After replacing guitarist Robbie Robertson in "The Band" in 1985 and remaining until the group's disbanding in 2000, Jim Weider continues to perform with his latest musical endeavor "Jim Weider's Project Percolator". When most artists from his era are still cashing in on the old hits that made them who they are today, Jim never stopped evolving, writing music that easily stands up to the best of what's out now. This is the type of artist I can truly appreciate. If you haven't had a chance to see/hear one of his live shows with Project Percolator then you're really missing out, especially if you appreciate the experimental jazz/funk stuff. After a long consistent career Jim Weider is more like a man just now hitting his prime and is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Interview By: Maisie Leach
Photo's Courtesy of Jim Weider
HGMN: Where did you grow up?
Jim: Well I grew up in Woodstock, New York. My father was in real estate basically most of his life. My grandparents had moved up here and they had some property. My father started building houses on their property and then he fully got into real estate. We kind of moved from house to house as he built his career.
HGMN: Did you always think you would play guitar? I'm just curious to know if you always thought you would do this.
Jim: Ya know I just kind of went with it. I started playing guitar when I was, I don't know, 12 or so. Everybody played guitar when I was in school, when the Beatles came out in the 60's and the Rolling Stones. I mean, the jocks even played guitar. Everybody just played. It was a really musical time. When rock and roll was just really...I mean rock and roll started with Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins. Those guys were big. I loved Elvis Presley and when I was a young kid, like 7 or 8 years old, I think I was really into that. Then came the British invasion. By that time I was getting out of grade school and high school. Everybody played guitar. I had just started playing, we made little bands and were practicing in the garages, playing little parties. It kind of went from there. I didn't think of anything else. I loved music. There was just so many great influences back then...and not many people doin' it. I mean rock and roll was just, ya know, Jimi Hendrix came out of nowhere and blew everybody's mind. That whole thing was all developing in the 60's. It went from Bobby Darren, to the Beatles, to the Rolling Stones, to Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck. It was just an amazing time.
HGMN: What was your first band?
Jim: Well, we didn't have a bass. We had 2 guitars and the drums and a vocalist. I think we called it...we came up with a brilliant name..."Leaves of Green." (Laughs) It was a great time. Of course we played all the high school dances. And we liked all the other...the psychedelic stuff. The jocks, they could sing better. They had the Beatles stuff. We played all the stuff like "The Seeds" and "The kinks"
HGMN: What do you think about what's on the radio today?
Jim: (Laughs) Not much! It's become a corporate world. It was a lot more exciting way back then. Unfortunately, it's just a big corporate world that we're struggling in and it has kind of swallowed up and pushed away all the creative stuff and...there's very little...younger people aren't exposed to all the great, great music out there at all. And our heritage, like blues, great jazz, you never hear Miles Davis on the radio...never.
HGMN: I know. You do around here in Raleigh every now and then, which is awesome, but maybe I'm just listening to the right radio...
Jim: That's cool. I mean like in the 60's and 70's when FM was just starting you heard and you were exposed to all this great music. And it inspired generations of musicians...but No, I do not think too much of corporate radio.
HGMN: Are there any current artists that you like?
Jim: Yeah, there are tons of them. Companies like your Home Grown Music Network have really helped in the jam band scene. That whole thing is all about the music and has really helped keep everything alive which is fantastic. You guys have been great. And all the younger players like Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi...just playing real music and trying to play the best you can every night and it's all about real music and connecting with people.
HGMN: Tell me about your experience with "The Band".
Jim: It was great... I had played before with Levon in the late 70's and we kind of gradually went into Levon Helm and the All-stars. Then me, Rick Danko and Levon did shows together and then Richard Manuel moved back to Woodstock and one day Levon invited me down. They were getting ready to go on tour with Crosby, Stills and Nash and Levon invited me down to play at this local bar that we played with him in. It was just me, Rick, Levon, Garth Hudson and Richard Manuel. They loved it and we went on tour with the Cate's (Cate Brothers) and on that tour they decided that they really wanted to just bring it back to just five people. They hired me and I stayed with them for 15 years.
HGMN: What was the best thing that "The Band" accomplished in your eyes?
Jim: They changed Americana music. They led the way for so many groups to go with their 4 part harmonies. I mean its roots music, rhythm and blues with folk. Nobody was doing that when they came out. I think they really led the path. They were one of my favorite groups when I was growing up. They kind of combined what Dylan was doing with great song writing and rock and roll, roots and country. It had a little bit of everything in it. And the songs had real deep messages. I was very proud of my time with them. I got to work and write songs for them on every record and it was great. I'm working with Levon now as a member of his band and Project Percolator. The Levon Helm band is a big band, a 12-piece group. It's me and Larry Campbell on guitar and Levon's daughter Amy on vocals, Larry's wife Teresa, horn players, Howard Johnson and Clark Gayton. I mean it's just a huge group. It's a Lot of fun.
HGMN: What's the most interesting memory you have from being on the road with "The Band"?
Jim: Oh boy, we have so many. It's really hard to say what's the most memorable. We were on the road constantly. We road that bus across, up and down the United States, back and forth. Wherever you can imagine, we played it. They were all just really good people, like the common working folk who just loved music and we met so many great people on the way. It was just a great musical experience - From Carnegie Hall to playing with Bob Dylan at Madison Square Garden, to playing with Roger Waters at the Berlin Wall.
HGMN: What was it like going form sort of a "normal" life to larger than life?
Jim: It was very exciting at the time. When I did it I was in my 30's and I went from playing with regular bar bands to all the sudden the first gig with no rehearsal and we opened up for 35,000 people in Texas. It was pretty amazing and went on from there. It was just very relaxed. They let me play the way I played and had a lot of faith in my playing. That, coming from Levon and the other guys was huge.
HGMN: What are you listening to these days? What's on your iPod?
Jim: (Laughs) I don't have an iPod but I listen to Michael Landau. I think he's a really great guitar player. I love the sound he's getting and he's very melodic. If Jeff Beck puts something out I'll take a listen to what he's doing always. If Derek Trucks is playing something...I like a lot of David Gray... I like his writing. And anything Van Morrison, I just love his writing.
HGMN: What was it like/how did it feel when The Band was named one of Rolling Stones 50 Greatest Bands of All Time?
Jim: I think it was well deserved. I was very proud to be part of it.
HGMN: What is your relationship with all of them now?
Jim: I have a great relationship with them. I get along great with Levon...we are very close friends and Garth Hudson came up and played with us last week. Garth does gigs with me in Project Percolator every once and a while...I'll do a gig in New York City or something and I'll have Garth play as a guest sometimes. We get along very well...we all are in touch.
HGMN: You've collaborated with so many different people...Bob Weir, Bob Dylan, Mavis Staples just to name a few...Who was your favorite collaboration?
Jim: Definitely with Mavis...I've gotten to produce some stuff with Mavis Staples over the years and she just came up to Levon's this past year and we cut a live album with her and the Levon Helm Band at the Midnight Ramble. That was fantastic...really, really great. I was excited about that. I helped co-write the tune "Have a little faith" from the Mavis Staples record...in 2006. We got the Handy award for that. So it was great to work with Mavis and play on some of her stuff.
HGMN: And then with the Jim Weider Band...You are touring right now as Jim Weider's Project Percolator?
Jim: Yup, Jim Weider's Project Percolator. We're out there. We are going down to the Ram's Head this Friday in Baltimore and then over to Pennsylvania. I'm still playin' and I've got a fantastic band. Rodney Holms on drums, who played with Santana, Steve Lucas on bass and Avi Bortnick, who played with John Scofield and produced John and usually Jason Crosby on keyboards and violin from Robert Randolph.
HGMN: What are you able to express with the Jim Weider Band and Project Percolator that you maybe didn't get the chance to express with The Band or previous experiences?
Jim: Well, with Percolator it's all groove instrumental so we really stretch out into...even if we do a song like "The Weight," we'll take it into a very psychedelic jammed out area with the bass and the drums. We'll just do a whole different groove in the middle of it and then we'll come in with feedback and then somebody else will play off of me and we'll just take it to different areas and then pick the tempo up and just take people on a trip. It's a lot looser and it's a lot more... we'll go through a bunch of different musical styles with that group. It's still a structured melody at the front and back but we like to take a little journey. It's more improv and its fun for me.
HGMN: You've grown and developed so much as a musician. What's next?
Jim: I'm still thinking about that musically, what to do for the next record. The last record, it
was called "Pulse" and I know Home Grown has played it and has it down there. I'm getting ready to write another record. I'm just trying to figure out if I'm going to stretch the boundaries that I had or go somewhere a little different.
HGMN: Any idea when your new album is going to be made and come out?
Jim: No, no. I'm hoping to start writing it this winter and see what I end up with. I hope to have something done soon though.
HGMN: What's your abbreviated review of Pulse?
Jim: I really love that record. The previous record, "Percolator", was more of a studio record in that it started here at my house in my studio. Pulse, we went into the studio and we just cut the record live. All the solos except for 1 was done live. In 2.5 days the whole record was done and I always wanted to do a record like that. It really had that feel and I think that's what I achieved with Pulse...it's the sound of the group. When you hear the record that's exactly what we sound like live. So that was cool.
HGMN: Where is your favorite place to play?
Jim: Oh, boy. You know, it's anywhere where there's a great audience to play to. I love playing live. It doesn't get any better.
HGMN: Are you still with Fender? What do they hook you up with?
Jim: Yeah. I think I've got like a senior spot where they just take care of me if I need something. I would assume I'm still endorsed by them. I've never really reapplied (laughs).
HGMN: You're grandfathered in...
Jim: (laughs) I think so. I think I've got the grandpa position. Ya know I've never really played anything else. I've played a fender all my life.
HGMN: What are your other interests?
Jim: I like to fish. I enjoy that.
HGMN: If you could tell us anything, what would you want people to know about you?
Jim: Well, they should come out to a live show. I pretty much wear everything on my sleeve so they'll hear my life experience in one night just by the way I play. I've learned from all the great players...all the old school players that influenced me from Scotty Moore all the way up to Paul Burleson to listening to guys like Jeff Beck and of course Roy Buchanan and Chuck Berry. All the roots players come through in my music...Paul Butterfield, etc. People I grew up with listening to at Woodstock influenced me from "The Band" on. I think people will get to know me as soon as they hear me play.
HGMN: When are you going to come down to North Carolina?
Jim: We need to come down there! I was just asking Chris Robie about a festival down there. We need to come down that way. I'm playing New Orleans Jazz Festival with Levon. I'll definitely be down that way with Levon. But I've got to come down with Project Percolator. I'm going to look into booking a good run down that way and look into a good festival down there.
HGMN: Anything else you'd like to share with me?
Jim: On Home Grown's Website you can get "Percolator" or "Pulse" or any of my old records, "Remedy". Just keep listening to good music and check us out on the web.
Upcoming Shows
March 3, 2012 - JIM WEIDER MASTER CLASS THE ROOTS of ROCK &ROLL - Sigal Museum - Easton, PA
March 9, 2012 - JIM WEIDER'S PROJECT PERCOLAToR - LIVE at The Falcon - Marlboro, NY
March 10, 2012 - Jim Weider Master Class The Roots of Rock-inRoll & Art of Telecaster Playing - North Greenbush, NY
March 13, 2012 - Levon Helm band - Northern Lights Theater - Milwaukee, WI
March 14, 2012 - Levon Helm band - Northern Lights Theater - Milwaukee, WI
March 16, 2012 - Levon Helm band - Old Town School Of Folk Music - Chicago, IL
March 17, 2012 - Levon Helm band - Old Town School Of Folk Music - Chicago, IL
March 19, 2012 - Levon Helm band - Michigan Theater - Ann Arbor, MI
March 23, 2012 - Levon Helm band - Tarrytown Music Hall - Tarrytown, NY
March 24, 2012 - Levon Helm band - Tarrytown Music Hall - Tarrytown, NY
March 29, 2012 - JIM WEIDER'S ProJECT PERCoLAToR - Olde Mistick Village Art Cinemas - Mystic, CT
March 30, 2012 - Levon Helm band - Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom - Hampton Beach, NH
April 6, 2012 - Levon Helm band - The Wellmont Theater - Wellmont , NJ
May 5, 2012 - New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival - New Orleans, LA
May 25, 2012 - Levon Helm Band Birthday Bash Ramble - Ulster Performing Arts Center - Kingston, NY
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