With encouragement from his parents and two brothers who were playing trumpet and piano, Jimmi decided upon drums as his instrument of choice and he quickly developed a keen sense of rhythm and natural timing.
After high school graduation, Seiter spent a short time in the US Navy before embarking on a college course studying Architecture and Music.
Subsequently, he moved to California to pursue a career in Architecture, securing a job in North Hollywood designing shopping centers.
Seiter is an uncredited percussionist on much of The Byrds mid to late era catalogue, and was encouraged to seek acknowledgment and credit for his performances by producer Terry Melcher.
Seiter moved on to work with other major recording artists of the time such as Alice Cooper, Flo & Eddie, Rocky Burnette and David Cassidy, later expanding his career in studio design and construction management.
[citation needed] Most recently, Seiter now lives and works in Macau, China due to his involvement in planning for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.