A native of
Woodstock, New York, Weider was born in 1951 and began playing guitar at age 11. Some of his early influences included
Chuck Berry,
James Burton and
Scotty Moore. While still a teenager in Woodstock, Weider was influenced by guitarist
Buzz Feiten,
Robbie Robertson and harp blues musician
Paul Butterfield, he became acquainted with
Levon Helm and
Garth Hudson and was exposed to the Band's music. Weider went on to become an accomplished studio session player in cities such as
Nashville, touring with
Johnny Paycheck,
Lee Clayton and
James Talley and in
Atlanta working at Axis Studios with
Harvey Brooks (bassist) and
Richard Bell (musician) but eventually returned to Woodstock to tour with
Robbie Dupree and Levon Helm Woodstock All Stars. Levon Helm invited Weider to become the Band's sole guitarist in 1985, remaining until the group's dissolution in 2000 following the death of
Rick Danko in late 1999. Highlights with The Band include performing at Roger Waters THE WALL in Berlin, Germany 1990, Bob Dylan's 30th anniversary celebration and
Woodstock '94. Weider co-wrote on all three Band albums, including the song "Remedy" for
Jericho (The Band album). As a member of The Band, he opened for the Grateful Dead at their final show. Weider's main instrument is his 1952
Fender Telecaster, but he also plays a vintage 1960s
Silvertone electric guitar (primarily for
slide) and a vintage 1960s
Guild Starfire III. For amplification, Weider uses a combination of
Fender amplifiers and his own signature series JW40 amp, designed in conjunction with Fargen Amplification, Inc. He is also the co-designer of the Analog Man
King of Tone overdrive pedal, which he uses on his pedalboard, and BIG-T PICKUPS he co-designed with
Lindy Fralin, and the COLBY dtb amp released on April 4, 2013, as part of the COLBY Amps line of boutique guitar amplifiers created by guitarist
Mitch Colby and Jim Weider. In addition to his work with the Band and his own musical group, the Jim Weider Band, Weider has performed and recorded with numerous other musicians, including
Mavis Staples (co-wrote "Have a Little Faith", winning the 2005
Blues Music Award),
Los Lobos,
Robbie Dupree,
Dr. John,
Graham Parker,
Keith Richards and
Bob Weir. He has also played alongside
Keith Richards and
Scotty Moore, who worked with
Elvis Presley. Jim produced and played on
Paul Burlison's album
Train Kept A-Rollin and
Tom Pacheco's
Woodstock Winter. He is also featured in several instructional videos produced by Homespun Video. Following the departure of
Jimmy Vivino in early 2009, Weider performed with the
Levon Helm Band until Helm's death in 2012. The latest incarnation of
The Band's history,
The Weight Band, originated inside the barn of Levon Helm Studios in 2013 when Jim Weider and Randy Ciarlante, both former members of The Band, were performing "Songs of The Band" with Garth Hudson, Jimmy Vivino and Byron Isaacs. After receiving support from fans, Weider, Ciarlante and Isaacs decided to continue the tradition of performing songs from The Band and invited Brian Mitchell and
Marty Grebb -who contributed to both the Jericho and Jubilation albums- to complete their sound. The Weight Band later added Albert Rogers (2016), Michael Bram (2017) and Matt Zeiner (2019). In 2015, Jim Weider started Camp Cripple Creek with The Weight Band, a celebration of The Band's music, with the first year at Levon Helm Studios and the years after at Full Moon Resort in
Big Indian. Some of the guest artists were
Jackie Greene,
Larry Campbell (musician),
Paul Barrere &
Fred Tackett,
David Bromberg,
Maria Muldaur and
John Sebastian, with part of the proceeds going to Levon Helm Studios. In July 2017,
PBS's
Infinity Hall Live program began airing a televised performance by The Weight Band, featuring new music by the band. In January 2018, Weider announced the first studio album for the Weight Band, World Gone Mad. "Common Man" - co-written by Levon Helm - was released as the first single. In 2018, The Weight Band was announced as the first headliner for the new Folk & Americana Music Series, a celebration of the genre's rich musical history and influence, at the
Boch Center in Boston, Massachusetts. Their first guest was the Guthrie Family (
Woody Guthrie). In addition to playing in The Weight Band, Weider tours with
G.E. Smith and
Tom Principato as Masters of the Telecaster and does solo shows with his touring band Project Percolator. ==Discography==