says White. “Both of the pianos they have there are exceptional. Next would be Dizzy’s, even though the location keeps changing. Chuck Perrin has always been extremely supportive, and it’s great to have a place to experiment.”

White is a night-owl and an avid reader. “My number-one place to hang is Lestat’s on Park Boulevard. I’ll go there and bring a stack of 15–20 books and read until the wee hours of the morning. For me it’s all about the vibe. The one on Adams or the new one in Hillcrest are cool, but they don’t have the same ambiance.”

Physical fitness is also a defining motif in White’s routine. “I try to go twice a day to the gym and stay active on that end of the spectrum,” he said. “I’m a member of a chain, so I try to keep it varied because of the vibe. Sometimes I’ll go to the one in El Cajon or Grossmont; other times I head to Hillcrest because it’s next to the Whole Foods where I get groceries.”

After 27 years in town, White is readying for a move to Los Angeles, where more opportunities await, although he still has local gigs booked through July. Asked what he will miss most about living here in San Diego. “During this transitional phase — the comfort of knowing where there’s a quiet place to read or where you can get soup at 3 o’clock in the morning will be missed until I get acclimated up in L.A. I know San Diego like the back of my hand.”