Jim Perona began taking guitar lessons at the age of 11 with blues/jazz guitarist Tom Castonzo, a frequent performer, bandleader and teacher in and around the Chicago area. His studies with Tom lasted for many years, covering various musical and technical aspects of many different styles ranging from jazz to classical and everything in between. Throughout this time, Jim co-founded the progressive hard rock band Dream Haven, which performed with notable acts such as Mastodon, Fear Factory, Walls of Jericho, & Enuff Z'nuff. In 2003, Dream Haven released an EP entitled "Nostalgia is Five Frame." Since 2002, Jim has been performing in pit orchestras for various musicals including Jesus Christ Superstar, Les Miserable, The Wiz, Little Shop of Horrors, and Seussical the Musical.
After high school, Jim attended the College of Dupage (COD) and began studying jazz guitar with Dr. Zvonimir Tot. Towards the end of his studies at COD, he developed an interest in classical guitar and took lessons from Steve Ramsdell. After he received his Associate's Degree in Music from COD he started teaching private guitar lessons at various suburban Chicagoland locations. In the fall of 2005, he started his Bachelor's studies in Classical Guitar Performance at Northern Illinois University (NIU) with Fareed Haque. During his time at NIU, he co-founded the rock/funk/progressive band The Unit Theory and performed a multitude of shows, both solo classical guitar and with The Unit Theory. The Unit Theory released a full-length album entitled "Seed" in July 2008. He graduated from NIU in May 2008 with a Bachelor's degree in Classical Guitar Performance.
Jim now lives in Boston, Massachusetts where he is pursuing his master's degree in classical guitar performance at the New England Conservatory under the tutelage of world-renowned guitarist Eliot Fisk. An active performer in the greater Boston area, Jim has made it a goal to bring the classical guitar to unorthodox venues such as senior centers, local television tapings, hospitals, dialysis treatment centers, and even juvenile halls! In November 2009, he premiered a new internet video guitar series called the "Weekly Axe Kicking" through the online instructional guitar company Zachar Music. Jim now offers live, online guitar lessons through the popular video conferencing software Skype.