Jason Wilber: Over 20 Years with John Prine (Season Two, Episode 12)

Billy talks with Jason Wilber who was John Prine’s guitar player for over 20 years. They discuss Jason’s first time meeting John in Bloomington, Indiana, joining John’s band, songwriting, the pursuit of the perfect gift (which included a cuckoo clock), Dairy Queen lunch stops on tour, and John’s love of meatloaf. More about Jason: Jason Wilber is an American singer, guitar player, songwriter, and recording artist. In addition to his work as a solo recording artist, he is also known as the long time lead guitar player for singer-songwriter John Prine. Other artists Jason has accompanied live or in the studio include Iris Dement, Greg Brown, Tom Russell, Sheryl Crow, Mary Gauthier, Todd Snider, Simrit, Hal Ketchum, Tim Grimm, Krista Detor, Greg Trooper, Carrie Newcomer, Kim Fox, Bill Wilson, and Over the Rhine. Jason Wilber’s solo albums include Lost In Your Hometown (1998), Behind the Midway (2000), King For A Day (2004), Lazy Afternoon (2006), Live and Otherwise Volume 1 (2006), Ghost of Summers Past (2009), Live and Otherwise Volume 2 (2009), Secret Window (2014), Echoes (2016) and Reaction Time (2017). Jason Wilber’s work with John Prine includes the Grammy Award winning CD Fair & Square, and the Grammy nominated CDs Live On Tour and In Spite of Ourselves (which spent 32 weeks on the Billboard Country Charts). In addition to playing guitar on John Prine’s 2017 album For Better or Worse, Jason also served as a Co-Executive Producer. Jason has accompanied John Prine on duet recordings with Iris Dement, Allison Krauss, Susan Tedeschi, Emmylou Harris, Miranda Lambert, Kathy Mattea, Amanda Shires, Fiona Prine, Lucinda Williams, Josh Ritter, Patty Loveless, Lee Ann Womack, Connie Smith, Melba Montgomery, Morgane Stapleton, Kacey Musgraves, and Sara Watkins. From 2006-2016, Jason Wilber hosted the syndicated radio series, In Search of a Song, which featured long form interviews with singers, songwriters, musicians, and producers. Jason Wilber served as C0-Executive Producer on the compilation CD Coal Country Music featuring Willie Nelson, Gillian Welch, Ralph Stanley, Jason and the Scorchers, Kathy Mattea, Justin Townes Earle, Natalie Merchant, Diana Jones, Tom T. Hall, Bonnie Raitt, John Prine, Jean Ritchie, and other artists, who all contributed their talents to benefit the Alliance for Appalachia’s work to stop Mountain Top Removal in rural Appalachia. Jason Wilber’s past TV and radio appearances include The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Colbert Report, Sessions At West 54th Street, The Grand Ole Opry, Live with Regis and Kathy Lee, CNN Entertainment Week, The Road, Mountain Stage, E-Town, Austin City Limits, and The Late Show with David Letterman.