James Padilla was born on Dec. 17, 1971, in
Lubbock, TX. The youngest of five children, and only boy, he was exposed to music very early on. Some of the very first
sounds to enter his ears were from the screaming guitar of Ted Nugent and the piercing lung shot from Robert Plant.
The lure of music seemed to call to him through
all of his young life, but it wasn't until he was fifteen when he decided to pick up his first instrument. Saving as
much money as he could from his job at his father's garage, and with the help of his sister Norma, he had his first guitar.
A Fender Telecaster copy. Since then, the list of guitars bought, sold, pawned and broken has been numerous.
Much of his training in the
guitar has been self-taught, but James did take Flamenco lessons with renowned classical guitarist Susan Grisanti when he was a teenager. The experience had a lasting effect on him
and her influence can be heard in his style to this day.
