Bio

Poetic songwriting. Passionate performances. Soulful storytelling. For over 20 years, this gifted singer/songwriter/acoustic guitarist has been writing, playing and performing to audiences large and small. He creates a powerful, yet intimate connection with the audience with lyrics that capture the journey of friendship, love, loss, and the beauty found in the smallest moments in life with an unflinching honesty. His performances are truly unforgettable, as he paints a unique picture with his voice and his music. A talent not to be missed.

Growing up in a small town in upstate New York, Jim's musical career began at a very early age. The youngest of 11 children, Jim was introduced to the guitar by his older brother, Tom. He would sit for hours on end watching Tom play songs by the Rolling Stones Lou Reed, Bob Dylan as well as blues classics from Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker. As he got older, Jim's musical influences would range from anywhere between the Grateful Dead to Van Halen. Music was in his blood. Playing guitar became his passion.

Tom gave Jim his first guitar, an old Harmony acoustic that had been passed down to Tom by their older sister Mary. The guitar had seen better days but Jim had forged a bond with it and he soon began to feel what finger calluses were all about. Jim started playing the electric guitar in his teens but gravitated back to the acoustic guitar in his early twenties. The "raw-naked" sound that could only be found on an acoustic guitar became the sound that would blossom the songwriting seed that was planted in his soul.

He began to write music in his early twenties, deriving from the experiences of his childhood and adolescence. What were once scribbled words on paper would become the framework for his first original songs. In that time, Jim joined a few bands. His first band, Pouch, was a band that drew primarily on original music. He wrote the lyrics, sang the songs and helped with the arrangements. Pouch played regionally for a few years until band members went their separate ways. His second band, Spring Fed, relied on original material as well as covers. They toured regionally and still play the occasional gig.

After some personal health problems set him back in 2013, Jim was once again able to focus on music. Today he plays regionally as a solo act and as a duo with drummer/percussionist, Dan Macdonald (McArdle & Macdonald).