Jim Hilmar, KSER DJ, Plays Thousandth Show
21 years ago, on November 19, 1997, Jim Hilmar played his first Frettin’ Fingers show on KSER.
You could say Hilmar was destined to be a DJ. He was a lifetime guitarist and self-described “EP nut,” who collected records back when they were 98 cents. He had been a regular columnist at Vintage Guitar magazine for almost a decade when KSER showed up on his radar.
It was time to bring his encyclopedic knowledge of guitar music to the public airwaves.
Hilmar pitched his idea of an eclectic guitar music show to station manager Ed Bremmer. He got the green light and launched his program, not expecting to be doing it for two decades. But such is Hilmar’s sustaining passion for music.
Frettin’ Fingers seeks, as Hilmar puts it, “to educate, entertain, and inspire” listeners. When I first tuned in as a listener ten years back, I learned about surf rocker acts like Link Wray, the Shadows and Dick Dale. It wasn’t what you hear on other radio stations.
Indeed, what Hilmar spins isn’t top 40 music. It’s a lot of older, obscure stuff that jumps genres: everything from ukulele tunes to soul, funk, rockabilly, and honky-tonk.
If you tune in to Frettin’ Fingers on Saturdays between 11:00 a.m. and 1 p.m., you’re practically guaranteed to hear something you’ve never heard before. And you’ll learn about the context in which it was recorded, delivered in Hilmar’s gregarious fashion. The guy is personable. You might as well be sitting in the booth with him as he reels off facts about his set.
In many ways, Frettin’ Fingers is the radio version of Jim’s old magazine column: a conversation between guitar nuts. He takes requests from his global audience and engages with his listeners via phone, Facebook, and email.
“They learn from me, I learn from them,” says Hilmar of his audience. “It’s something of a pledge drive cliche, but it’s true: you can’t hear this kind of music anywhere else. It is pretty unusual.”
Hilmar still plays vinyl on air. Often he’ll play one side of an EP and then flip it. He jokes that he’ll play anything guitar-related, “Anything from Atkins to Zappa,” he laughs.
Hilmar behind the mic. // Richard Porter
Hilmar also owns 22 guitars and plays in local band Some Other Guys, cranking out older guitar covers. That’s his original song, “Grandpa’s Pad”, as an instrumental outro at the end of each Frettin’ Fingers show.
Hilmar performing with his band, Some Other Guys. // Courtesy of Jim Hilmar
“I want to keep (the show) engaging and interesting,” says Hilmar. “You can’t be static.”
And that seems to be the key to his longevity on the airwaves.
Keep things interesting, keep things fresh. Listen to your fans. And always play something folks can dance to.
LISTEN TO FRETTIN’ FINGERS ON KSER, SATURDAYS AT 11 A.M.
Richard Porter is a writer for Live in Everett.
