Snapshot: Freddie James

Instrument: Drums & Vocalist

Hometown: Waynesville, N.C.

Joined the Band: 1995

Freddie's Story

Freddie James drummed on books before he could read them. At age 4, he sat next to the radio keeping rhythm. "I had different-pitched books for drums, a globe for a cymbal and pencils for drum sticks," he says. Freddie got his first drum set when he was 7 and taught himself to play.

His parents didn't object to having a drummer in the house. "I beat the walls down, and they loved it," he says. "My mother made me play for all her friends she brought over to the house."

Freddie first performed outside of his Waynesville, N.C., home at a seventh-grade school talent show. He played in band throughout junior high and high school. In his senior year, he was drum captain of the Tuscola High School Marching Band and a member of the school's choral group, Summit . "I couldn't play enough in high school," says Freddie. "I took three classes in the morning and spent the rest of the afternoon in band."

After graduating from high school in 1980, Freddie joined The Cross Country Band, a country and western band in the Waynesville area. He balanced his performances with his studies at Western Carolina University , where he received bachelor's degrees in sports management and education, and a K-12 teaching certificate in physical education.

From 1982 to 1990, Freddie performed at The Stompin' Ground Music Hall in Maggie Valley, N.C., with The Cross Country Band and also with The Risin' Fast Band. There, he got the opportunity to play with Nashville artist Buck Trent. "He walked out in an Elvis Presley suit, and I just took a deep breath," he says. "He played everything so fast it was hard to keep up, but we got through it."

In 1990, Freddie took a job as athletic director at the Jackson County Recreation Department in Sylva, N.C. He stayed there for five years, but he made time to perform every weekend. He played with the band Crossfire in Franklin, N.C. , during the winter and with the Rick Morris Band at the Rick Morris Country Theatre in Cherokee, N.C., in the summer.

Freddie also performed for a year with the Lawmen as a contract musician. Norfolk Southern hired him in 1995 as a corporate musician to play drums full time.

Freddie's love for music has only increased since he kept time with pencils and books. "My dad bought me my first drum set from the local store for $25," he says. "It had a blue metallic sparkle color I'll never forget."