Following his passion for acoustic guitars, James has gained notoriety as a skilled luthier, building guitars and restoring vintage instruments since 2002. This has led to a successful business locally, nationally and internationally.
James has been a professional guitarist and singer/ songwriter for over 40 years. He has worked with Carleen Carter,The Del Fuegos and toured with Tina Turner from 1980 - 2000. During this time he played on several of Tina's CD's, including her hit single "Simply The Best" and appeared in the movie "What's Love Got To Do With It". He co-wrote "On Silent Wings" with Tony Joe White, which was released as a single on Tina Turner's Wildest Dreams CD. James also wrote the Italian to English lyric adaptation of the European Hit Single "Cose della Vita" by Eros Ramazotti, which was then re-recorded as a duett with Tina. In 2002 James began playing and recording with Vonda Shepard, who is the well known singer/ songwriter from the TV Series "Ally McBeal".