Blues musician Colin James is no stranger to creating music, but he admits his first foray into writing stories about his own life was a challenge. “The trickiest part was, maybe, putting them in chronological order. So much happens from 13 to 24 that it’s really hard to remember when it all happens. I had to research and go into archives and go, ‘When did this happen exactly?’ and find the date,” James told CTV News. James’ book, Playing the Changes: A Musician’s Memoir, goes on sale Sept. 22. He said he did much of the legwork for the book on his frequent flights between his home in Vancouver and Toronto. The book zeroes in on James’ early years growing up in Regina and touches on his parents’ Quaker faith. “I think in the ’60s a lot of people who weren’t necessarily religious adopted it because it had, well, pacifism at its root. With the ’60s and the whole anti-war movement, it kind of made sense,” James said. James will promote his memoir in Calgary on Sept. 25 at a Wordfest event.
