Cimarron Manifesto

Product Description Austin, Texas legend and the king of soulful "Red Dirt" roots music returns with a panoramic collection of songs, spine-tingling ballads and all-out rockers that muse on/celebrate the restless American soul. Whether singing an aching song of the road, or a topical song taking a hard look at the war and our changing cultural landscape, or doing an innovative cover of a familiar classic by Donovan, Dylan or Joe South, this is Jimmy at his most cohesive and realized. Review Jimmy LaFave is in the first rank of roots rockers to emerge from Austin -- Rolling Stone Jimmy LaFave stands out like a pint of Guiness in a bar full of Miller Lites -- Associated Press About the Artist Although he has lived in Austin, Texas, for more than two decades, many people associate singer-songwriter Jimmy LaFave with Oklahoma because of his strong musical ties to the state and what he refers to as his "red dirt music." LaFave spent his childhood in both states, but it was Oklahoma where he began to define his sound, one that is very informed by the tradition of Woody Guthrie, the state's foremost singer-songwriter. Jimmy LaFave was born in Wills Point, Texas, a small town 30 miles east of Dallas. By junior high school he was making music perched behind his Sears & Roebuck drum kit. His mother traded a drawer full of green stamps for his first guitar, hastening the switch to singer-songwriter. His family later moved to Stillwater, Oklahoma, where he finished high school and did some independent recording, touring the southwest with the first version of his band, Night Tribe. Determined to become a working musician, he relocated to Austin in 1986. He quickly fell in with the strong music community there, winning consistent praise as one of the city's brightest singer-songwriters, as evidenced by the Austin American Statesman declaring him "a perennial presence upon the Austin music scene." His self-released debut CD, 1992's Austin Skyline, drew international attention to his talent and led to a publishing agreement with Polygram Music and eventual distribution through the Rounder Records Group. He followed with Highway Trance in 1994 and Buffalo Return to The Plains in 1995. The grass roots demand and critical acclaim for Jimmy's music resulted in extensive touring of the US and Europe, and in 1996 he was featured on the PBS musical series Austin City Limits. He released Road Novel in 1997 and was invited by Nora Guthrie to appear in Cleveland at The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Tribute to Woody Guthrie. For the second consecutive year, The Austin Music Awards named LaFave "Best Singer-Songwriter." In 1998, Jimmy organized a project dear to his heart. He produced and hosted a benefit for the American Indian College Fund. The event featured 20 of Austin's top singer-songwriters and was acclaimed as one of the city's best concert events of the year. The release of Trail in 1999 bolstered Jimmy's rising stature worldwide, and led noted music critic Dave Marsh to say "LaFave has one of America's greatest voices, and this album is the story of what he has learned to do with it." 2001's Texoma was another critical and commercial success, winning more fans worldwide. Jimmy combined his solo dates with the Woody Guthrie tribute tour titled "The Ribbon of Highway - Endless Skyway." In 2005, LaFave released Blue Nightfall on Red House Records, marking his debut with the acclaimed indie label. It signaled his development as a songwriter of maturity, reflection and range. With the 2007 release of Cinamrron Manifesto, Jimmy LaFave proves his talents have fully blossomed to produce the greatest statement of his artistry.