Crash Into Me

Tim Reynolds of Dave Matthews Band is bringing familiar tunes back to Raleigh.

A guitar is just a personal extension of the person playing it, and guitarist/producer Tim Reynolds has been offering the world this intimate glimpse for more than four decades. After releasing 20+ albums under his own moniker—and even more with international rock phenom Dave Matthews Band—Reynolds shows no signs of slowing his successful sounds down. 

Last July, DMB graced Raleigh with a performance at Coastal Credit Union. Now, Reynolds is slated to play at Bowstring Pizza and Brewyard Oct. 5 with his former band, TR3, merely a month before heading back on the road with DMB. Raleigh Magazine caught up with Reynolds ahead of his upcoming Raleigh show and tour to tap him on what’s currently making a mark on his sound. 

Welcome back to Raleigh! What can we expect from your Bowstring show? 

We have a lot of original [music], and we are working on a bunch of new acoustic songs. A record isn’t coming out until the beginning of next year, but we still like to play that music because it’s fresh. Covers are always fun because you get to go back to your roots and have a three-piece play music by bands with six or seven instruments. It’s fun to make them work with the guitar, bass and drums.

Which artists do you usually cover? 

It changes every show. We have ones we’ve played for a long time. Right now, we are learning this one by Simon and Garfunkel called ‘A Hazy Shade of Winter,’ which is cool. It’s a 12-string song. It’s fun for me to play the 12-string part and the melody. That’s the kind of thing I like to challenge myself to do. It takes a minute to make it work. 

Take us back to TR3’s beginnings…

This band started in Charlottesville in the ’80s. When I moved, I moved very far away so it wasn’t easy to keep that going. When I came back to the Outer Banks 10+ years ago, I hooked up with Dan and Mick, and we started playing. Now, we’re very comfortable with each other. It’s a very good fit. 

Does the constant touring ever get old? 

One does get tired of traveling, although traveling is awesome when you’re not tired. The reason we’re doing this is to play music and it’s all fine because of that. It’s better to travel and play music for people all over than to just live in one town and play a couple places all the time. I also just kind of got used to that. You definitely have to get enough sleep. 

You are living the best of both worlds right now. Do you prefer a sold-out stadium show or a small local venue? 

They’re both really great for different reasons. The Dave Matthews Band thing is huge—with catered dinner, tour buses and all that good stuff. But I also like playing small clubs because it’s a different energy. You can really feel the audience, especially in a small room. And you can actually see everybody—it’s not a sea of faces half a mile away. The energy is really the best. Small venues just sound better—in bigger places the sound is more artificial. I’ve been doing both for the past 15 years, and each venue keeps the other fresh. 

Tell us: Which guitarists influence your sound? 

All of them! I’ve been through so many phases of different genres: jazz, rock—and I love them all, so it’s hard to say. One that comes to mind is Paco de Lucía, the flamenco guitarist. It’s a different kind of music, that’s why I love it so much. It’s still a mystery. There is so much complex rhythm in that music. But I love so many guitarists. Who doesn’t like Jimi Hendrix or Jimmy Page? All the genres of great guitarists inform and inspire what I do. 

What’s your go-to post-show drink and/or snack? 

A margarita. Boom. No smoky tequila and preferably no salt. Just strong. And usually a double because most people make them weak. As for post-show food, anything, but I’m a big fan of pizza. 

If you’re singing in the shower, in the car or anywhere without an audience, what song are you singing? 

I like so many songs it’s hard to just pick one. The one that comes to mind is a David Bowie song called ‘Sound and Vision.’ When he opens up his voice, it’s such a magical sound. It’s like a quartet—it’s just different. 

*Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.