James Hellman

James Hellman is one of the most well-rounded people in the music business. He has worked with just about every major artist we know (see his amazing client list below) — and whether he is in the studio producing, mixing, engineering, or he is doing live sound, stage managing, tour managing, consulting for television or acting as the master instrument technician that he is world famous for, he treats every artist and band he has ever worked for with the same attention to detail and enthusiasm he has brought to the stage for the last 27 years.

James’ interest in music began at an early age. When he was 15 he went to see Yes at Madison Square Garden in New York. That concert changed my life, said James. I knew right away that I had to be a part of this. Ten years later I would work with Yes at the Garden, and now hundreds and hundreds of bands and several thousand shows later, I still remember that night.

He was the bass player in 1121, a progressive rock band signed to HME Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. As the story goes, one day their manager’s office became a dentist’s office and that day he decided the other side of the curtain was a safer place to be. He began working at Studio Instrument Rentals in NY (SIR), became the night manager and quickly became the most requested and respected technician in town. Proficient with every instrument, everyone wanted him on his or her show.

James spent a year and a half in Greece working closely with Grammy- and Oscar-winning composer Vangelis, as his assistant and instrument tech and keyboard developer. He was among the first technicians to become an expert in MIDI, and was soon sought after for those skills by legends such as Hall and Oats, Carly Simon, Steve Stevens and Living Colour, to name a few.

James returned to the US and helped design and build SIR’s Nashville studio. When that project finished, he returned to NY and began managing SIR-NY’s six rehearsal studios and soundstages. He became the yearly sales leader and remained the most requested tech, doing the musical setups for live TV shows in the morning, managing the studios by day and concerts at night. His energy and dedication is amazing. Whether taking off to Bermuda to work on the Bermuda Jazz Festival, managing the stage for Clive Davis’ prestigious pre-Grammy party (four times) or coordinating the equipment for the Grammy (five times) since 1980 he has constantly been in the thick of the music scene.

James was hired as the Music Coordinator for The Caroline Rhea Show, broadcast on ABC and completed 147 flawless shows before deciding to partner up with a few of his friends and co-founded Best Instrument Rentals (Best). A full-service backline rental and rehearsal boutique, he still managed to find time to stage supervise projects like Quincy Jones’ We Are The Future concert in Rome, Italy featuring some of the world’s largest acts. With James as the Executive Vice-President, Best quickly managed to capture most of the television accounts in NYC. Also at that time he began producing da Silva Artists singer/songwriter Joe Condiracci.

In 2005, he ventured out into the Atlantic Ocean with Carly Simon and assisted her in making a live companion DVD from the middle of the ocean! A Moonlight Serenade on the Queen Mary II was the result. That year he also began what would become his regular role as Sound Designer for Rosie O’Donnell’s R Family cruises that feature many of Broadway’s brightest stars performing nightly while at sea.

In late 2006, James signed on as a consultant and producer for the da Silva Artists family. He quickly shifted his focus to developing artists from the ground up. Preparing them every step of the way with the management team, James produced the single, I Like You Like That for Brazilian singer Jamba, and has been further developing him in rehearsals and also providing the band with world-class sound and live recordings for both his showcases and live shows.

In his own studio, James has also been recording and producing some acoustic beauties for da Silva Artists writer Alex Petrounov — Boy Meets Girl, Headlights and Smile. Between Alex’ storytelling abilities, and James’ production… they’ll give you goose bumps every time.

Here are some of the acts James has worked with:

• 98 Degrees
• Aaliyah
• Abba
• Aerosmith
• Aimee Mann
• Al Jarreau
• Alan Holdsworth
• Alanis Morissette
• Alex Petrounov
• Alicia Keys
• The Allman Brothers
• Angela Via
• Anita Baker
• Annie Lenox
• Anthony Hamilton
• Aretha Franklin
• Ashanti
• Ashford & Simpson
• Atlantic Records
• B*Witched
• B. B. King
• Backstreet Boys
• Bacon Brothers
• The Band
• Barry White
• The Beach Boys
• Beastie Boys
• Ben Robinson
• Ben Taylor
• Bernie Williams
• Bette Midler
• Beyonce
• Billy Idol
• Billy Joel
• Billy Ocean
• Blondie
• BMG
• Bo Bice
• Bo Diddley
• Bon Jovi
• Bonnie Raitt
• Brian Adams
• Brian May
• Britney Spears
• Brooks & Dunn
• Bruce Springsteen
• Buckcherry
• Bush
• Captain & Tenille
• Carlos Santana
• Carly Simon
• Carole King
• The Caroline Rhea Show
• Carrie Underwood
• Celine Dion
• Cher
• Chic
• Chicago
• Christina Aguilera
• Chuck Berry
• The Clash
• Clint Black
• Columbia Records
• Counting Crows
• Crissy Hynde
• Crosby Stills & Nash
• Cyndi Lauper
• Dave Mathews
• David Bowie
• David Crosby
• David Letterman
• Debbie Harry
• Def Jam Records
• Def Leppard
• Deftones
• Del McCoury Band
• Destiny’s Child
• Devo
• Diana Ross
• Dianna Krall
• Dido
• The Disco Biscuits
• Dixie Chicks
• Don Henley
• The Donnas
• The Doobie Brothers
• Duran Duran
• The Eagles
• Earth, Wind & Fire
• Edwin McCain
• Electracy
• Elton John
• Elvis Costello
• En Vogue
• Enrique Iglesias
• Eric Clapton
• Erica Badu
• Eurythmics
• Fab Faux (Will Lee)
• Faith Hill
• Filter
• Five For Fighting
• Fleetwood Mac
• Flock Of Seagulls
• Foo Fighters
• The Four Tops
• Fuel
• G. E. Smith & The Saturday Night Live Band
• Garth Brooks
• Genesis
• George Benson
• George Clinton
• George Michael
• Geri Halliwell
• Gladys Knight
• Gloria Estefan
• Goo Goo Dolls
• Good Morning America (ABC)
• Graham Nash
• The Grateful Dead
• Gretchen Wilson
• Guns & Roses
• Gwen Stefani
• Hall & Oates
• Hanson
• Heart
• Hootie & The Blowfish
• Howie Day
• Incubus
• India Arie
• Inxs
• J Records
• Ja Rule
• The Jackson 5
• Jackson Browne
• Jamba
• James Brown
• James Taylor
• Janet Jackson
• Jeff Beck
• Jennifer Lopez
• Jessica Simpson
• Jet
• Jewel
• Jimmie Vaughan
• Jimmy Buffett
• Jimmy Isley
• Jimmy Page
• Joan Jett
• Joan Osborne
• Joe Condiracci
• Joe Jackson
• Johnny Cash
• Joni Mitchell
• Julio Iglesias
• Kanye West
• Kate Bush
• KC and the Sunshine Band
• k.d. lang
• Keith Richards
• Kelly Clarkson
• Kid Rock
• King Crimson
• The Kinks
• Kiss
• Kool & The Gang
• KoRn (KoЯn)
• LFO
• Lamya
• Last Call with Carson Daly
• Late Night with Conan O’Brien
• Late Show with David Letterman
• Lauryn Hill
• Lava Records
• Leann Rimes
• Led Zepplin
• Les Claypool
• Limp Bizkit
• Lina
• Lionel Richie
• Little Richard
• Little Steven
• Live
• Live with Regis & Kelly
• Living Colour
• Liza Minelli
• Laurie Anderson
• Lou Reed
• Loverboy
• Lucy Woodward
• Luther Vandross
• Lyle Lovett
• M2M
• Macy Gray
• Madonna
• Mandy Moore
• The Manhattan Transfer
• Marc Anthony
• Mariah Carey
• Marianne Faithful
• Maroon 5
• Martina McBride
• Marv Terpin
• Mary J. Blige
• Mary Mary
• Matchbox 20
• Men At Work
• Metallica
• Metropolitan Entertainment
• Michael Jackson
• Missy Elliot
• Moby
• Motown Records
• Natalie Cole
• Neil Diamond
• Neil Young
• Nelly Furtado
• Nikka Costa
• Nile Rodgers
• Nine Inch Nails
• ‘N Sync
• No Doubt
• Norah Jones
• Oleander
• Oleata Adams
• Or Music
• Our Lady Peace
• OutKast
• Ozzy Osborne
• Pam Tillis
• Parliament-Funkadelic
• Patti Labelle
• Paul McCartney
• Paul Rogers
• Paul Schaeffer
• Paul Simon
• Pete Townsend
• Peter Cincotti
• Peter Frampton
• Peter Gabriel
• Peter Tosh
• Phil Collins
• Pink Floyd
• Pitty Sing
• The Plasmatics
• The Police
• The Pretenders
• Prince
• Puff Daddy
• Queensrÿche
• R-Angels
• Rage Against The Machine
• Randy Travis
• Raquel Welch
• Ray Charles
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Renee Olstead
• Ricky Byrd
• Ricky Martin
• Rita Marley
• Rob Thomas
• Robert Palmer
• Roberta Flack
• The Rolling Stones
• Rod Stewart
• The Rosie O’Donnell Show
• Run-D.M.C.
• Sara Evans
• Sarah McLachlan
• Savage Garden
• Shania Twain
• Shawn Colvin
• Shawn Pelton
• Sheryl Crow
• Simply Red
• Sinéad O’Connor
• Smokey Robinson
• Soulive
• South Side Johnny
• Spin Doctors
• Spyro Gyra
• Staind
• Steely Dan
• Stephen Stills
• Steve Stevens
• Stevie Nicks
• Stevie Winwood
• Sting
• Stone Temple Pilots
• Taj Mahal
• Tantric
• Taylor Dane
• Third Eye Blind
• ’til tuesday
• Tina Turner
• Tito Puente
• TLC
• Toby Lightman
• Today (NBC)
• Tom Petty
• Tom Tom Club
• Toni Braxton
• The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson
• The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
• Tony Bennett
• Trisha Yearwood
• Twisted Sister
• Usher
• Vangelis
• Vernon Reid
• The Verve Pipe
• The View (ABC)
• Vince Neil
• WKTU
• Warner Brothers Records
• Whitney Houston
• Willie Nelson
• Wyclef Jean
• Wynonna Judd
• Yes
• Yoko Ono
• Z100
• ZZ Top
• Ziggy Marley