They Were Called Records, Kids

A few poems into James Rodgers' book and you realize just how much he loves music. He loves it the way we love long summer days. He loves it the way kids love splashing in water. He loves it the way we love our favourite book or our first kiss. He loves it the way we love road trips or sleeping under a blanket of stars. He loves it the way I do! Music has been the soundtrack to his life, like it has been to mine. There, every step of the way, sometimes in the background and sometimes defining the moment, defining a relationship, or marking a beginning or an end. With music as the centrepiece, James shares snippets of his life that go from touching or humorous, to sad or devastating. He writes about love, innocence, nostalgia, death, friendship and family, and does so in a way where you can relate. Whether he writes about growing up on vinyl, working at a record store, or watching a stripper dance to Paul Simon's Graceland, you feel you are right there with him. There is an honesty and humbleness to his writing which is engaging and endearing. You can add James Rodgers to the list of authors who write about music the way Nick Hornby or John Carney do. I loved this collection of poems and I know you will too. -Tom Landa, founding member of Juno Award winning band, The Paperboys In this exuberant collection of keenly observed poems, NW poet James Rodgers celebrates the contemporary music scene: the people, the places, the tunes that are the soundtrack of our lives. Above all, this book is a tribute to the experience of listening, watching, taking it all in-participating in the act, the fact, the sheer joy of making and hearing music. Rodgers shares his personal take on the music of Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, Prince, David Bowie, Elvis, The Paperboys, Sarah Vaughan, and a friend named Mark. This poet/word musician, travels with us to New Zealand, Ireland, from the Jokhang to the Oktoberfest to Kathmandu, from The Rainbow Café and Zola's Café to concert halls and open mic venues where he observes audiences and individuals with delight. -Marjorie Rommel, Poet Laureate of Auburn, WA from 2015-2017