Jim is a Jesuit Brother originally from Saint Ignace. The summer Jim was 15, his uncle took him to a barn sale, where Jim saw a fiddle and immediately fell in love with it. He told his folks if they let him buy it he would learn to play it, and learn it he did. His connection to Beaver Island musicians started at a Fiddler's  Jamboree in Cheybogan, where he met Danny Johnston. Through him, Jim met Jewell Gillespie, and then Danny Gillespie.  He now says that his "music connection has grown into the best two friendships one could possibly have." In addition to the fiddle, Jim also plays the mandolin, tin whistle, guitar, and piano. He says that music sounds best when surrounded by the waters of Northern Michigan.  Brother Jim is a 2019 inductee into the Michigan Irish American Hall of Fame in the category of Religion.