Tim's Bio | Healing Music Programs | Tim Weed & Friends | Tim Weed Band
About Tim Weed
"There's a group of musicians who have been redefining the banjo. People like Bela Fleck, Tony Trischka, and Bill Keith . . . Tim Weed is one of those musicians."
-Duane Inglish, Live Oak Music FestivalTim Weed is an acoustic multi-instrumentalist, classical banjo virtuoso, and singer-songwriter whose music traverses genres and defies categorization. His collection of original classical works for the 5-string banjo, Milagros, is regularly featured on National Public Radio and has been highly praised. He has been invited to perform this music at the Arizona Chamber Music Festival and for the Dalai Lama.
Also known by his birth name, Tim Wiedenkeller, Tim began as a bluegrass prodigy on banjo in Southern California. He started playing at age 16, and two years later was travelling with the high-powered young bluegrass band Last Chance. During its few years of existence, Last Chance helped produce some of today's most influential bluegrass musicians, including Stuart Duncan, Gene Libbea, and Alison Brown - bandmates who all became Grammy Award winners.
During the 80's Tim turned his interest away from the banjo, toward guitar, voice, and studio recording. He spent 15 years performing, writing, producing, and recording in a wide variety of musical styles with the best musicians and recording studios in Los Angeles. He also travelled extensively during this time, and was profoundly influenced by the musical cultures he was exposed to in the Orient, Southeast Asia, and the South Pacific.
He rediscovered the banjo in the 90's and began playing, composing, and recording his own virtuosic classical music. This work has been praised for "redefining the banjo" with a new level of sophistication, complexity and beauty, and revealing its similarities to instruments from around the world.
In 2008 Tim began recording with Dave Matthews Band for a movie soundtrack and CD. He worked with award-winning producer, composer, and musician Steve Wood on this project - Wood has produced music with Sting, George Harrison, Stevie Wonder, Kenny Loggins, and Crosby-Nash.
He now lives in northern California working as a concert musician, recording artist and sideman. He's a yogi, naturalist, environmentalist, surfer, and father of two children.
Live audiences know Tim as an exciting, captivating performer who's full of surprises. His concerts showcase his cutting-edge acoustic music, journeying through a boundless mix of classical banjo, bluegrass, jazz, rock and traditional music, and international music. His concerts always include improvisation and dazzling interplay between band members, epitomizing what great live music is all about.
Healing Music Programs
Tim began his spiritual journey and contemplative practices in 1980 and soon began travelling extensively seeking wisdom, perspective and growth. Eventually his pursuits turned toward Buddhism, taking him to monasteries in Japan, South Korea, and Thailand, then continuing in the United States. He is inspired by his studies and retreat experiences with Thich Nhat Hanh, the Dalai Lama, Ajahn Buddhadasa, S.N. Goenka, Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, Sylvia Boorstein, Sharon Salzberg, Ajahn Sumedho, Carolyn Myss, David Whyte, Byron Katie, Eckhart Tolle, Marshall Rosenberg (NVC), Stanislav and Christina Grof, and Stephen Levine.
Tim's personal path has deeply influenced his musical expression. This has led him to perform at retreats, conferences and seminars on meditation, yoga, recovery, healing, and spiritual discovery. He has also brought music to hospice and health care facilities, and permaculture and sustainable building conferences. For over ten years he has provided healing music programs and expressive arts therapy to numerous institutions including The Mayo Clinic, Stanford Medical Center, Hoag Hospital, Sierra Tucson, Cottonwood de Tucson, Miraval, Canyon Ranch, and the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine. Since 2010, he has been on the staff at Commonweal Institute providing music for the renowned Cancer Help Program.
Tim says:
"My vision is to bring beauty into the world through music, and to inspire creativity and transformation in others. My hope as a musician is to be a catalyst for spreading joy, inspiration, healing and awakening. I don’t necessarily believe in the concept of trying to impose change on people; I do, however, believe that the pursuit of personal evolution is the most important thing we can do. We inspire others through example, and the agent for change is our inspirational content. I visualize this project as the fulfillment of my dream to create music to awaken the spirit and inspire transformation."
Tim Weed & Friends
Debbie Daly, Dana Rath, Tim Weed, Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee, Michael PeloquinDebbie Daly (vocals, guitar, percussion)
Debbie Daly brings beautiful vocal harmonies to the stage, and regularly performs with Tim, specializing in bluegrass, old-time duets and Mexican ballads. SlickRock is a popular favorite, available on iTunes.Dana Rath (mandolin, mandola, vocals)
Dana has been a key member of the renowned Modern Mandolin Quartet for over 20 years. The Quartet, cofounded by Mike Marshall, has released four recordings for Windham Hill Records and in 1995, the Quartet made its Carnegie Hall debut.Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee (bass)
Emmanuel is a critically acclaimed jazz bassist and composer who has performed and recorded with some the biggest names in Jazz. He's also a visionary filmmaker and director of the Global Oneness ProjectMichael Peloquin (harmonica, sax, vocals)
Michael provides his inventive harmonica, soulful sax & vocals, and is a stalwart of the Bay Area Blues and R & B Scenes. He is also the winner of the Hohner Harmonica World Championship held in Trossingen, Germany.
Tim Weed Band
Debbie Daly, Mark Robertson-Tessi, Tim Weed, Porangui, Rob Paulus
Photo by Todd Pickering
Debbie Daly (vocals, guitar, percussion)
Mark Robertson-Tessi (mandolin,vocals) * PickPluckMusic.com/mrt
Rob Paulus (bass, violin) * www.RobPaulus.com
Porangui (percussion) * www.porangui.com
Dana Rath (mandolin, mandola) * www.ModernMandolinQuartet.com/bios.htm
Tim Weed &
Mark Robertson-Tessi
Classical Banjo/Mandolin duo - more info
