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Jim Weider & The Honky Tonk Gurus with Tom Pacheco


by Kevin Robinson & Ellie Apuzzo

This article first appeared as the featured story in the on-line music magazine Hudson Valley Music, July 1999. Copyright © 1999 Tuned-In, Kevin Robinson, No Bull Productions. Reprinted with permission.


Jim Weider &
The Honky Tonk Gurus

with Tom Pacheco
Bodles Opera House
Friday, November 13, 1998

Story by Kevin Robinson
Pictures by Ellie Apuzzo

Jim Weider & Honky Tonk Gurus
Jim Weider & Honky Tonk Gurus
  Related links:     Jim Weider's Website     Bodles Opera House     The Band Website  
  Phil Farber's Review of "Bigfoot"     Tom Pacheco (Mercury Records Site)  

Tom Pacheco
Tom Pacheco
Bodles Opera House rocked on Friday the 13th [1998]. And the luck was definitely good. Poet, storyteller, and seasoned songwriter, Tom Pacheco opened the show with a set of his most powerful songs. Seagull in the Sun, a prayer for his sister, and Angel, the true story of an ill-fated Viet Nam vet, served as the primer for first time audience members.

Tom Pacheco
The lesson was simple and direct. Pacheco has something to say, and listeners are soon caught in the web of his precisely chosen words. The Snow Storm was moving and lyrical, and Big Storm Coming threatened to blow us away. Sand is a beachfront picnic of wordplay, and Juan Ramira is based on the real life story of the waiter who kneeled by Bobby Kennedy's fallen body and pressed his Rosary beads into the dying politician's hand. No one present will forget The Last Blue Whale. Pacheco is a poet of the first order. His new CD, Woodstock Winter, is a must have.

Jim Weider
Jim Weider
Guitarist Jim Weider's been around. Around the world. Weider, along with fellow Gurus, Richard Bell (keys) and Randy Ciarlante (drums) are Rock & Roll Hall-of-Famers, best known as members of The Band. Add bassman, John Ossman and you have Jim Weider & the Honky Tonk Gurus, a legendary collection of musicians who not only still know how to rock, but who obviously still love rocking.

Jim Weider
These guys were just plain fun to watch. Weider is almost shy in his physical reserve, but his guitar playing runs the gamut from soft and cool to explosive and burning hot. Bell loves to improvise, and seems to take great delight in surprising the other players with his riffs. Randy attacks his drums and his vocals with an almost childish glee; in fact, these old timers have so much fun playing together, they sometimes acted more like a budding garage band than a collection of well-weathered veterans. Their sound, however, is as good as it gets. To find out more about Jim Weider & the Honky Tonk Gurus or their new CD Big Foot, read Philip Farber's great article on this website.
Randy Ciarlante
Randy Ciarlante
John Ossman
John Ossman
Richard Bell
Richard Bell

Photos the copyrighted property of No Bull Productions.
Posted on November 21th, 1998


Kevin Robinson is a freelance writer/photographer, and the author of three "Stick Foster" hardback mystery novels. A former syndicated columnist for the Detroit Free Press, his byline has appeared over 100 times in national and regional periodicals. Kevin is a partner at No Bull Productions, and his PR credits include promotion and booking work for several of Kansas City's top blues bands. Kevin can be reached at nobull@pioneeris.net. Ellie Apuzzo owns and operates the Hearing Aid Center of Orange County. In her "other" life, she is the CEO of and chief photographer for No Bull Productions, a freelance Hudson Valley public relations firm specializing in Getting the Word Out about budding musicians who are ready to reach the next level in their professional careers. Ellie can be reached at hearing@cwixmail.com.


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