The Weight Band was featured on the Jan. 25 edition of Greasy Tracks.
Click here to listen to an archive of the show, while a playlist is here.
In addition to tracks from their studio album, World Gone Mad, there were interviews with guitarist Jim Weider and keyboardist Matt Zeiner as well as a selection of tracks from The Band.
The group appears at Infinity Hall in Hartford on Feb. 14.
Tracing its roots to some impromptu performances by former members of The Band — Weider and drummer Randy Ciarlante — joined by guitarist Jimmy Vivino and bassist Byron Isaacs along with Band founder Garth Hudson, The Weight Band was formed in 2013 with the goal of carrying on the tradition of the legendary group.
From its humble beginnings playing in Levon Helm’s barn, the group began to take its show on the road, playing dates across the country. Through some personnel changes over time — in addition to Weider and Zeiner — the group includes Brian Mitchell (keyboards/vocals), bassist Albert Rogers and drummer Michael Bram.
Weider spent 15 years in The Band, which called it quits in 2000 following the passing of bassist Rick Danko.
While The Weight Band’s concerts typically feature an in-depth selection of The Band’s catalog, the group’s debut studio album which came out in 2018 — minus a pair of interesting covers — is all original material, albeit in the style of The Band.
Throughout the program, there was music featuring Marty Grebb — a former member of The Weight Band — who passed away at the age of 74 on Jan. 1. Grebb, who did time with the Buckinghams and was a founding member of the Fabulous Rhinestones, was a longtime sideman for Bonnie Raitt and also worked with J.J. Cale, Leon Russell, Taj Mahal, Elton John, Roger McGuin and Roseann Cash to name but a few.
There was also an interview with Barry Sless, who plays guitar and pedal steel in the David Nelson Band. Sless discussed the Robert Hunter track “Movin’ Right Along,” which was recorded by the Nelson Band and released on Jan. 22.