by Kenny Kerner

Although he began playing guitar at the tender age of five, Philadelphia resident Jim Boggia didn't claim to be a full-time musician until much later. Par for the course, I'd say. For the past few years, Jim worked for Ensoniq, a musical instrument company, and at nights, performed with various bands at clubs and weddings.

Jim's infatuation with music began when he discovered records for the first time: "I must have been about four years old and I was fascinated with records. They were like these magical bits of plastic. And even at my very young age, I had always hoped to one day be able to make some of those things myself." Little did Jim realize that his "one day" would come soon enough. While still attending high school, Boggia began recording jingles which, upon graduation, led him to a job at several advertising agencies and eventually, to his very own jingle house.

Although marriage and devotion to his family made Jim take a brief detour from the music biz, he came roaring back when a series of quirky events led him to teaming up with Bernadette Peters for whom he wrote some material that she recorded but never released. Boggia performed with the artist and did some touring as well. "The situation went well enough to give me the confidence to determine that I might be able to do this on a professional level," he told the Meter, "and within six months of that, I had saved enough money to do it full-time."

i			i
	Name:	Jim Boggia
	Residence:	Philadelphia, PA
	Occupation:	Full-time musician
	Joined TAXI:	1995
	Songs Forwarded:	Eight
	Deals Made:	Pending

Jim went through the usual period of knocking on industry doors but realized that he hadn't yet developed as a serious songwriter. "I didn't really have the songs together. I matured late as a songwriter so I didn't spend too much time on that. It's only been over the last five years or so that my writing started to come together."

Boggia joined TAXI after reading an ad in Musician magazine. He has renewed his membership several times since that initial year and praises the staff and all the help he's been given: "The first time I joined TAXI the critiques were most helpful because it was the first time I was able to get some kind of honest, professional feedback which helped my writing and demos quite a bit. By the end of my first membership year at TAXI, I was already getting a couple of things forwarded. By the time I rejoined, I had a new set of songs and a new set of demos and a majority of the tapes I sent in were forwarded."

Though he couldn't be happier with his renewed membership in TAXI, Jim is quick to point out that the TAXI staff goes above and beyond the call of duty in support of its members. "Doug and I talk every week and he is quite supportive of my work. In fact, I have something going on with Arista right now, where a producer in Philadelphia sent my tape to an Arists/New York A&R guy who Doug Minnick (TAXI Vice President) already had a relationship with. And even though this tape at Arista was not a TAXI forward, Doug still went out of his way to call the A&R guy to let him know that he was a fan of my music. He just put in a good word. Doug has been great and the entire staff has been really supportive." [Editor's Note: As of this writing, Arista Records booked a showcase performance for Jim Boggia at the Bitter End in New York City, set for September 14th. We'll keep you posted.]

As if this isn't exciting enough, Jim has a couple of other irons in the fire---and they all seem to be burning brightly: "I also have something happening through Benjamin Groff over at BMG because of a CD that TAXI President Michael Laskow gave him. It was just a four-song CD sampler that I made. Benjamin asked Michael if there was anyone that he, Michael, thought was up and coming, so Michael handed Benjamin my CD. Benjamin called me after he listened and requested more songs. It looks now, like we might be doing some kind of development or songwriter deal."

For Jim Boggia, the bottom line is that his career changed when he joined TAXI. For although the A&R staff critiques helped him with his songwriting craft, the very owners of TAXI took the initiative to spread the good word to other industry Movers & Shakers who have now become an integral part of Boggia's career in the music business. Jim sums it up best in his own words: "Not only have my demo submissions been positive, but Doug and Michael have taken that extra step in going well beyond the submission process to help me out and get my music heard. They've been fantastic."

P.S. Recently, Jim Boggia wrote a tune called "Glory" which was released on the Myrrh record label (they release religious music) as recorded by an artist named Jaci Velasquez. The single was released in June and has topped the Billboard Christian Music charts for six consecutive weeks. Jim's royalty check for the month of June alone, was over $1,800. 00. Glory to "Glory." And thanks to TAXI passenger Jim Boggia for sharing the good news with us. Proof positive that it pays to travel with TAXI!