Jim Hilmar

I started with KSER back in November of 1997. I'm a guitar player and I wanted to combine my knowledge and love of music with a focus on the guitar. My special areas of expertise/interest include the "golden age of hillbilly music" (country music from the late 1940's, 1950's and into the 1960's), rockabilly and jazz guitar. Each action-packed edition of Frettin' Fingers features guitar music in several different genres including swing, pop, jazz, rock and roll, vintage hillbilly and country music, rockabilly, surf, blues, acoustic or electric - steel guitar too.

I'm also a writer. I wrote for several guitar-oriented publications from 1991 until 2002 including 20th Century Guitar Magazine, Vintage Guitar Magazine and Vintage Guitar Classics Magazine. I was a regular monthly columnist for Vintage Guitar Magazine, writing the popular "SPOTLIGHT" column for 10 years.

In addition to writing for guitar-oriented magazines, I've written liner notes for numerous CD projects including Howard Roberts, Pearl Django, Joe Cohn, High Noon, Lester Peabody and Steve Abshire and Vince Lewis to name a few.

I've also assisted Bear Family Records with discographical research and photographic contributions on several projects including extensive work on the Jimmy Bryant and Speedy West box set and single CD reissues of material by Joe Maphis and Roy Lanham.