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Aug 28, 2005, 03:34 Issue 175. An alert for this issue was emailed to 104,500
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Editor's Corner

By Chuck Woodbury
‘’ 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.

THRIVE
Chereen Langrill
07-19-2005
Embracing life as a full-time musician

Jimmy Bivens is dying to tell all of us what's ahead in his musical career.

The thing is, he's not quite sure himself.

Bivens, a Boise resident, is fresh off a tour in support of his recent debut release "Tell the Story," which features a diverse lineup of tracks. 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. Bivens' style was recently described as "Americana," and he was flattered by the label.
Although his past is easy enough to summarize, the future is a different story. He recently sent his CD to a national distribution company and a major label. He's also considering a tour that would last between one and three years.

Life as a musician isn't anything new to Bivens. He's been doing it for about 30 years. The difference now? He's become a full-time musician. "For the first time in my life, enough people got me to focus only on my craft, and I'm not looking back," he says.
Bivens has enough songs for nearly three more albums. He's not sure when he'll record again, but he's already thinking about how those releases will sound. One release may begin all-electric, then end with acoustic songs. Another release might be all-instrumental with no vocals.

"I'm going twist people's brains with the next one," he says. "I can't be pigeonholed. I don't want to keep doing the same thing."

His songs are already generating buzz among listeners. One tune, "2C or Not to See,"struck a familiar chord with a fan who often drives Interstate 84 from Canyon County to Boise (the song's about a farmer who drives 35 mph on I-84 as he travels from Canyon County to Boise). She told Bivens she can't make that drive anymore without smiling, especially when she sees a 2C plate. She calls "2C" the "anti-road rage song."
Bivens jokes that maybe he should make that the focus of a promotional campaign for his album.

"Buy a CD and save a life!" he laughs.
With the favorable reaction to his debut album, a promising tour on the horizon and other possibilities still ahead, Bivens says his decision to become a full-time musician must have been the right choice, even if it took awhile to make the leap.

"Now I'm wondering what took me so long."
Jimmy Bivens Discography:
Debut CD “Tell the Story” was released earlier this year
Where you can buy it: Record Exchange, 11th and Idaho, Boise; KB’s Music Exchange, 200 12th Ave. S., Nampa
See him live: Next scheduled gig is Sept. 16 at the Hyde Park Street Fair. Check Web site for updates.
Online: www.jimmybivens.com
Talk to CHEREEN: To offer story ideas or comments, contact reporter Chereen Langrill at cdlangrill@idahostatesman.com or 672-6733.

May, 2005
Michael Deeds-Idaho Statesman

TELL THE STORY
Jimmy Bivens & Friends

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

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Saturday, May 21, 2005
By Jennifer Parsons
http://www.boiseweekly.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A3403

In Twin Springs this weekend for a staff retreat (yeah, BW is a pretty cool
place to work), Jimmy Bivens played for the 20 or so folks present at the
bar at the Twin Springs Resort. Lacking enough electricity for certain sound
elements, Bivens' show was still impressive and entertaining. Accompanied by
Amy Rohyans on vocals, the pair are a successful duo with Bivens on rhythm
guitar and vocals as well. Engaging the audience with anecdotes about the
songs and questions relating to lyrics of popular covers (I got to jump in
and assist on one), Bivens' show could easily translate to a bigger venue.

"It's a Good Day" is a melodious, poignant song about the bittersweet
aspects of being in love. With Royhans singing lyrics like How can I tell
you how I feel/when I can't call you on the phone/Is this it?/Is this my
life destined to be alone?, the song captures feelings everyone can relate
to. "Street Traffic" was completely different-somewhat absurd as the entire
meaning of the song is literal: "I just want to cross the road." And Bivens
admits it towards the song's end: "No real moral to these words, just
another thinking man's song."

Overall, the honky-tonk rhythm and blues of Bivens is earthily reminiscent
of the Old West, and the animal-trophy-adorned bar was the ideal setting for
the duo.

While Bivens and Rohyans took a break, BW editor Bingo Barnes entertained us
with his guitar and vocal stylings. Though the dancing bug had already
spread, Barnes brought more to the floor with covers by Johnny Cash, Hank
Williams and Tom Waits as well as some original songs.

Bivens' finished off the night with more soul-infused country covers of
Tracy Chapman's "Give Me One Reason" and Rohyan's westernizing U2's hit, "I
Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." Bivens couldn't finish his set,
however, without throwing in "Mustang Sally" in honor of our publisher. Look
for future shows by Bivens a little closer to Boise in the near future.