Jennie Shortridge launched her new book, Love Water Memory (Gallery Books), Tuesday night at Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle with readings bookended and punctuated by music from the Rejections (and Trailing Spouses). The band, whose first gig was at the launch party for Erica Bauermeister's The Lost Art of Mixing, is composed of Seattle7Writers and spouses: Shortridge on vocals, her husband, Matt Gani, on guitar and vocals; Paul Mariz (husband of Laurie Frankel) on guitar and vocals; Ben Bauermeister (husband of Erica) on violin; Garth Stein on bass; and Stephanie Kallos on keyboard, vocals and percussion. And what a band it is! Shortridge is a soulful, lyrical singer, and Kallos is a sultry songstress who soloed on "They Can't Take That Away from Me." The violin perfectly complements the guitars, the vocal backup is a pleasure. Lucky attendees found a CD taped under their chairs, and you can download the songs on Shortridge's website (highly recommended).
Aside from the sheer joy of the music, the songs in the set fit nicely with Shortridge's readings. In Love Water Memory, Lucie finds herself far from home, suffering from amnesia. Her fiancé, Brady, finds her and takes her back to Seattle, where she is a stranger to him and to herself. One of her first connections with her past is at the piano in the basement of their house, where she finds herself playing "They Can't Take That Away from Me" in the middle of the night. As Lucie begins to recall her life, she sometimes longs to leave it; as she falls in love again with Brady, he becomes distant. If you've read any of Shortridge's books (When She Flew, etc.), you will guess how this ends, but that doesn't lessen the journey you will take with Lucie and Brady one whit. Get the book, download the music, and settle in for a treat. --Marilyn Dahl