Jimmy LaFave

Jimmy LaFave

LaFave performing at the 2012 Texas Book Festival.
Background information
Born (1955-07-12) July 12, 1955
Wills Point, Texas, United States
Genres Folk
Alt Country
Country rock
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter
Years active 1979 – present
Labels Music Road Records
Website JimmyLaFave.com

Jimmy LaFave (born July 12, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and folk musician born in Wills Point, Texas. After moving to Stillwater, Oklahoma, LaFave crafted a musical style called Red Dirt music and became a disciple of the state's most famous folk musician: Woody Guthrie. LaFave is an Advisory Board member and regular performer at the annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival. In 1996 he received the Kerrville Folk Festival songwriter of the year award and appeared on the TV show Austin City Limits. He has recorded 15 albums and his 2007 release, Cimarron Manifesto, reached the No. 1 mark on the Americana Music Association album chart. In 2012, LaFave released the studio album Depending On The Distance.[1]

Early life

While living in Wills Point, Texas, LaFave began playing the drums and later moved to Stillwater, Oklahoma[2] and played in the school band.[1] At age 15 LaFave switched to guitar and began writing and singing his own songs in a band called The Night Tribe.

Career

After graduating from high school LaFave played music at night while working during the day. He had a job as the manager of a music club called Up Your Alley and during this period recorded the albums Down Under in 1979 and Broken Line in 1981.

The Red Dirt Music Scene

While living in Stillwater, LaFave and loose collection of songwriters at a local venue known as "the farm" began developing a sound that would later become known as "red dirt music".[3] During that time, LaFave met Bob Childers and produced his first record.[3] Mixing blues, jazz, and country influences he began writing songs inspired by[2] J. J. Cale, Chet Baker, Bob Dylan and Leon Russell.[4][5]

1992 to 2004

After traveling to several other cities, LaFave relocated to Austin, Texas.[6]

In 1992 La Fave signed with Colorado-based Bohemia Beat Records and recorded his debut album Austin Skyline which included four Bob Dylan songs[2] and consisted of live performances and recordings from Marcia Ball's home studio.[2] The debut album was followed by Highway Trance in 1994 and Buffalo Return to the Plains in 1995. Between 1997 and 2001, LaFave released three more albums on the label including the 1999 double-CD Trail, which was a 15-year retrospective of live performances and studio outtakes.[7] In December 1995, LaFave won the Songwriter of the Year Award at the Kerrville Folk Festival and in March 1996, received the same honor at the Austin Music Awards sponsored by The Austin Chronicle.[8] LaFave gained nationwide exposure in 1996 through his appearance on the PBS music show Austin City Limits when he was paired with Lisa Loeb for an evening of "acoustic ballads and electrified folk-rock numbers".[9] In 1996, LaFave made an appearance at a tribute to Woody Guthrie held at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the invitation of Guthrie’s daughter.[10][11]

In 1998, LaFave began attending the annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festivals held in Guthrie's hometown of Okemah, Oklahoma and in 2007 became a member of the Woody Guthrie Coalition that organizes the festival.[12][13] LaFave says Woody Guthrie is his musical hero[14] pays homage to him in the song"Woody Guthrie" on the Texoma album.[15] Album reviewers described it as "reminiscent of the Dust Bowl heritage of Woody Guthrie, the early rock of Chuck Berry, the quiet folk reflections of Bob Dylan, and the rock anthems of Bruce Springsteen."[16] and "honest, thoughtful and sincere" music.[13] LaFave's "red dirt music" sound has been described as a mix of rock, folk, rockabilly, and country, grounded in the landscape of Texas and Oklahoma and can be heard on this album.[7]

2005 to present

Jimmy LaFave and friends at the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Okemah, Oklahoma, July 2005

In 2003, LaFave produced a Woody Guthrie tribute show called Ribbon of Highway, Endless Skyway. The ensemble show toured around the country and included a rotating cast of singer-songwriters individually performing Guthrie's songs. Interspersed between songs were Guthrie's philosophical writings read by a narrator. In addition to LaFave, members of the rotating cast included Ellis Paul, Slaid Cleaves, Eliza Gilkyson, Joel Rafael, husband-wife duo Sarah Lee Guthrie (Woody Guthrie's granddaughter) and Johnny Irion, Michael Fracasso, and The Burns Sisters. The Godfather of Red Dirt Music Bob Childers, also known as "the Dylan of the Dust,"[17] served as narrator.[18] When word spread about the tour, performers began contacting LaFave, whose only prerequisite was to have an inspirational connection to Guthrie. Each artist chose the Guthrie songs that he or she would perform as part of the tribute. One of the songs Gilkyson chose was "Pastures of Plenty", while Cleaves chose "This Morning I Am Born Again" - a song he wrote using Guthrie's lyrics. One of the songs Paul chose was a song he wrote using Guthrie's lyrics - "God's Promise".[19] LaFave said, "It works because all the performers are Guthrie enthusiasts in some form".[20] The Ribbon of Highway tour kicked-off on February 5, 2003 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The abbreviated show was a featured segment of "Nashville Sings Woody," yet another tribute concert to commemorate the music of Woody Guthrie held during the Folk Alliance Conference. The cast of "Nashville Sings Woody," a benefit for the Woody Guthrie Foundation and Archives, also included Arlo Guthrie, Marty Stuart, Nanci Griffith, Guy Clark, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Janis Ian, and others.[21] Also in 2007 at Nora Guthrie's invitation, LaFave spoke and performed at Woody Guthrie's induction into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame.[1]

LaFave left Bohemia Beat for Red House Records and released his 2005 album Blue Nightfall which one reviewer called his "best work yet" and "a great introduction to an important artist".[22] LaFave's second release for Red House Records was the 2007 album Cimarron Manifesto[23] which went to No. 1 on the Americana Music Association chart.[24] In his review of LaFave's Cimarron Manifesto (2007) for the FolkWax E-Zine, Arthur Wood calls LaFave "one of the finest Dylan interpreters ever.[25]

LaFave's 14th release, Depending On The Distance, was released on September 18, 2012. Backing musicians include Austin's Eliza Gilkyson and John Inmon.[26] The 13-track release includes three Dylan covers, including a version of "Red River Shore" that runs more than nine minutes. In her review for The Oklahoman, Brandy McDonnell said: "Jimmy LaFave’s first studio album in five years, lives up to the intriguing promise of its title, finding the Oklahoma-Texas troubadour in a contemplative mood whether he is crooning his new original songs, covering an ’80s pop smash or reinterpreting anthems penned by Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen."[27]

In 2015, LaFave released The Night Tribe. A review of the new release in No Depression stated that LaFave "delivers 11 exquisitely crafted self-penned songs and re-interprets two Americana masterpieces; barely making them recognizable as they become Jimmy LaFave songs."[28]

Music Road records

In 2007, LaFave joined forces with recording engineer Fred Remmert and Dallas businessman Kelcy Warren to create Music Road Records, located in Austin, Texas.[29] Music Road Records owns and operates two Texas-based recording facilities: Cedar Creek Recording in Austin and Cherokee Creek Recording in the Texas Hill Country.[29] Favorites 1992-2001, a retrospective from LaFave's years on the Bohemia Beat label, was released by Music Road Records in 2010.[30]

In April 2014, Music Road records released Looking Into You: A Tribute to Jackson Browne. The 2-disc tribute album was produced by LaFave and was two years in the making, after LaFave garnered Browne's approval during the 2012 Woody Guthrie Centennial Celebration. The album features Bruce Springsteen, Lyle Lovett, Bonnie Raitt, Ben Harper, Keb Mo', Shawn Colvin, Lucinda Williams, and others.[31]

Select discography

Year Title Record Label
1979 Down Under Snowbound
1981 Broken Line Snowbound
1988 Highway Angels...Full Moon Rain Independent
1992 Austin Skyline Bohemia Beat
1994 Highway Trance Bohemia Beat
1994 The Open Road (Highway Trance) Munich Records EP
1995 Buffalo Return to the Plains Bohemia Beat
1995 Burden To Bear Munich Records EP
1997 Road Novel Bohemia Beat
1999 Trail Bohemia Beat
2001 Texoma Bohemia Beat
2005 Blue Nightfall Red House Records
2007 Cimarron Manifesto Red House Records
2010 Favorites 1992-2001 Music Road Records
2012 Depending On The Distance Music Road Records
2014 Trail 2 Music Road Records
2014 Trail 3 Music Road Records
2015 The Night Tribe Music Road Records
2015 Trail 4 Music Road Records

References

  1. 1 2 3 Cuccaro, Richard. Jimmy LaFave: Bringing Red Dirt Music to the World. Acoustic Live, Vol. 9, Issue 9, February 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Wood, Arthur. Jimmy LaFave. Kerrville Kronikle, Issue No. 18, 1994.
  3. 1 2 from and interview on Americana Music Show #253, published June 30, 2015.
  4. ↑ Wooley, John. The Red Dirt Rangers: The Band. Red Dirt Rangers website. Retrieved Aug. 8, 2008.
  5. ↑ News 9 website. Red Dirt breeds music. May 16, 2008. Retrieved Aug. 8, 2008.
  6. ↑ Wood, Arthur. Jimmy LaFave. Texas Folkster. FolkWax E-Zine. Retrieved September 1, 2010. (Free with registration.)
  7. 1 2 Dexter, Kerry. Jimmy LaFave: Roots Along the Red Dirt Road. Dirty Linen, April/May 2002, p. 32-6.
  8. ↑ Stambler, Irwin and Stambler, Lyndon. Folk and Blues: The Encyclopedia. St. Martin's Press, 2001. ISBN 0-312-20057-9.
  9. ↑ Public Broadcasting Service. Lisa Loeb and Jimmy LaFave on Austin City Limits Retrieved June 21, 2007.
  10. ↑ PopMatters. Jimmy LaFave: Cimarron Manifesto Retrieved June 21, 2007.
  11. ↑ Robicheau, Paul. Ellis Paul’s got Woody Guthrie under his skin. Boston Globe, September 20, 1996.
  12. ↑ WoodyGuthrie.com. Woody Guthrie Coalition Board of Directors. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
  13. 1 2 Skaff, Hillary R. Jimmy LaFave: Pure Americana. Austin Music and Entertainment, Issue 12, p. 14-16. November/December 2007. Retrieved Dec. 18, 2007.
  14. ↑ Granberry, Michael. Cozy concert halls draw big names to small-town Texas. Dallas Morning News, October 14, 2007. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
  15. ↑ Wood, Arthur. Jimmy LaFave. Texas Folk at it's [sic] Finest. FolkWax E-Zine. November 7, 2001. Retrieved September 1, 2010. (Free with registration.) Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  16. ↑ Schultz, David. Review of Texoma. Folk and Music Exchange, 2001. Retrieved March 13, 2007.
  17. ↑ Propaganda Media Group, Inc. Ribbon of Highway - Endless Skyway: Concert in the Spirit of Woody Guthrie. Retrieved February 6, 2007.
  18. ↑ Ribbon of Highway website Retrieved January 25, 2007.
  19. ↑ Sun-Times Staff. Woody's pastures of plenty. Chicago Sun-Times, Jan. 29, 2003. Retrieved January 25, 2007.
  20. ↑ Martinez, Rebekah.Tribute to Woody Guthrie Tour makes a stop in Conroe Feb. 16, The Courier, (Conroe, TX.), Feb. 7, 2003. Retrieved February 7, 2007.
  21. ↑ Fairleigh Dickinson University. 15th Annual Folk Alliance Conference: Nashville Sings Woody. Retrieved February 6, 2007.
  22. ↑ Frater, Bill. Freight Train Boogie Review of Blue Nightfall. Retrieved May 9, 2007.
  23. ↑ Red House Records. Jimmy LaFave: Cimarron Manifesto.. Retrieved April 4, 2007.
  24. ↑ Americana Radio. Americana Music Association chart for the week of June 11, 2007. Retrieved June 12, 2007.
  25. ↑ Wood, Arthur. Red Dirt Tribute and More. FolkWax E-Zine, May 16, 2007. Retrieved May 18, 2007. (Free with registration.)
  26. ↑ Taradell, Mario. Musically Speaking: Jimmy LaFave turns in a thoughtful studio album on Dallas’ Music Road Records. Dallas Morning News, September 17, 2012.
  27. ↑ McDonnell, Brandy. CD review: Jimmy LaFave “Depending on the Distance”. The Oklahoman, September 21, 2012.
  28. ↑ Harrisonaphotos. Jimmy Lafave - The Night Tribe. No Depression. April 9, 2015.
  29. 1 2 Granberry, Michael. Mismatched partners hope to steer listeners to overlooked artists with Music Road record label. Dallas Morning News, July 19, 2009. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  30. ↑ Music Road Records. Jimmy LaFave. Music Road Records website. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  31. ↑ Boydston, Joshua. Red Dirt icon Jimmy LaFave has become synonymous with the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival. The Oklahoma Gazette, July 9, 2014.
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