DESCRIPTION:
After graduating 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. After traveling to several other cities, LaFave relocated to Austin, Texas.[4] Mixing blues, jazz, and country influences he began writing songs inspired by [2] by J. J. Cale, Chet Baker, Bob Dylan and Leon Russell.[5][6]
[edit]1992 to 2004
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 "reminiscient [sic] 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]
[edit]2005 to present
https://www.funkystuff.org
eTown webisode 191