James Donahower grew up in suburban Philadelphia, where he spent the better part of his childhood peeling paint off of the stop-sign post at the end of the street. At age 16, he was shipped off to an acting school. This felt more like life, and his career in entertainment began. While crisscrossing Europe (where he lived for 7 years) fronting a band, making hit records, and shooting strange films, James acquired an in-depth knowledge of production. Out of sheer necessity, he evolved from a self-obsessed performer into a bona fide concert organizer/self-obsessed performer. An early, career-defining achievement was "Rock for Refugees", a massive benefit concert James staged in the Czech Republic for war-victims from the former Yugoslavia. Upon his return to the U.S., James leveraged his writing/communication skills to establish himself as an award-winning radio journalist at Voice of America, but it wasn't long before the bright lights and greasepaint of concert organization (this time, under the auspices of Empire Entertainment) drew him back in. When James is not backstage, chatting about Modigliani with Rod Stewart, he frolics with his wife and sons in the desolate concrete playgrounds of New York's East Village. He also enjoys badminton and waterskiing.