guitarist Jim Weider returns to the Stone Church with a new lineup 

Jim Weider—best known as guitarist for The Band—has enjoyed several versions of his career, yet is still working on making his dreams come true. In the latest variation, Project Percolator, he thinks maybe he’s got it just right.

“My new band is finally the right group for performing my ‘Percolator’ CD,” he says. “The vision I had to develop the songs live has come true.”

Project Percolator’s sound is an atmospheric rock and blues based blend, with funk and jazz grooves, drum loops and samples. Weider himself has performed with dozens of musicians, including Los Lobos, Dr. John, Robbie Dupree, Bob Dylan, Taj Mahal, Paul Butterfield, Graham Parker and more, and is among a select group of guitarists with an endorsement from Fender. The group features himself on guitar, Rodney Holmes on drums, Mitch Stein on guitar and Ron Jenkins on bass, and they will be performing songs from “Percolator” at The Stone Church on Friday, Dec. 8 at 9 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the door.

“Rodney Holmes has joined up with me—he played drums on the record and has taken the music to another level—along with Mitch Stein on second guitar, who’s an amazing improviser and musician,” Weider says. “Both guys used to play with the Steve Kimock band, so every night we play, it’s a different experience for me and the audience. Lots of fun. And they groove like madmen!”

Weider has played The Stone Church several times, and describes it as a great place to play.
“It makes you feel at home, the way the people who work there treat us, and the fans that come in have a really nice vibe,” he says. It’s also a plus, he says, that the sound is good for the musicians onstage.

In March, the band will head to Europe for a tour, where they’ll be playing theaters and small clubs. This is Weider’s first time touring in Germany, Switzerland and Italy with his own band, though Holmes has been offering drum clinics there, and Stein has toured there fairly often, “playing with everyone from the Brecker Brothers to Santana to Bruce Cockburn,” Weider points out.

“I have many fans in Europe over the years of playing in The Band, and after releasing my three solo records, they ask me every year ‘When are you coming to Europe?’” explains Weider. “So it will be really nice to play for them.”

One of the ways Weider keeps in touch with fans new and old is through MySpace. Live tracks and video from Project Percolator are online at www.myspace.com/jimweiderband. Weider is also online at www.jimweider.com.