| The Cravens
Original and Traditional American Music |
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 photo by Dave Ihde
Oliver, Kimberley and Tim Craven
 Tim Craven and Mike Rovine
State College, Pennsylvania
In the Fall of 1972 Tim Craven left the then thriving steel mill town of McKeesport, Pennsylvania, and, as a student at Penn State, walked into the Jawbone Coffeehouse and played songs like "Oedipus Should Have Known", "The Alleyways of Britain", "I Love My Smokey Western Pennsylvania Milltown Home!", "Night Like A Hammer" and "Rosy, The Titless Teller", probably the first song written about automated bank teller machines.
He participated in the folk music community of the 1970's and 400 hundred songs, a few plays and a couple poetry collections later he is now playing with his incredibly talented son, Oliver, and wife Kimberley.
He was the original singer for the bluegrass band Whetstone Run (founder Lee Olsen now at Keith Case Management in Nashville) and has played since 1978 in the Rustical Quality String Band with Mike Rovine, Karen Hirshon (now also of Simple Gifts), Celia Millington-Wyckoff, Mick Smyer and, back in the day, Doug Sears and Mark Ralston. Graham Spanier, our old friend, is now the President of Penn State University and sits in with the RQSB on washboard once in a while when he's not busy making sure your children get an education.
Tim has a degree in creative writing from Penn State and has also served as an ordained Lutheran pastor since 1987 after graduating that year from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. His experiences driving a taxi on the late night shift in State College, Pa., and as a pastor have enriched his songwriting and performing. He has played venues which vary from places like the Birchmere in Virginia to the back of a moving Greyhound Bus and always likes to encourage young people who are starting out and loves and respects everybody who writes and sings songs.
One time, late in his career, Bill Monroe who was on a bill with The Rustical Quality String Band in State College, Pa., was being beseiged by a line of people during an intermission. He stopped and looked around and hollered, "Where's that singin' preacher?! Bring him up here. I like the way he sings!" That singin' preacher was Tim.
 Oliver Craven was born in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Lancaster County, Pa. He has been playing the violin and fiddle on stage with with Tim and Kim since he was five years old, while also learning classical violin from Caroline Moyer of Lancaster, Pa.
He plays the fiddle, guitar, mandolin and the resonator guitar, sings and writes songs with great skill and passion.
Oliver's passionate and improvisational style is unique as he is capable of playing in traditional folk, classical, bluegrass, old-timey and blues styles but is just as likely to play something nobody has ever heard before. Tim says Oliver hears things nobody else does.
Oliver is also in a great group River Wheel which plays a lot of his songs. Please check out their link....
Oliver has also played with Jay Starling (son of John) and K.C. Groves (Uncle Earl). From 2007-09 he toured with Grammy nominated songwriter Adrienne Young of Nashville, Tennessee, who was voted one of the top five songwriters in Nashville in 2007.
  Kimberley Bates Craven has been playing the acoustic bass with Tim for concerts and recordings from Maine to Kansas and from Illinois to North Carolina since 1979. Her steady hand and eagle eye keep the band in line.
She has even been known to tell a joke and is rapidly developing a sweet singing voice to match her smile. She grew up near Pittsburgh in the town of Sewickley. Kimberley also has a degree from Penn State in French literature and likes to clog dance. Her hobbies have also included weaving and she once served as an apprentice to a goldsmith but has yet to be able to make gold from every day household appliances but we continue to live in hope.
Kim is the person to talk to about booking the band. This is because she works in a bank and will not undersell the group and we appreciate that.
 photo by Dave Ihde
 photo by Dave Ihde
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©2006 Craven Family Band. All Rights Reserved. 717-738-3838
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