Catfish Jim

Welcome to CATFISH CAFE Tales from a Small PlanetJames Gillen "Catfish Jim" is the founder of Tales from a Small Planet. As a professional storyteller for over 30 years, Jim has been delighting audiences with his tales of Native America, the Old West, the animal kingdom, Africa and the Celtic peoples. He has traveled all over North America and Europe, appearing on numerous television programs including the Today Show, Good Day New York, and the BBC. In delivering his program, Jim uses flutes, drums, sax, percussion and tin whistles. His programs are custom designed for all ages and all occasions.The Catfish Cafe was created to further continue Jim's passion for audience participation entertainment. This collaboration of musical talents, storytellers, poets, drummers, and other characters get together to perform at various venues.Jim also uses his storytelling abilities to give presentations on substance abuse and tobacco prevention in schools and other facilities. Additionally, an experiment using musical therapy to help people recovering from addictions tap into the creative energy within has blossomed into an ever-expanding group of musicians, singers and drummers. They are now known as the World-Famous CODAC All-Stars. This group has appeared as part of the Catfish Café, which included a performance that brought down the house at the City of Providence’s New Year’s Eve Bright Night event.The state of Rhode Island's Division of Substance Abuse presented Jim with the 2003 Counselor of the Year Award. He is also a Licensed Chemical Dependency Professional (LCDP) & Certified Criminal Justice Professional (ccjp) in the state of Rhode Island. Jim is also profiled in the dec 2006 Yankee Magazine/ Angels Among Us. In March of 2006 Jim was named recipient of the prestigious JEFFERSON AWARD for RI for outstanding service to the community For booking information for “Tales From a Small Planet” or the “CODAC All Stars”, e-mail: [email protected]