here’s the PR

After a year or two of discussions on the subject, poet Chris Rockwell and performer James Dalton are finally bringing a collaberation to the stage in the form of “OFFSEASON-Winter Words From the Jersey Shore”. A pair of Jersey Shore natives, they met and became friends in the poetry readings and open mics of Monmouth County while James was taking time off the road to recover from a surgery on his vocal chords. Both shared an interest in unconventional and intelligent use of language and a hardy disdain for some of the cliched and half measured verse that was surrounding them. “OFFSEASON” will find both artists exploring and celebrating the quieter times along the Jersey Shore, when the boardwalks are abandoned and the party seems over, the highways are lonely but the nor’easters come barreling in along the beaches and still plenty of heart and soul in the locals. Both Chris and James are very accomplished locally, with numerous Asbury Music Award nominations as well as Rockwell’s naming of the 2006 Grand Slam Champion of Loser Slam(Monmouth County) and Dalton’s repeated selection to represent the Jersey Shore Jazz and Blues Foundation at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN. They’s reached the national stage, touring with major artists in both music and poetry, and James has gone on to tour extensively on the international level across three continents. Each of them have released chapbooks of their work to much acclaim.
On December 11th, Chris Rockwell and James Dalton will hit the stage at the Show Room on Cookman Avenue in Asbury Park to do two shows back to back, delivering a mix of poetry and storytelling with a little music thrown in. Both performers are excited, as this has been in the works for several years.