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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

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.

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

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.

Randy Ciarlante

John Ossman

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@NoBullProductions.com.

Ellie Apuzzo owns and operates Ellie's Consider It Done. She provides "on-site oversight for absentee owners" here in the Florida Keys; and so far, this lifelong New Yorker just can't seem to get into "Keys time!" Ellie can be reached at ellie@elliesconsideritdone.com.

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