Biography

I was born and raised in Bismarck, North Dakota. Was trained in classical piano from 2nd to 8th grad. My instructor, Mrs. Buck, chose me from all her students to represent her at the University of Mary outside of town. I played a piece called "Chimes".

Always hated school and never did well at it. One teacher of mine suggested seatbelting me to my desk chair. I was diagnosed with a.d.d. by the 8th grade. To me the entire thing was and still is a joke. Grades were at their worst by then and my mother insisted I either quit sports or piano. I quit piano to escape the nun-like strictness of Mrs. Buck. Started in a rock band my junior year as bass player. It was then I started the guitar and began writing songs.

Instead of collage, I hitchhiked and rode freight trains around the country for about a year-and-a-half. These were the best times of my life... I met some of my best friends and felt that i was finding myself with the like-minds, the guitar, the traveling, and the poetry.

Played in a band in Eugene, Oregon a couple years. Worked as a fisherman, a dishwasher, a cook, a treeplanter, a firefighter, a janitor, a graveyard maintenance man, a brewer, in several factories, and later (what I do now) as a carpenter.

I've lived solely by busking (performing on the streets) for about two years of my life, the second round in Europe, mostly Spain.

Arrived in Austin early '96. Played with a few different bands including the "Fence Cutters". In 1998 I began playing solo and then released my first of four records. "These Old Things" (2000), " The Great Historical Bum"(2002), " A Boot Stomping"(2005), and "Music Man" (2009) - which has just been released this month - are the titles.

I was a "New Folk Finalist" in 2005 at the Kerrville Folk Festival. I play in the central and the western Texas area as well as tour about 6 months of the year in both the states and E.U. I consider myself a folk/country singer. I play alotta harmonica.

Jim Keaveny
July 14th, 2009