Go ahead and laugh, cry, or wonder, as you read J.M. Hopkins' coming-of-age story in HOP II: Rocker on the Stages of Life. See the big doofus of a kid have to navigate through a part of Memphis which was vastly different from the section of the city where he was born and spent his formative years. Like a fish out of water, young Joe was out of his element. All the cool kids shunned him, and many teased and taunted the ragged, unkempt boy who only wanted friendship and respect.
Could music save him? Several inspirations along the way made him think it might. A wonderful teacher, who dissected music to show her students its different layers and parts, got it started. Several classmates became Joe's friends, all dreaming of forming a rock-and-roll band together.
Imagine you're Joe, sitting at your desk, across and slightly behind a dream of a girl who has you totally besotted. Your yearning to express your feelings for her – or any girl, for that matter – are held in check by your total lack of "cool". Was music the way out of this for a boy who wasn't even yet a teenager?
The magical day of his thirteenth birthday, and a special gift from his father, got it all started…..
