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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
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Jim Weider & Honky Tonk Gurus
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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.
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.
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.
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.
Photos the copyrighted property of No Bull Productions.
Posted on November 21th, 1998
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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.
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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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