Friday, March 14, 2008
Companions For The Road by Joseph Leichman
Companions for the road
Friday, March 14, 2008
BY JOSEPH LEICHMAN
SPECIAL TO THE RECORD
WHO: TR3.
WHAT: Rock.
WHEN: 9 p.m. Thursday; 7 p.m. March 27.
WHERE: Mexicali Blues Café, 1409 Queen Anne Road, Teaneck; 201-833-0011 mexicalilive.com.
OR: The Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard St., Manhattan; 212-219-3132 or knittingfactory.com.
HOW MUCH: $20.
WHERE TO HEAR: timreynolds.com; myspace.com/timreynoldstr3
Tim Reynolds is especially accustomed to the road. A guitar whiz most known for his work with Dave Matthews, Reynolds is leading his own band, TR3, all over the country.
That's nothing compared with his childhood, which the 50-year-old Reynolds maintains is ongoing.
"I never grew up," Reynolds said, speaking from the TR3 tour bus in Cleveland in late February. "So I can't tell you where I grew up, but I will tell you all the places I've been. I was born in Germany and lived there for nine months, then Indiana, Alaska, Kansas, St. Louis, Virginia, then New Mexico, and I just moved to the Outer Banks [of North Carolina].
"The nomadic life -- you don't settle down as a musician, you never settle down. Playing music is what keeps me going."
When Reynolds moved to the Outer Banks in 2007, he met bassist Mick Vaughn and drummer Dan Martier, who joined Reynolds in reviving TR3. Reynolds dissolved the band eight years ago to go solo and re-formed it only when he was satisfied with his songwriting voice.
"As I get older, I realize it's just about writing songs," he said. "It's great to get back into having a band, and this is the best band I've ever been in or had, and it's just really fulfilling every night to do this."
His résumé includes acoustic work with Dave Matthews. The two usually perform as a duo, although Reynolds occasionally sits in with the whole Dave Matthews Band. Reynolds and Matthews released one of their concerts on the double-disc "Live at Luther College" in 1999.
Reynolds said he was initially concerned that the bulk of his acclaim came from his playing with Matthews and not from his own work. He added, though, that he put those feelings behind him years ago.
"This has been something that's been going on for over 10 years, so I don't even think about it anymore. Ten years ago that was a new thing, as it were, and I really tried to make an effort to separate the two entities," Reynolds said of Dave Matthews and TR3.
For instance, "I only play Dave songs when I'm with him," said Reynolds.
Being associated with Matthews does have its benefits.
"Over the years Dave Matthews fans have become a broader-based collection of listeners for me," Reynolds said.
With an established audience, a new band and a fresh hometown, Reynolds is set to release his first album since 2005's solo effort, "Parallel Universe." It may be some time before TR3 gets off the road and into the studio, but when it does, Reynolds -- who blisters over the guitar almost as fast as he changes addresses -- will continue to hone a calmer aesthetic.
"I played electric blues when I was a kid, and in the last couple of years I've gotten into really older acoustic blues," he said. "I've been focused on the simplicity of playing one note with a lot of soul, the singularity of a note and how it can be strong. I'm into the contrast of all that."
http://www.northjersey.com/betterliving/music/Companions_for_the_road.html