JIM WEIDER – SHININ’ ON
Few American guitarists can claim the deep roots in Americana music as Woodstock NY native Jim Weider. For fifteen years following The Band’s reformation in 1983, he was the sole guitarist, contributing heavily to their finest latter-day album “Jericho.” Weider is also part of an ongoing collaboration including G.E. Smith and Tom Principato called “Masters of the Telecaster,” performing exciting live shows that not only honor the instrument but those who made it famous.
Following the demise of The Band, Weider assembled a group of musicians to not only continue their musical legacy, but to create new music in their tradition. Calling themselves “The Weight Band,” they released their debut album in 2018 and toured the country up until the point that the pandemic hit. Honing their songcraft during the two-year lockdown, Weider and his bandmates have just emerged with “Shines Like Gold,” a new album featuring nine originals and a Willie Dixon cover. We caught up with Jim as he was heading out for another string of dates in the Western United States.
Tom Guerra: What was the impact of the pandemic on you and The Weight Band?
Jim: It was tough…we were in Florida on tour doing some shows in March of 2020, and then the bottom just fell out. Everything shut down and we just flew home. There was no work for a year and a half, and I’ve never been out of work, never not been able to go out and play, so it was strange. I just ended up going down to my studio and working on music…there was nowhere to go, no musicians to play with and nothing going on.
TG: So, this was the catalyst behind “Shines Like Gold?”
JW: It really was. I just started going into the studio every day and working on songs and ideas, and all of a sudden, they built up. At this point I had nothing to do, so I went down there every single day and all these ideas and songs started coming. Despite the uncertainty we all felt, I didn’t want the songs to be down, but positive and inspirational, like “there’s a new dawn rising and it shines like gold.”
TG: The song “Out of the Wilderness” is a great metaphor for coming out of this Covid era…
JW: It is, though I actually wrote that one with (producer) Colin Linden in the Nineties for Rick Danko to sing on the “Jericho” album, but we never cut it. It was perfect for Rick’s voice, and also totally perfect for (Weight bassist vocalist) Albert Rogers so we lifted it up a bit and I put some mandolin and slide on it. It fit really well with what we just went through, or are still going through.
TG: After you developed the songs in your studio, you were then able to get the band together and record them live?
JW: Yes, after the songs came, we all got together for a rehearsal at the studio and it felt really good, so we just recorded them live in about four or five days.
TG: Did you record the solos live as well? What did you use for a guitar and amp combination?
JW: The main tracks were all done at the same time, and I tracked most of the solos in my home studio. For the main tracks, I was using my ’52 Telecaster and ’62 Telecaster into my 1955 tweed Deluxe, as well as a Deluxe Reverb. For the slide stuff, I used my Ry Cooder-style Telecaster with the lap steel pickup, and for the first time I used this ThorpyFX Fat General compressor which allows you to blend the amount of compression with the straight signal. I did all the guitar overdubs at home, also using the Colby dtb-50 amp totally cranked for “Long Journey,” and the tweed Deluxe for the solo on “Weight of the World.” For “Shines Like Gold,” that’s my tweed Super and Deluxe Reverb together. I also used another Colby amp, the Park JTM45 for a rhythm crunch sound on “Tear Down the Walls.”
TG: The slide on “Time is a Thief” has a real Little Feat type of vibe to it…
JW: I think that rubbed off from hanging and playing with the guys from Little Feat, Paul (Barrere) and Fred (Tackett) when we toured with them in Japan. Paul used to always say “Jim, when are you going to use a compressor” and it was our joke for 30 years (laughs).
TG: Besides the compressor, did you use any other pedals?
JW: Yes, I used the Analogman King-of-Tone and the Dunlop Echoplex pedal in various spots.
TG: The entire record does capture the tradition of The Band but with a more modern feel.
JW: That’s the idea, to carry on that sound but to take it to another place…and this rocks harder. I’m excited about the new record as I think it really puts the stamp on our original sound.
-Tom Guerra