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------ Hot Air!
Performing & Recording Artist
Singer-songwriter/Guitarist
-- Born September 17, 1962, Chicago, IL.
-- Musical style has been called "acousti-clectic’’ and has been described as:
"too jazzy to be called pop, too popish to be called folk,
too folky to be called rock, and too rockin’ to be called jazz.
Quit tryin’ to label this guy and listen!’’
-- Major influences include Dan Fogelberg and James Taylor, as well as Elton John, Pete Townsend, Bob Seger, John Mellencamp, Bob Weir and Bruce Springsteen.
-- Nationwide performer with exposure from Alaska to Atlanta,
Martha’s Vineyard to the Grand Canyon, Chicago and the Heartland
to the Colorado Rockies. Highlighting the central Colorado
mountain resort stages since 1990.
-- Numerous cable TV and live radio appearances. Cast in the lead role as "David Shepard’’ in the 1995 Vail, CO debut of Don Watson’s
contemporary opera "Come To The River’’.
-- Three albums released:
The Vail Valley Dine & Party Guide calls "Reach":
"a landscape of life painted with strokes of acoustic brilliance. The pallet is filled with fine vocals, brilliant guitar work and thought-provoking lyrics.’’
Jim’s professional musical career started early,
with his first paid performance as the lead singer of an original heavy
metal band ("Spectrum’’) while still in junior high.
High school saw Jim run through a series of hard rock cover bands, where
he developed his high energy level and powerful vocal style.
During college (University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign), Jim picked
up the guitar to enhance his songwriting. In 1983 he was recorded live
for the Red Herring Folk Festival album "Folk + Music at the Red
Herring’’. After completing an undergraduate degree in Business
Admin./Marketing (1984), he headed north to Alaska, appearing in clubs
and restaurants along the Kenai Peninsula.
In the spring of 1985 Jim was offered a scholarship to study for a graduate
degree in Advertising. He returned to the University of Illinois, but
continued to actively pursue his musical ambitions with numerous club
dates and appearances on cable TV and radio. After receiving his Master’s
degree, and while working in the market research field, he released
the cassette-album "Dreamin’ On A Highway’’ (1987).
Jim began to pursue his musical career full time in 1989, moving to
Summit County, Colorado. That first year alone he performed in Colorado,
Chicago, Atlanta, and throughout the Midwest. He made Vail, Colorado
his home base in 1992. Since that time he has averaged well over 200
shows a year, becoming a mainstay on the mountain resort stages and
building an international mailing list of well over 1000 fans.
In 1996, Jim gathered a group of investors and formed a corporation,
Big Air Music, Inc., to record and publish his material. In December
of that year the company’s first CD ("Reach’’) was
released.
A follow-up CD ("Take Some Time") was recorded
and released in 2001. Both discs have been well-received and continue
to sell at Jim's performances and through this website.
Today Jim resides in Golden, Colorado, and is currently focusing on
developing his new band, Confluence Park.
In the winter, he performs in the mountain ski resorts
and along Colorado’s Front Range. Spring and fall are the "road
trip" seasons, with recent and current tour routes taking him through
Texas, the Southwest, and across the Midwest, appearing at coffeehouses,
restaurants, nightclubs, theaters and colleges along the way. Summers
find him throughout the Rocky Mountain region.
