jimmy bivens

"Jimmy Bivens was the perfect performer for the SpudFest Family Film Festival. His music is fun and entertaining and he really involved the crowd in his performances. Several of our sponsors commented to me on how much they enjoyed his concert."

Teresa Nelson
Producer, SpudFest Family Film Festival
Idaho Film & Television Institute
(208) 760-9142
- Idaho Film & Television Institute

...Imagine Bonnie Raitt, John Hiatt and the music from "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou" all blended into one CD, and you'll have an idea." says Chereen Langrill of Thrive Magazine. - Thrive Magazine

The first time Jimmy Bivens played on a stage he had a three-member
audience that couldn't even see him. "My friends and I went to visit my
dad at a club. He told me I could get up on stage and play a song if I
wanted," recalls Bivens. It was daytime and the stage was closed off
behind a heavy, velvet curtain. "I climbed up there and kicked out a
version of an old Conway Twitty song with my buddies. I didn't think
that anyone could hear us, but when we got done I heard a little bit of
applause. I peeked out from behind the curtain and saw my dad, the
clubowner, and Tammy Wynette."
It wasn't strange for Jimmy's dad ,Wayland Bivens, to be hanging out
with someone like Tammy Wynette. Wayland was a country swing hall of
fame musician who had big connections in the music industry. "A friend
said to me once, 'can you imagine what your life would be like if you
would have grown up around your dad?'," Bivens recalls with a smile.
Instead of growing up with his dad however, Jimmy was raised by his
mother and stepfather. That is until he was 15. "I was born in Lewiston
on October 24, 1959," says Bivens. "Since then I have lived in 17 states

and somewhere around 75 residences." But it wasn't the moving around
that bothered Jimmy, it was the way his family treated him. "Things
weren't so good at home. I realized that I was better off on my own than

staying with my mom," says Bivens. So at age 15, when most kids were
just starting to think about getting their drivers license, Jimmy left
home, albeit with the complete blessing of the court system. After
striking out on his own, Jimmy first picked up a guitar. "You know, my
family used to tell me I was tone deaf?" says Bivens. "I may have not
even tried playing music had I stayed where I was."
After living on his own for a bit, Jimmy decided it was time to get out
of Nampa. He decided to head south to Long Beach, California to catch up

with his dad. Jimmy bounced around Long Beach for a few months and then
followed his dad up to Sacramento. It was in Sacramento that Jimmy
graduated from high school--he decided to go sans college. "I had
already been out and lived on my own--I felt like I had already done the

college thing," laughs Bivens. Instead he took a job cutting parts at a
Harley Davidson shop and formed a band. "We really just played around
doing covers and stuff," says Jimmy. After playing a few bands, Jimmy
got a little put off by the "egos" he played with. He decided to put his

guitar away and quit playing. He wouldn't pick it up again till nearly
eight years later when he was 26.
Over the next few years Biven's floated around working different jobs.
Eventually he took a job with the American Cancer Society--eventually
becoming an executive director. He was offered other promotions in his
tenure, but Biven's says they were "non-fuzzy" jobs and Jimmy wanted to
keep working with cancer patients. And it was this working with cancer
victims that prompted Bivens to pick his guitar up again. When a camp
for children with cancer needed some entertainment, Jimmy " threw
together a show with one of the camp counselors." The impromptu show was

a blast. Soon Jimmy found himself playing gigs all over the place for
the American Cancer Society. "I think I hold the distinction of having
played the more benefits and auctions than any other musician," says
Bivens with a laugh. Eventually Jimmy left the American Cancer Society.
But a few years later cancer would re-enter his life and prompt him to
take his music further.
Ten years ago, Jimmy Bivens visited his good friend in the hospital. His

friend's body was ravaged with cancer, and the hospital visit would be
the last time Jimmy would see him. Seeing his friend in such a
devastated state had a profound effect on Bivens--but he didn't feel any

of that effect until later. When he went to the hospital all he could
think about were the river sandals next to the hospital bed. "I looked
down at his Tevas and thought, 'I wonder what size those sandals are?'"
Jimmy says with a distant look in his eyes. "It was my way of escaping
the moment." Days later Jimmy's friend died. Bivens escaped to the
desert. "I just drove around for three days in the desert," says Bivens.

"When I would think of a song I'd sit on the back of my truck and work
it out." After spending some time reflecting and writing--Jimmy had
worked out nearly a whole album's worth of material--the song about his
friend's sandals became a tune called "Dead Man's Shoes".
At the time, Biven's didn't know if the songs he wrote on that sojurn
would ever see the light of day. He just kept doing what he was doing:
playing gigs around Idaho. Then, in 2002, Jimmy found himself sharing
the stage with country great Clay Walker in Las Vegas. It was backstage
where Bivens ran into Walker's bandmates Rex Wiseman and Curt Walsh.
After a brief conversation, Jimmy let Wiseman and Walsh hear some of the

stuff he had been writing. After listening, Wiseman said to Bivens, "You

gotta be one of the best writers I have ever heard." Jimmy laid down the

plans to record an album with Wiseman and Walsh..
To make his first album, Jimmy did it proper--he rented out a studio in
Nashville. Bivens was new to the studio, and new to the whole process of

recording. Because of this, he unknowingly kept the feel in the studio
"light", Bivens thinks this easygoing environment helped his album. At
the end of one of the recording days, Curt Walsh came up to Bivens, gave

him a hug, and told him it was the most fun day he had ever had in the
studio.
Since releasing his new album, Tell the Story, in April of 2005, Bivens
has become a full time musician. His album provides a great foundation
for his new full time job. "I made the album with a looping effect ...
the songs are all different and when you get to song ten and the disc
starts over, you don't realize it," says Bivens. "It's a musical
journey." He plays gigs all over the Northwest. He does his shows as a
solo act. He likes the freedom it gives him. Bivens also sees himself
more as an entertainer than a musician. "I have broken 7 out of 10
fingers--I am not a good picker. I love entertaining people ... whether
they are 3 or 93. You gotta smile when you play," says Bivens without a
hint of sarcasm. If you ever see Bivens play, you'll learn a lesson in
entertainment. Bivens frequently sets a washboard up on stage and
invites kids to play with him. He caters his songs to his audience,
constantly tweaking his presentations to as to keep the most people
smiling and having a good time.
And what does the future hold? Currently Bivens is working on a small
town, rural tour. He wants to take his music to the small, out of the
way towns where, as Bivens sees it, traditional music began. "I can
teach communities how to write grants for the arts," says Jimmy. "And do

a traveling show showing people where and how music began. "
- Idaho Magazine January 2006

"Here´s an example of a local musician raising the bar: Boise singer-songwriter Bivens has created an eclectic, mostly grin-inducing set of standout songs that are long on male-female vocal harmonies and Americana instrumental twang, but short on ... well at 32 minutes, you might wish there was more of this entertaining CD.

Immaculately recorded in Nashville and mixed in Boise, "Tell the Story" exudes a spontaneous, vibrant jam-session vibe. It showcases a talented, enthusiastic cast of musicians including an empowered-sounding Bivens, graceful co-vocalist Amy Rohyans and a handful of band members affiliated with Clay Walker´s and Conway Twitty´s groups.

Fans of "O Brother Where Art Thou" will find plenty to love about "Blessed are the Children." "King of Swing" revives the spirit of traditional Western groove (Bivens´ father, Wayland, was nominated for the Western Swing Hall of Fame.) And "2C or Not To See" pokes fun at Canyon County drivers while a fiddle offers a playful siren in the background. If acoustic good-time music is up your alley, don´t hesitate to check out Bivens´ 10-song success story.

- Michael Deeds Idaho Statesman

Michael Deeds writes:
"When The Idaho Statesman launched MP3 Idaho, none of us knew quite what to expect. "

"But six months after going live, there's no questioning MP3 Idaho's success."

"So here — straight from the guy who maintains MP3 Idaho — are recommendations:" " .....ADULT ALTERNATIVE: Check out Tim Rice. I can't get this late bloomer's song out of my head. Then move on to Jimmy Bivens, Rebecca Scott and Steve Fulton." - Idaho Statesman

"Boise, Idaho resident Bivens has released his first album despite being a musician for over 30 years. So what’s taken him so long? Well he’s only recently become full time, but that shouldn’t have stopped him from releasing music before surely? "

"And based on this album he definitely should have got in front of the recording desk before now. Simply for ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’ which has schmaltz country ballad hit written all over it. "

"....when Bivens sings the intro to ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’ the album starts to go up a gear and we’re on a roll. ........... before Bivens again picks up the reins with ‘I Got Love’, a rockabilly feel track that chugs along effortlessly like its been blessed with an early Johnny Cash vibe."
- Phil Edwards UK AMERICANA

‘’ And now we have retreated to our respective motorhomes for our final
night's rest. For the past two hours, the remnants of our group, now acting and
feeling like long-time friends, gathered by a campfire and sang songs with
guitarist and songwriter Jimmy Bivens, some of us accompanying him with the
washboard and tambourine. The night sky was punctuated with a million stars, the Milky
Way at center stage. In this pinpoint of the universe we roasted marshallows,
laughed ourselves silly and enjoyed each other's company. Thus a small group
of people who didn't know each other a week before etched forever a sliver of
time into their respective memories.
Life does not get much better.

" - Chuck Woodbury