Jim Weider Interview

by Hugh Ochoa

Raised on rock and country blues, Jim Weider receives worldwide respect from fellow musicians and music fans alike. A master of the Fender Telecaster, he is among a select group of musicians that has an endorsement agreement with Fender and has developed a reputation for himself with a unique style of country rock, blues and slide guitar playing. His musical resume reads like a Who's Who of rock 'n' roll greats encompassing many generations and styles of music, from Bob Dylan and The Band, to Scotty Moore, Paul Burlison, Robbie Dupree, Paul Butterfield and Keith Richards, just to name a few.

His first claim to fame was replacing Robbie Robertson in The Band, a tenure that lasted from 1985 to 1998 that consisted of international touring with original members Levon Helm, Garth Hudson and Rick Danko, and also many recording sessions and television appearances. Some highlights include: a 1990 show with The Band and Ronnie Hawkins at the Berlin Wall; the Bob Dylan Tribute show at Madison Square Garden; the "Unofficial Blue Jean Bash" for President Clinton's 1993 Inaugural Ball, with special guests Bob Dylan, Steven Stills and Dr. John; and, The Band's appearance at Woodstock '94.

Among other things worthy of mention, Jim Weider has been producing albums, and has written and co-written music for a long list of recording artists. He has also helped invent an overdrive pedal called The King of Tone with electronics guru Analog Man, and has made several instructional videos for Homespun Videos including How To Get That Classic Fender Sound.

Not enough? Weider also won the 2005 W.C. Handy Award for Blues Song of the Year, "Have A Little Faith", performed by Mavis Staples, which he co-wrote with Jim Tullio. In fact, Jimmy Weider played lead guitar on five of the album songs on which "Have A Little Faith" is the title track.

From his home in the neighboring sleepy little village and artist colony of Woodstock NY, I had the pleasure of chatting with Jim. He was eager to talk about his music and his past and present accomplishments. He currently has a new band together and a new album, Percolator, that he's very excited about. And being a consummate guitar player, he was all too willing (and knowledgeable) to talk shop about amps, effects and of course, the Fender Telecaster.

Are you still working with The Band or are you doing the Jim Weider Band?

Jim Weider: I just do the Jim Weider Band. I've been doing that since I wrote and finished Bigfoot, I guess 1998, and The Band kinda stopped playing around the end of '98-'99, and I started playing with my own group then and released Bigfoot officially around 2000.

How long after Robbie Robertson's departure did you take over on guitar?

JW: When they started back up, they did one tour in '83 I think with the Cate Brothers and then started talking about playing again. Rick and Levon started playing together and then Rick, Levon and Richard....then Garth moved back. And then, in 1985, I officially started playing with them and stayed till about the end of '98.

How close were you to Rick Danko and how did his passing affect you?

JW: Oh, we were good friends. Yeah, he was a really good guy.

Levon must have taken it hard?

JW: I think so, yeah.

Do you look back at your time with the band with fondness? Or was it just like a job?

JW: Naw, it was a lot of fun, you know. I got to play with some of the best musicians in the world and people that as a kid, I looked up to. And got to work with them all, you know, from Dylan to Jim Keltner to Duck Dunn to Steve Cropper...just name it. We got to play with them all because of the deep respect they had for The Band. It was great you know, we got to go all over the world.

Did you find it a challenge, being primarily a Telecaster player, to replace a Stratocaster player?

JW: Well actually the truth is, Robertson was always a Tele player and he only really started playing a Strat I guess in the very early '70s or mid '70s, right before they ended in '76. Somewhere in the '70s, I guess, he got an old Strat. It had a Tele pickup in the back. But he always played a Tele when I knew The Band. He certainly was a Tele player, whether he had a Strat or anything else.

Interesting. Many of us think of him as a Strat player. I guess the first thing that comes to mind is him with a Strat on "The Last Waltz"

JW: Yeah, but all the old stuff is a Tele. I think he even played a ... he had another guitar too, I think it was an Epiphone. But mostly it was a Tele.

An Epiphone? You know what model?

JW: Sure, I mean I saw a picture in some video where he was playing it. Of course you know, it was probably just lying around the studio. But his main ax was always the Telecaster. I mean, If I pick up any instrument, if I pick up a Strat or a Les Paul, I still sound like a Tele player. There's a certain kind of style it makes you play.

Right. They say that the tone is in the hands and not the instrument.

JW: You know, in that respect, Stratocaster players are very similar. You gotta work hard on the instrument. It's a certain attack playing a Fender Strat or a Tele. You can tell a really great Strat player. It's a certain attack that you have, the way you get the tone out of the note, whether you're a maple neck or rosewood neck player.

I was looking through the long list of people you've performed with. There are some pretty big names there. Is there any one person that made you think, "Wow, I'm playing with so-and-so"?

JW: A big thrill for me was Roy Buchanan, who was a big influence. He opened up for The Band for three or four shows. We were doing some theaters. One of them was actually in Albany at The Palace. So, I got a chance to sit down and talk to him before he passed away.

What was Derek Trucks like to work with?

JW: When we first played with him, we recorded a Bob Dylan song with him and The Band, right when he was making his first record. He had to be 17-years-old or something.

That song was "One Too Many Mornings" right?

JW: Yeah it was on the House Of Blues label. I thought he was just fantastic. And he still is. He's a prodigy. He really is. He plays on that open tuning and he plays great regular guitar too. He's just a natural.

Have you ever played extensively with Dylan?

JW: No, not extensively. He's sat in with us a number of times when we've played. We did the president thing - we played the inauguration. And we backed him up on some stuff. I'm a big Dylan fan. He sat in with us at the Lone Star In NYC.

What about when you played with Paul Burlison and Scotty Moore?

JW: Yeah!, Playing with those two guys was a very big thrill. Scotty Moore ... getting to play with him and record with him ... we actually did a big show in Austin with DJ Fontana and Los Lobos.

Did he still have the chops?

JW: You know, he played pretty darn good. He can still play. And Burlison didn't do too bad either. I got to produce a record for him with all these great players. It was really fabulous.

You've been doing a lot of producing as well?

JW: I've been doing some, yeah. I'm just wrapping up an album for Tom Pacheco. I've done about three - produced about three of his albums. He's a great singer/songwriter. But I do a little bit. When somebody calls me up, I do it.

I noticed that you recorded Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" on your Remedy record and you mentioned you're a big Dylan fan.

JW: Oh, yeah.

Then you went on to do The Band's "The Weight" on that record, which is an interesting choice since early on The Band and Dylan seem to be quite intertwined.

JW: Yeah, I did it. We did it instrumentally first, then Randy, my drummer from The Band, sang a verse. Mavis Staples sang a verse, then Merle Saunders. We jammed. That was fun.

Living in Woodstock NY and being a big Dylan fan, have you ever been to The Big Pink?

JW: Yeah.

Is it still pink?

JW: You know what, it is still pink I believe. I was there with some guys from Finland. I can't verify that, but it was for awhile and I have been there.

Looking at your tour schedule, you're still doing a lot of traveling.

JW: I still do. I enjoy it.

I see though that you always come back to Woodstock.

JW: Yeah. I play with some good guys here, like Randy from The Band and Sid McGinnis, the guitarist from the Letterman show, who is a Strat player. He plays a '55 Strat with a maple neck. He plays with us a lot. He is a good friend of mine. A lot of times if you come out and see us, he's playing with us - getting the Strat/Tele thing going on pretty good. He's a very good Strat player.

The Strat and the Tele complement each other very well.

JW: I have a '58 Strat that I used on [The Band's] High On The Hog record and I really liked that. It's a string-though-the-body, non-trem. But I'd really like to get a '55 ash body Strat with a whammy.

Being a famous recording artist with connections all over the world, why do you choose to live in Woodstock?

JW: It's where I grew up. I have all my friends I went to school with.

What's your relationship with Robbie Dupree?

JW: We're still really close friends. I've toured with him, on his first record. And we've done shows together. He's just a great, great singer/songwriter and friend.

What is your "musical upbringing", as I like to call it. Are you self taught?

JW: Self taught.

What did you grow up listening to?

JW: Everything. I mean, of course, Scotty Moore with Elvis, Chuck Berry, and James Burton were early influences. And then Steve Cropper with Booker T. Then onto the Stones and the British invasion - Jeff Beck and Clapton. Jimi Hendrix I loved but just could never figure him out when I was a kid. He was just way ahead of his time. He still is.

I don't think many people could figure it out.

JW: No. He just set a standard that was hard to live up to. Broke the mold. I was into country rock guitar playing. I really liked Jesse Ed Davis. You know, like country blues rock. I loved it. And Clarence White and the Birds. I got into that heavily in the late '60s to early 70s. You know, that whole style of bending the note and playing the blues. And when I heard Buchanan in '71 - '72, that was it! He set a standard of Tele playing that I'd never heard before. He played psychedelic blues rock guitar on a Telecaster. It was great.

What inspires you to play? And what keeps you from burning out?

JW: I just like music. There's so much to learn and so little time. You got to dedicate your time, if you get bored, there's so much other stuff to learn. You got to keep your interests up.

After all these years, is playing, touring and recording still rewarding for you?

JW: I love it. My favorite is playing live . I love to record but it is a lot of work. I enjoy that too, but I love to go out and play live.

Let's talk gear! You would consider yourself primarily a Tele player?

JW: Yeah, I would say so.

Because I remember seeing a Homespun video called Getting That Classic Fender Sound you did awhile back and I remember there being at least 7 or 8 Strats on the cover. Were all of those yours?

JW: [Laughs] No, no. On that cover, there was a bunch of Teles and Strats. It's something I did cause I like Fender instruments so I decided to do a video of all the people that influenced me and their styles and document it. So I borrowed them from a couple collectors. Only one guitar on there is mine.

So you do own a Strat?

JW: I do own a Strat. Gotta have a Strat.

Do you think that some people just don't get Telecasters? That maybe they just aren't the guitar for some people?

JW: Oh, yeah. You gotta know how to set them up. You know, I learned that from Buchanan, by putting big frets an a Telecaster and a Strat, they play a lot better. Sid McGinnis, for 18 years was playing with the original frets on his '55 Strat. They're down to nothing. I said, "How are you bending a string? How long have you had the guitar?"

He said, "Well, since '71 or something like that."

And I said, "Well I don't think you're gonna sell it. So why don't you put some new frets on it and enjoy yourself." So he ended up doing it to all his guitars. It makes a big difference. You do that to a Tele, and you take the finish off the back of the neck and you set them up, and they play great.

So you think that a lot of it has to do with having it set up properly?

JW: Yeah. Set up. And then you gotta learn how to get a tone out of it.

Do you strip the neck on all your guitars?

JW: The ones that are new. The old ones are kinda worn off anyway.

Any neck profile and fretboard radius that you prefer?

JW: I like the old big neck - the '50s necks. I like the 7.5" [radius] and after you refret it a few times, from the 9th fret up you get a flatter radius - you know, kind of compounded a little bit. I like having a 7.5" radius by the nut that flattens to a 9" radius further up the neck.

You credit Buchanan with inspiring you to want a Tele.

JW: Yeah. Yeah.

I read the story somewhere about how after hearing Roy Buchanan's '52 Tele, you went searching for one across the country.

JW: Yeah, that's true. That's how I got mine.

How long did that take?

JW: It took going across the country and buying a few till I finally found the right one.

Were you just randomly going into stores looking for one or did you have leads on them?

JW: Well, I'd look in the papers and stop into stores while I'd be driving to California. Back then, you'd go into stores and there'd be four or five 1950s Teles hanging up for $300 apiece.

So how did you come across your '52?

JW: I saw an ad in the paper when I lived in Los Angeles. The guy had a '50s bass and a '52 Tele. He wanted $300 for one and $350 for the other. I went over to his house and turns out it was Norm of Norman's Rare Guitars. Now he's a well known vintage guitar guy out in L.A. He sells guitars to everybody but back then he just worked in a music store and had a little side business in his apartment.

And your '54, that you have on your website. Is that just a back-up?

JW: It's another one that I use. I used it on the album Bigfoot. I haven't played it lately though.

I see you put a '60s Firebird pickup in the neck. Is that a mini humbucker?

JW: Yeah, it's a standard '60s Firebird humbucker.

The Thinlines have the dual humbuckers in them. Some Tele purists consider those "anti-Teles".

JW: Yeah, well, on my new album, I got a guitar in Finland that has two humbuckers in it and I've been getting into the humbucker world so ... I'm kinda "anti" lately. I'm a slight traitor but, whatever, I'm enjoying it.

Of course, all the old jazz box type of guitars have the dual humbucker set up.

JW: Lot of guys used to put '60s humbuckers on a Tele, in the rhythm position - very unbalanced. But you know, I'm just messing with it. I always go back to my old one.

Do you work on your own gear or do you have a tech?

JW: I have a tech, Dominick Ramos.

What is it about the '50s Telecasters that make them more desirable to you?

JW: Well, they have the best sounding pickups. The early '50s till '55 with the flat pole magnets were the best sounding pickups.

Do you ever play Gibsons?

JW: I bought a '50s Les Paul Junior from John Hall that I played in the late '60s for about a year or so, but then I went right back to a Tele and stayed there.

Is your recording rig the same as your live rig?

JW: Not entirely. I use my trusty black face Deluxe Reverb. But I also use a slew of different amps, from Marshalls to Supros, for different guitar sounds. Once in awhile I use a 1960 Guild Starfire with DeArmonds.

Do you worry about taking vintage gear out on the road?

JW: I'm conscious of it, but you have to play it because it's what you have it for. I just always keep it with me.

So you see them as tools and not museum pieces?

JW: That's how I feel. I think they should be played so people can hear them. You know, if I'm in a bar and I see a guy playing an old '50s Strat, I get excited. If he's a good player.

As far as amps go, I see you lean more towards smaller combos. Any particular reason?

JW: Yeah, it's easier to carry them. Deluxe Reverbs I like, that's mainly what I use. That and a Princeton. Or if I'm playing a bigger show, I plug another speaker speaker into the Deluxe, to make it a little larger, but that's usually loud enough. It's a very loud Deluxe - mine's been modified with a Bandmaster output transformer, 6L6s, and 50w speaker. It's really souped up.

You don't have any Twin Reverbs or Super Reverbs?

JW: I used to have all that. I sold all my big amps because I just didn't use them.

You only play Fender amps?

JW: I've been playing a Marshall on the new album.

What kind?

JW: A 50 watter.

Like a JTM?

JW: Yeah, a '70s. Good Sound but it's too loud for live.

Do you get into the NOS and expensive tube craze?

JW: Yeah, if you can find a set of Mullards, they sound great. They're a little bit warmer and have a little bit more bottom to them. I like the GEs and a Mullard in the preamp is great. You'll sound a little bit rounder in tone. They're worth it. And they last, they don't go anywhere.

I see you use a TS9 modified by Analog Man and what looks like a delay. What else are you using?

JW: I use a little delay, it's an Aquapuss, for a little rockabilly slapback. But my main delay is a T-Rex Replica delay. And I use a King Of Tone pedal that I helped invent with Analog Man, which is kinda like my improvement of a Tube Screamer. And that's pretty much it ... and an old Italian Wah-Wah

What was it that you couldn't get from the stock Tube Screamer that led you to have something made for you?

JW: No bottom on the TS808, there's just more mids. I didn't want to lose the bottoms.

And the Tube Screamer, is that an 808 or a 9?

JW: Well it's an 808 in a 9 box. Rick Danko stepped on the original one and broke it.

You don't use a pedal board?

JW: I have a pedal board nowadays. I gotta update my website.

Do you have your perfect tone or are you always searching for it like the rest of us?

JW: Always searching. It's been a really hard search. I've been working on a channel switching amp with Ben Fargen, an amp builder from California. It's a 50 watter with big, warm, clean Fender-like sounds and channels switches into a lead channel that doesn't lose bottom. It sings. I am very excited about this amp. It's still in the prototype stages. I am using it live now as of this month [July '05]. We're trying to get the bugs out now. And it should be available soon as my Signature amp. It's just two 6l6s. We want to keep the tone of your guitar in both channels - no tone loss, just more.

What's on the horizon?

JW: We've got a brand new album, Percolator, that I wrote, all instrumental, which is all new music for me. It's kinda like a left turn, it's not classic rock or blues rock. It's all groove guitar instrumental. Rodney Holmes from the Steve Kimock band and Santana band did all the drumming and John Medeski played keyboards. Tony Levin played bass. Sid McGinnis also appears as a special guest. He also co-wrote two songs and Randy Ciarlante also appears, plus others.

I used humbuckers on it with a Tele through a Marshall, and a tube Echo Plex, so I kind of changed my sound a bit but you can still hear the Tele playing in it. There's a lot of Telecaster. I also use a 1960 Guild Starfire with a Bigsby for the atmospheric sounds through the Vox Tone Lab. And I layered the echos.

The Jim Weider Band II is Jesse Gress who's played with Todd [Rundgren]/The Tony Levin Band. He's a Strat player. And a young guy named Daniel Grimsland on bass and Randy Ciarlante on drums. It's all instrumental groove so it's a new style. I'm going to keep both bands together and just have this as a jam band/guitar instrumental band. I'm excited about it. I used a percussionist named Carlos Valdez on the album, which was cool. The new album is entitled Percolator.
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Related link

For more photos, information about upcoming performances, to hear more of Percolator or buy it (it's only available online through Jim's website), or to learn more about Jim Weider and his bands, please visit www.jimweider.com.

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