“...may the good news be yours" -Les Nessman April 25th, 2010 The Acoustic Guitar Forum Hand Made Music CD will be released sometime in May. One of my new tunes that will be included on the CD is “Women & Roses”. It was recorded using a McKnight Highlander OM nicknamed the “Cigar” and is one of the Wenge Sisters(long story). I took some time last summer and recorded a video with this guitar. Check out my video page to view it. It will be up on YouTube soon as well.  Aprill 12th, 2010 Road Trip Nation Season Five is now available on DVD. Five of my songs are featured in three of the episodes including the trip to Australia! You can view current episodes online here. I hope to have a few clips up in the near future. April 10th, 2010 Stop by and See Tim & Mary McKnight at Florida’s Newport Guitar Festival April16-18th and pick up a copy of the McKnight Promo CD. It music performed on McKnight guitars by the likes Marty Stuart, Derek Coombs, Sasho Zver, Jim Drury and myself. There is also a new video of my tune “Women & Roses” featuring the McKnight “Cigar” and a full color brochure featuring several McKnight guitars like “the Spar” and “The Diamond”. January 11, 2010 The Handmade Music CD is nearing completion. More info. from producer Steve Reinthal here. December 1st, 2009 The winter has been alternately cold and unseasonably mind here in Northern Lower Michigan. We are muddling through trying to keep cabin fever at arms length. Moving snow seems to be my main hobby of late. Keep shovelin’... August 31st, 2009 It has been a wild and wacky summer ... so much to do and so little time. A highlight was our trip to Hawaii... a very coooooool trip! This summer I was lucky enough to play many fine guitars including several incredible guitars crafted by Tim McKnight and a beauty made by Simon Fay. Many of these guitars will find their way onto a new CD that I continue to work on. On a related note I am looking forward to the AGF Luthiers CD that is still in the mixing stages and will feature many fine guitars and players. May 17th, 2009 The Acoustic Guitar Forum(AGF) is in the process of producing a CD that will feature original compositions and hand made guitars crafted by twelve different luthiers. Among the original compositions will be one of my new tunes recorded on one of Tim McKnight’s finely crafted instruments. Although it is incredibly cool to be included in this project, the best part is that I was able to play some of Tim’s guitars for several months this Spring... what a treat! In addition to Tim McKnight the luthiers that will be represented on the CD are: Tim McKnight, Lance J. Kragenbrink, Woody Brackett, Don Sharp, Nehemiah Covey, Dennis Kwasnycia, Matt Mustapick, TJ Baden, Ken Hodges, Greg Gwaltney, Paul Woolson and Brock Poling. As soon release information is available I will pass it along. March 28th, 2009 I had the opportunity to spend a lovely afternoon with Tim & Mary McKnight today. After a complete tour of the McKnight Guitar shop I enjoyed an hour or so up in the loft playing numerous instruments crafted by Tim’s talented and skilled hands. His workmanship and attention to detail, sonically and aesthetically is simply impeccably! The McKnight even trusted me with a couple of guitars to use for recording some new tunes. Wow... I am still pinching myself! As wonderful as all of that was, Mary topped it off with a gourmet lunch which included homemade apple cobbler -yum!! March 19th, 2009 PBS recently re-edited the Roadtrip Nation Australia series and created an extended version of the Australia series this year. As luck would have it they included two more songs from my Borderline Normal CD- “Early Morning Promises” and “Oreo.” What is even better is that these tunes and the three tunes originally used on the series will be included on the Road Trip Nation DVD to be released soon. I will post an update when it is available. If You have not watched the show yet please follow one the links to the PBS website or watch for it on your local PBS station. January 2, 2009 The Acoustic Revival show on WWSP has included “Round Lake Leelanau” on their Best of 2008 show! I would like to extend a big thanks to Pat Sullivan & Jim Canales , the hosts of Acoustic Revival, for keeping their ears open and for keeping acoustic music alive on the air waves. You can listen to WWSP on line here. Join Jim & Pat each Sunday from 9am to 12pm for The Acoustic Revival Show. December 10th, 2008 Episode eight of Roadtrip Nation has aired. If you missed any of the episodes or want to watch them again the entire season is archived online here to view where and whenever the mood strikes you. If you have not viewed this series I encourage everyone to do so. What an interesting concept for a series. Check it out ! November 24th, 2008 Episode Seven of Roadtrip Nation airs next Monday night and features “Ambient Noise” from my CD Borderline Normal. Watch it the PBS station in your area. Episode eight will air the following Monday and feature three song from the CD. Any order for Borderline Normal from this site will include bumper stickers and pins from the show.  October 7th, 2008 PBS has chosen four songs from the CD Borderline Normal to use in their series Roadtrip Nation's fifth season. More details will be coming soon but it looks like episodes #7 and #8 will include songs from the CD. August 20th, 2008 CKLN in Toronto has added Borderline Normal to the on the “Acoustic Routes” program hosted by Noah Zacharin! Listen on Sundays from 7 to 8 pm if you are in the Toronto area, otherwise you can stream it of the web. Thanks CKLN & Noah. Tune them in and support independent, community and college radio! August 19th, 2008 Dermot McIlroy, one of my favorite luthiers has just celebrated the production of his 500th guitar! Congratulations Dermot! August 4th, 2008 After spending a few days with Tim McKnight’s guitar “The Diamond” I finally got around to posting a review on the AGF. Suffice it to say Tim’s artistry shines through sonically and aesthetically with this guitar. What a pleasure it was to play this wonderful instrument. I have been missing it daily. Thanks again Tim!! Please checkout McKnight Guitars on the web. He is crafting world class guitars in his workshop. August 2nd, 2008 WTUL 91.5 New Orleans has added Borderline Normal to their programing. Thanks Rob! Tune them in and support independent, community and college radio! July 23rd, 2008 Tim McKnight, guitar builder extraordinaire, has generously allowed me the privilege of using his amazing creation “The Diamond” in the studio for a bit. What an absolute treat! With any luck the guitar should inspire some new tunes. I will post a review after “The Diamond” and I get to know each other.  July 7th, 2008 The Acoustic Guitar Forum has just released the first in what will hopefully be a series CDs showcasing the talents of acoustic artists who are also members of this unique online forum. The AGF is my favorite music oriented forum and is well worth checking out. It is no surprise that I am very pleased that “Borderline Normal” has been included in this first Acoustic Guitar Forum CD. Click here to listen to samples and order a copy of the CD. June 17th, 2008 As the financial belt has tightened from higher costs everywhere I realized I needed to find a less expensive way to keep a web page going. The solution was to learn to build a web page myself. What you see here are the fruits of this labor, or is it the trials an tribulations of a self taught web page designer? Either way I am fairly proud of myself and my ability to overcome the obstacles and create this page with the help of iweb. As I learn more I will tweak these pages. If you feel the inclination let me know what you think of my first foray into web design. June 12th, 2008 Several songs from Borderline Normal have been added to the Instrumental/New Age Channel at Galaxie, the continuous music Network of the CBC June 7th, 2008 Summer is here and with any luck at all I will be able to record a bunch of new tunes!! May 7th, 2008 "Borderline Normal” has received an honorable mention in the West Coast Song Writers 2008 Contest. March 28, 2008 “Tears for a Princess” was named a top finalist in the instrumental category of The 9th Annual Great American Song Contest. Nearly 2,000 songwriters from forty countries around the world entered the contest. April 1st, 2008 The folks at WYCE were kind enough to let me be a part of their Spring Fund Drive this weekend. Thanks a bunch to Teresa Dawkins and Pete Bruinsma for inviting me and let talk and play a bit during her show! Such wonderful people filling the airwaves with good vibes! Jan. 3,. 2008 Borderline Normal CD Nominated for a Jammie! WYCE has to announce their 9th Annual Jammie Nominations. Among the nominees for Best New Local Folk is <i>Borderline Normal! How Cooooool is that!! Winners will be announced February 12, 2008 at the 9th Annual JAMMIES to be held at Wealthy Theatre in Grand Rapids. This year's show starts at 5 p.m. As usual, admission is free, but those wearing pajamas (jammies) get their choice of a free CD. Some performers you can expect to see on stage this year include Karisa Wilson, Ralston Bowles, Cedar Rock Basement Program, Brian Vander Ark, La Famiglia, Nobody's Darlin', Truckstop Cobras, The Icicles and Root Doctor. Sounds like a blast! Jan. 16, 2008 Traverse the Magazine has expanded their My North section by launching MyNorth.com. Check it out and listen for tracks from Borderline Normal . Dec. 16, 2007 Check Out the December issue of Traverse Magazine for a great article on Seth Bernard & Daisy May and a review of Borderline Normal in the Up North Section. Nov. 26, 2007 Borderline Normal is featured on mlive.com Local Spins from the Grand Rapids Press. Check it out! Nov. 24, 2007 Schuler Books Stocks Borderline Normal! Borderline Normal is now available in Grand Rapids at Schuler Books & Music located at 2660 28th Street SE , Grand Rapids, Michigan. Oct 10th , 2007 The gang at WNMC and the Folk Aire show were gracious enough to let me stop by an play a bit, talk a bit and hang out a bit during their annual fund raising broadcasts. Thanks Greg for letting me be a part of WNMC! Oct., 5, 2007 Climbing on New Age Reporter Borderline Normal has climbed to #159 on the New Age Reporter September Spin Chart. Oct. 1, 2007 The judges of the 2007 Great Lakes Songwriting Contest have chosen the song, "Borderline Normal," for an honorable mention. Read about it on Mlive.com Sept. 1, .2007 Look for the December issue of Traverse the Magazine. Borderline Normal will be featured in the December Issue of Traverse the Magazine! Sept. 13, 2007 #19 on Roots Music Report!! Borderline Normal is #19 on the Roots Music Report Folk Chart. Sept. 9, 2007 Looking for great radio?? Listen for Tracks from Borderline Normal on the following radio shows: Acoustic Alternatives on WHFR Dearborn, MI. Jerry's Place on Radioactivity.fm Night Tides with Renée Blanche, 89.3 FM KCUR Folk-Aire and American Crossroads on WNMC Traverse City, MI Repose with Frank Slaughter on WIAA Interlochen, M I The Roots Music Project with Jeremy Baldwin on WEMU Ypsilanti, MI Aug. 27, 2007 Borderline Normal hits the NewAge Reporter August Spin Chart Aug. 18, 2007 Listen for Tracks from Borderline Normal on the web radio shows: (see the Links page for more info) WholeWheat Radio Folk Alley HOMEGROWNRADIONNJ RADIOnuages.com CLOUD365 Radioactivity.fm SongVault Aug, 14, 2007 Borderline Normal is #7 on the Michigan Regional Roots Artists Radio Airplay Chart July 27, 2007 Tracks from Borderline Normal can now be heard on these terrestrial radio stations: WIAA Interlochen, MI.; WNMC Traverse City, MI.; WXDU-Durham, North Carolina; KCUR- Night Tides -Kanas City, Missouri; WWSP Stevens Point, Wisconsin WEMU-1 & WEMU-2 Ypsilanti, MI WYCE Grand Rapids, MI WAER Syracuse, NY July 2007 Thanks to Tom Kramer and WIAA for allowing me to play and talk a bit on the Nature’s Call program. or and the Folk Aire show were gracious enough to let me stop by an play a bit, talk a bit and hang out a bit during their annual fund raising broadcasts. Thanks Greg for letting me be a part of WNMC! May, 18, 2007 Borderline Normal on NPR! Check out “Borderline Normal” on National Public Radio's Open Mic! May 1, 2007 WHOLEWHEAT Radio Spotlight Artist Listen for tunes from Borderline Normal on WWR- Whole Wheat Radio throughout the day on May 21st when I will be the Spotlight Artist. How cool is that(<>:).... I am all for a little more grain in my musical diet- Wheatheads unite!! April 30, 2007 Borderline Normal is Sher Delight! Tune in Sher Delight on HOMEGROWNRADIONJ every Tuesday between noon and 3pm Eastern Standard Time ( 5-8 pm England or 6-9 pm Central Europe Time) for an eclectic mix of very cool music! This Tuesday Borderline Normal will make its debut on Sher’s show. Thanks for the open ears Sher! April 15, 2007 “Autrain River” is being featured as the theme music for a new audio program on entitled Nature's Call. The program, which focuses on getting outdoors and enjoying Northern Michigan, is hosted by WIAA’s very own Tom Kramer. Nature's Call. premiered on April 14th and featured, among others, musical legend and NMC instructor Jim Crockett! What a thrill to be connected with Mr. Crockett. Listen to it here. As any Northern Michigan native can tell you, Jim wrote and recorded “The Manistee River Song”, long considered a Northern Michigan musical treasure. Jim’s latest CD entitled Heart Sandwiches CD is a gem as well. The next installment of Nature's Call will air on May 12 at 7pm and May 13th at 1 pm on Interlochen’s WIAA . Thanks to Tom Kramer and Jack Conners of WIAA for keeping those ears open! March 21, 2007 Borderline Normal & NPR National Public Radio's Open Mic Web Program will be featuring the title track from Borderline Normal in the near future. A a specific time and date will be posted right here when they are available! March 12, 2007 Listen to Borderline Normal on WNMC Borderline Normal CD debuts at #14 on WNMC’s Top CD Chart- Thanks WNMC! If you are looking for “off the beaten path” music you owe to yourself to check out these fine shows on WNMC: Mornings from 6- 8am every Monday through Friday; Afternoon Jazz from 2 to 5pm every Monday through Friday; Folk-Aire -Tuesdays from 7-9pm & Saturdays from 2-4pm; American Crossroads every Monday through Thursday from 5 to 7pm; Back 40 on Thursdays from 7-9 pm Feb. 16, 2007 Borderline Normal Goes Whole Wheat! Listen for tunes from Borderline Normal on WWR-Whole Wheat Radio the all volunteer, grassroots, labor-of-love webcasting radio station. Tune in for some of the best variety of music anywhere! Better yet, become a “Wheathead” and request a track from Borderline Normal. http://www.taylorforum.com/http://www.mcknightguitars.com/Video.htmlhttp://roadtripnation.com/store/store_detail.php?image_id=19http://roadtripnation.com/http://www.newportguitarfestival.com/http://www.stevereinthal.com/PRODUCINGhttp://www.mcknightguitars.com/http://www.fayguitars.com/index.htmlhttp://www.acousticguitarforum.com/http://www.mcknightguitars.com/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/roadtripnation/music.html#episode_7http://www.uwsp.edu/STUORG/WWSP/index.htmhttp://www.uwsp.edu/STUORG/WWSP/listenlive.htmlhttp://www.pbs.org/wnet/roadtripnation/music.html#episode_7http://www.pbs.org/wnet/roadtripnation/episode8.htmlhttp://www.pbs.org/wnet/roadtripnation/music.html#episode_7http://jamesfilkins.com/Music_CD.htmlhttp://www.roadtripnation.com/http://www.ckln.fm/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dermotmcilroy/index_files/Page394.htmhttp://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1559373#post1559373http://www.mcknightguitars.com/http://www.wtulneworleans.com/v08/index.htmlhttp://www.mcknightguitars.com/http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/http://www.acousticgallery.com/index.php?page=agf-cd-vol-1http://www.galaxie.ca/http://www.westcoastsongwriters.org/contest_winnerinfo.htmhttp://www.westcoastsongwriters.org/contest_winnerinfo.htmhttp://www.greatamericansong.com/honorary.htmlhttp://www.greatamericansong.com/honorary.htmlhttp://www.grcmc.org/radio/http://www.grcmc.org/about/news.php?content_category_id=5http://www.grcmc.org/radio/index.php?news_item_id=256http://MyNorth.com/http://www.mynorth.com/My-North/March-2008/Homegrown-Grooves/http://blog.mlive.com/soundcheck/2007/12/this_weeks_local_spins_7/print.htmlhttp://www.schulerbooks.com/http://www.wnmc.org/index.phphttp://www.newagereporter.com/charts/viewchart.asp%22http://www.greatlakessongs.comhttp://blog.mlive.com/soundcheck/2007/10/local_music_awards_of_the_week.html%22http://livepage.apple.com/http://www.rootsmusicreport.com/2.0/charts.php?name=folkhttp://livepage.apple.com/http://www.rootsmusicreport.comhttp://www.wnmc.org/index.phphttp://odeo.com/audio/11662653/viewhttp://www.wholewheatradio.org/wiki/index.php/Whole_Wheat_Radiohttp://www.wholewheatradio.org/wiki/index.php/System_List_Spotlightshttp://www.homegrownradionj.com/index.shtmlhttp://www.homegrownradionj.com/DJs/shows/sher_delight.htmhttp://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wiaa/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1068602&sectionID=2306http://michigancd.com/Jim_Crockett.htmlhttp://michigancd.com/Jim_Crockett.htmlhttp://www.interlochen.org/ipr/http://www.npr.org/templates/topics/topic.php?topicid=1094http://www.wnmc.org/index.phphttp://www.wholewheatradio.org/wiki/index.php/Whole_Wheat_Radiohttp://www.wholewheatradio.org/wiki/index.php/Music_search%22http://www.mcknightguitars.com/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/roadtripnation/music.html#episode_7http://www.pbs.org/wnet/roadtripnation/index.htmlhttp://www.acousticgallery.com/index.php?page=agf-cd-vol-1shapeimage_1_link_0shapeimage_1_link_1shapeimage_1_link_2shapeimage_1_link_3shapeimage_1_link_4shapeimage_1_link_5shapeimage_1_link_6shapeimage_1_link_7shapeimage_1_link_8shapeimage_1_link_9shapeimage_1_link_10shapeimage_1_link_11shapeimage_1_link_12shapeimage_1_link_13shapeimage_1_link_14shapeimage_1_link_15shapeimage_1_link_16shapeimage_1_link_17shapeimage_1_link_18shapeimage_1_link_19shapeimage_1_link_20shapeimage_1_link_21shapeimage_1_link_22shapeimage_1_link_23shapeimage_1_link_24shapeimage_1_link_25shapeimage_1_link_26shapeimage_1_link_27shapeimage_1_link_28shapeimage_1_link_29shapeimage_1_link_30shapeimage_1_link_31shapeimage_1_link_32shapeimage_1_link_33shapeimage_1_link_34shapeimage_1_link_35shapeimage_1_link_36shapeimage_1_link_37shapeimage_1_link_38shapeimage_1_link_39shapeimage_1_link_40shapeimage_1_link_41shapeimage_1_link_42shapeimage_1_link_43shapeimage_1_link_44shapeimage_1_link_45shapeimage_1_link_46shapeimage_1_link_47shapeimage_1_link_48shapeimage_1_link_49shapeimage_1_link_50shapeimage_1_link_51shapeimage_1_link_52shapeimage_1_link_53shapeimage_1_link_54shapeimage_1_link_55shapeimage_1_link_56shapeimage_1_link_57shapeimage_1_link_58shapeimage_1_link_59shapeimage_1_link_60

    JAMES FILKINS

Instrumental Fingerstyle

Acoustic Guitar

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