Do you know how many Jim Nelsons there are in the world?

I think the real question is a bit more broad. MP3 would only be significant as a swapping tool it weren't for inexpensive recording techniques made possible by the computer. Although there is a definite difference between professional and garage production, it is now possible to produce very decent sounding material wihout any outside professional help. We swapped music back in the days of vinyl and cassettes. MP3s and the internet, on the other hand, represent this new democratization of music. It's the way music oughta be.

Me? A record deal! That's a hoot. (ROTFL)
But, yeah, if they called, I'd talk to them.

I've been playing since I was a kid and writing since I was in High School. I've played here and there, but with no regularity, since college.

It was reading Sara Teasdale's poems back in the early 90s that got me going as a serious songwriter. The poems were very lyrical and demanded some accompanying tunes. I had been writing poetry for a few years, so once I figured out I could write tunes, I started writing songs also.

Larry Norman and his musical offspring (Randy Stonehill, Terry Scott Taylor, etc), Willie Nelson, Gary Chapman (huge). There's probably even a bit of Gordon Lightfoot. ('cause I grew up listening to Canadian radio -- CHAB: "The Big 8")

I loved April Wine and BTO, but the guitar riffs didn't translate to my classic guitar very well.

The Bighorns in northern Wyoming.

The classic guitar is an Aria 791. The acoustic is an Ibanez Performance with a Fishman pickup.
The "recording studio" is an AudioTechnica ATR40 mic and an AT ATM150 mixer attached to my computer. For mixing I use Accoustica MP3 Audo Mixer and for recording I use Goldwave. (Both are shareware. How cheap is that!) I include other equipment and instruments when I can get my hands on it.

Check out my primary web site at http://www.justanotherjim.com