Show Notes
The Band: A History sits down with former guitarist of The Band Jim Weider. Jim joined The Band in 1985 and remained their lead guitarist until the group dissolved in 2000 after Rick Danko's death. Known as one of the premiere Fender Telecaster players in the world, outside of The Band, Weider has played with Robbie Dupree, Dr. John, Graham Parker, Keith Richards, Scotty Moore and Bob Weir. Weider was also a member of the Levon Helm Band from 2009 until Levon's death in 2012 and has since created The Weight Band, which originated inside the barn of Levon Helm in 2012 when Jim Weider and Randy Ciarlante (former members of The Band), were performing "Songs of The Band" with Garth Hudson, Jimmy Vivino and Byron Isaacs. The Weight Band is getting ready to release their second album "Shines Like Gold" on April 1, 2022. You can find out more about the band, their music and their tour dates here: https://www.theweightband.com/ Part of Pantheon Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from The Band: A History
Levon Helm built The Barn in Woodstock as a place to keep making music, make a home and then when stuggles hit - through throat cancer and in the process, built something just as lasting with his daughter Amy, who grew up on that stage and has kept it running ever since he passed.
Jericho was the first Band studio album in sixteen years, and by the time it arrived a lot had changed. Richard Manuel was gone. Robbie Robertson was gone. What remained were Levon Helm, Rick Danko, and Garth Hudson, joined by Jim Weider, Randy Ciarlante, and Richard Bell, trying to figure out what The Band could still sound like in the 1990s.
This episode traces the final years of Richard Manuel, from The Band’s relentless touring in 1984–86 to his last night in Winter Park, Florida. We follow the grind of the road, the pressures that built around him, and the moments of beauty still present in his late performances. This is the story of a brilliant singer living through the hardest years of his life, the night everything changed, and the music and tributes he left behind.
This episode follows guitarist Jim Weider, from growing up in Woodstock to finding his way onto the road with Levon, Rick, Richard, and Garth. We trace how he joined The Band in the mid-’80s, held things together through years of hard touring, helped shape their final studio records in the ’90s.