Photo by David Piacitelli
In 2009 Tim Reynolds introduced a new lineup for his group, TR3. The fittingly-named trio, which features North Carolina-based musicians Mick Vaughn (bass) and Dan Martier (drums), toured throughout the year and continue to do so into the new decade. Last year Reynolds and the band also released Radiance, Tim’s fifth album under the TR3 moniker and will return to the road for a series of shows, starting on April 1 in San Francisco.
For many fans and critics familiarity, their association with Reynolds begins with the Dave Matthews Band. The guitarist first met Matthews back in their Charlottesville days and as of late, the two have gigged as an acoustic duo in multiple occasions. In addition, Reynolds has joined DMB in the live setting and also in studio, most recently on the 2009 release Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King.
While he no doubt enjoys his time with Matthews, TR3 is Reynolds’ band and in the following interview he talk about Radiance, his upcoming plans for the trio as well as a a solo acoustic double-disc, live TR3, December’s Las Vegas shows with Dave Matthews and much more…
Radiance kicks off with “See You In Your Dreams.” It highlights a lot of your guitar solo work, however I noticed that there’s to be a rhythm guitar present as well. Do you prefer to have someone back you on rhythm or do you like to play both, using overdubs?
Mostly all of the tracks on this album were cut live. On a few tracks, I did maybe one guitar overdub; I try not to use a lot of extra guitars on the albums though. I did that on the last album, Parallel Universe (2005), using the studio as an instrument with a lot of guitars, drum machines and whatnot. But this one we tried to keep it mostly live tracks. Like you said, in “See You in My Dreams” there is one extra guitar playing as well as some volume swells. On a lot of the songs we used two different amps at the same time so it would beef up some tracks. There are actually three or four tracks that are solely live and were cut at the time they were laid down. “Cave Man” was one that was straight up live. The track had the energy and didn’t need any of the extra stuff. There were some overdubs here or there but that wasn’t the main focus. Sometimes you’ll make an album and then spend the same amount of time you spent cutting the live tracks brainstorming with far-out different dubbing, but we didn’t do it quite as much on this album. We wanted to keep the live band sound for this one.
Many of the tracks on Radiance are exclusively instrumental. How did you approach writing the songs on this album? Do you create the music first and then decide whether or not you want to add lyrics?
Yes, well I guess the lyrics get decided after you play the music. Some of the vocal songs on there, like the first two, started out on acoustic guitar and then I just reformatted them for the band. Some of the songs were actually TR3 songs from the 80’s that were reproduced in an original way to pay a tribute to the history like “Move on Ahead,” and “Trippin’ on You.” None of those recordings were really out there, so we did them over to update them and get them heard. It was really a fun album to make, having incorporated elements of older TR3 and new term TR3 to add some newer spontaneous shit.
Almost all of the songs on Radiance incorporate elaborate guitar solos. Were the solos improvised or do you write any of them out beforehand?
Most of the solos are improvised, which leaves it more up to chance. In some parts it may sound like a solo, but it may be a melody like in “Kaballah.” This track has a lot of guitar going on, but it’s mostly the melody until the middle cuts in and then it gets into the scanning which becomes pretty much improvised. Also it’s the TR3, so there’s always a lot of guitar going at one time. A lot of it is melody and some of it is improv and until you get to know the music, it may sound a lot more improv than it really is. Until you hear it over and over and over…
In the TR3, your guitar work is front and center, complemented by the bass and drums. In the Dave Matthews Band, you are more of an additive, adding guitar licks and rhythm grooves when necessary. Do you ever feel restricted by your role in DMB?
Not really because of the fact that I do have TR3 and I do get to play my solo stuff when DMB isn’t on tour. When they’re not on tour, I’m pretty much on tour with TR3 all the time. Since I get to fulfill that (TR3), I get to express myself and not be restricted by DMB. It’s a bigger band and really there sound over the years has been centered on the saxophone, violin and acoustic rhythm guitar.
And this has been the same throughout your entire history with the Dave Matthews Band?
No. When I recorded with them back in the day, it was kind of just to do studio parts. Now, in a way, I kind of equate what I do to like the way Peter Gabriel uses guitar; it’s not a guitar center, he has all these different instruments that mold into moods and stuff. So I can relate to that kind of playing as well as power trio mode or solo acoustic guitar where it is nothing but guitar. I get a lot of opportunity to play a lot of guitar, so I don’t feel restricted.
I kind of appreciate the difference, the variety of approaches within the different projects. It’s one big, happy, equilibrium. When I used to live in Charlottesville 20 years ago or whatever, I used to play a lot of different gigs like jazz gigs and improv gigs, so I’m used to having that kind of variety. And now at this time, it’s actually the fewest gigs that I do because it’s just TR3, DMB and sometimes solo. But that’s still a well rounded variety of things to do because I love to make music. If I didn’t do it, there would be no place for the insanity in my brain to go to; so it’s all good.
How did your relationship with Dave Matthews first come about?
He was a bartender at Miller’s in Virginia where I played every Monday for about 10 years. That’s where I met him. He was more focused on acting at the time, doing theatre and really good at it too. Then we got together a few times after hours and just kind of messed around in his basement with a 4-track. I could tell he was very good at the time. He sat in a few times and sang with me in the earlier incarnations of the TR3. And then not long after that, he started his band.
I notice throughout your album you incorporate a lot of guitar effects to add different colors to your work. As you previously stated, you prefer to cut everything live in studio, does this go for effects as well or are those added later on during production?
Mostly the effects go down live because, as you said, I’m always going for that approach. Very few times have I gone back later to add effects. In the past, once in a while, I did it. I am one of those guys that always like to manipulate the sound of the guitar from the get go. I’m actually getting ready to order some new shit because I’ve been using the same effects for many years. You just figure out different ways to use them. But I realize now that I’m ready to get some more crazy shit and see what I could do with that. Usually it takes a while to get familiar with the different effects. I’ve been using the Ring Modulator for about ten years now, and for a while it was just a mystery. I would turn it on and be like, “Okay, let’s figure it out” and I finally learned how to manipulate the buttons, though it still sounds pretty chaotic when it goes on. It’s fun to have a way to completely take the guitar out of the guitar. You know what I mean, just get some crazy sounds.
Radiance is your 5th studio album as the TR3. When you record with this group, are you thinking about what the audience would like to hear, or do you focus on your own interests and inclinations?
That’s a fine line issue. When you get on a label and start to have big numbers, that’s when people start thinking about the audience. Even working with Dave and those projects where there’s a producer and an engineer, it gets to be more of a team thing. I don’t really know about trying to think what’s going to make the audience happy because I’m not really into the space where they decide that. For me personally, it’s really about expressing what sounds good to myself, because when you’ve been playing gigs for a long time you assume that you have a certain amount of rapport; your taste isn’t completely obscure. If something sounds good to me, I assume that there will be a certain amount of people that like it because they like music. I love to listen to classic music all the time and I like to listen to stuff that’s current too. And maybe it’s wrong to assume that but I just go with my gut.
I would imagine that guess over the years performing, you can test the climate of what people like and dislike…
Definitely; George Harrison once spoke about when the Beatles would write new songs and play them live, he would take note the ones that the audience liked more. Of course they would gravitate towards that. We do that at gigs too, we play some covers, some Zeppelin covers, and obviously people are going to like those. Over the years, when I was learning acoustic, I started realizing what I like that I can play that everyone else likes. You kind of find a center of what you like and what you assume people like. Pleasing people is a Buddha thing, for me you kind of set a common ground to satisfy both parts; share the joy. There’s a way to do it without compromising your principles.
Is this current TR3 group with Mick and Dan one that you think will continue to create albums and tour together in the future? Or is this more of a side project for you?
Without a doubt I think this is a group I will continue to record and tour with. We just recently recorded some live shows and will be using some of that for a new live CD. I’m excited about getting that released sometime this year. This is definitely not a side project, more of a front project. We have a lot of fun playing together; maybe even call it a fun project [laughs].
Last month the Dave and Tim Live in Las Vegas recordings that took place last December were released. What particular moments stood out for you and were there any instances where you took the lead and Dave sat back?
Mostly I’m just playing rhythm guitar while Dave sings and adds colors. Then when it’s time to do a solo, I play a solo, trying to represent whatever familiar parts from the song we’re playing. That was just a fun gig. It all kind of came at the end of this year of touring. I was touring with TR3 so it was almost a blur at that point because that was the last gig before I was off. But it was really fun.
I know TR3 has a harder, edgier, electric sound. Was it difficult to transition from what you were used to in the live TR3 scene to these acoustic shows?
I remember the first night was a little hard. Like you said, I was going from playing a 100 watt music stack with a band where the electric guitar’s blazin’, to an acoustic gig. Before when Dave and I did acoustic gigs, it was my only reference point with DMB for a time because I didn’t really play with the band that much. I just recorded with them back when they started making records with RCA. After I moved to New Mexico, I mostly just toured on my own and did acoustic gigs. Then I would do things with Dave and Friends. So I didn’t do a lot of that Dave stuff live electric, I played it mostly acoustic. So that was my reference point.
And now?
Well this time around it was 2 years of playing with a band and then I had to go back to the acoustic. It was kind of like an adjustment to relearn how to do that. The first night I was just trying to beat the guitar harder and harder to make it go and then I realized after that in this mode you actually have to have the opposite approach; to play softer so that there is more of a dynamic. So by the second night that dynamic came back. I have no idea what it’s going to sound like [laughs] but you know you always just try to get on stage and play as best as you can.
You’ve played a lot of these Dave songs over the years. Do you guys do anything to try and make them different, especially when a recording is being made?
I was trying to come up with a few different things to make them unique. I don’t know if I succeeded, I’ll wait ‘til I hear the recording and go “Oh fuck, what did I do that for?” Or say “Oh cool, wow, I never did that before.” [laughs]. It’s also spontaneous on stage. We had such a great time doing it. There was one part when Dave was telling a story about something and he was getting the giggles and I couldn’t stop giggling either. It’s really a fun time and of course in Las Vegas on a party weekend it’s insanity. So I’m hoping that fun came through in the music and it should because it’s just kind of who we are, we can’t help it.
Any chance for an upcoming full -ledged Tim Reynolds/Dave Matthews acoustic tour?
I don’t know of any plans for a full fledged DM/TR tour, but you just never know what’s gonna happen in this business. It is a dynamical evolving music business where you never know exactly what’s going to happen. All I can say is as long as I can I want to play music…
Looking ahead, you will be releasing a new acoustic solo record as well. What do you have planned for that?
Currently standing it will be a two disc CD format with half of it strictly instrumentals. The last couple years I really had been doing a lot of acoustic touring. I wrote a lot of stuff in previous years that was new at the time that I hadn’t released on any CDs. I had quite a bit of material both vocally and instrumentally. So the last summer I was in New Mexico, I spent a couple of those days in the studio recording at home a lot of this music that I hadn’t done before. So most of this is from that, the last hurrah in New Mexico, which is a very inspiring place to be and record music. I’m psyched to get that out as well as we’re also currently working on a bunch of live TR3 recordings that we’re going to release later this year. I’m psyched we got through all the live tapes; it was a lot of stuff.
I’ve heard that there are some tracks where Jeff Coffin sat in…
We had two shows that we played together where his band Mu’tet opened up for us. His band is amazing, an absolute fusion orgasm. I almost felt like they should have headlined [laughs], but it was really fun all together. We did one show each night and both of our bands would all play together at once for a couple songs and one of those songs will be on the CD as a bonus track possibly. He played one night on one of our songs and hopefully we’ll use that material as well also.
I noticed during the sound check that you play a variety of different guitars. You play a Les and a Fender, but is there one you prefer over the other?
I like them all. I first started playing really cheap guitars because I would have to make do with whatever my Dad grabbed me. The first couple guitars I had were real cheap whatevers. They’re all different instruments in a way. They sound different, they play different. I love Gibson and Fenders. They’re the shit. Everything else is just….blah.
You mentioned your father. As a child you moved around a lot that did the constant mobility lead you to the guitar in some way as some form of stability?
Yes definitely. When I used to do too much mushrooms I would grab the guitar and go “Ohhhh” reality check. It was a stabilizer for my mental condition. Kidding…My family moved around a lot up until I was in the 4th grade. During that time music was really a constant companion and steady inspiration. I mainly played air guitar for a couple of years when we were still moving around a lot. I didn’t start playing in earnest until after that period, when we settled down in St. Louis.
You have held the band under the moniker TR3 since 1988 when you debuted the group for the first time. Did you ever consider adding an instrument or a vocalist, transforming it into the TR4 or TR5?
I think a three piece thing is pretty cool. It’s easy for me to work with, but you never know. In the past we’ve had bigger bands adding keyboards or percussion. But something about the three piece offers a lot of space. In California, we added people on stage, some horns, so we’re always open to the moment if something arises.
Final question: what other artists would you like to collaborate with in the near and distant future?
As far as other artists I’d like to work with, any or all of my musical heroes; Peter Gabriel, Daniel Lanois, the Flaming Lips, NIN, Radiohead, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Skinny Puppy, Aphex Twin, it’s kind of an endless wish list. I feel humbled by all the hours of great musical journeys my soul has taken listening to these artists. I would love to make music with any of them, but I also respect what they already do so much that I feel they already have what they need to rock the cosmos. But if ever asked…
