Photo by Joshua Frances
Boyd Tinsley is known to fans as the exciting, dread flying, violin player in the Dave Matthews Band. When fans see Tinsley he is usually running across stage and dancing while he solos. After seeing this type of energy on stage, fans might be surprised to learn, that Tinsley is not always this energetic. Before a show, Tinsley will sit on his bus alone, with the lights out with just a few candles lit and listen to jazz music on his iPhone through his headphones (Dr. Dre Beats for those of you wondering). This sense of calmness allows Tinsley to center his thoughts. He admits he has to have this time before each show or he would not be able to play at the level fans expect each and every night.
How Tinsley first started playing the violin is even a unique story. Tinsley grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia, a town known for its rich musical history. Even at a young age, Tinsley had a love of music. While in grade school, he signed up for a strings class thinking he would be able to take up the guitar because he wanted to play rock music. He did not realize it was a class designed for classical instruments. During the first class, his teacher told him he would be able to go to the office and change classes if he wished but instead of Tinsley decided to stay in the class and learn the violin. He admits to fans that this moment of when he decided to stay in that class was truly a life changing moment. Fellow Dave Matthews Band member, Carter Beauford, who grow up on the same street as Tinsley, recalls walking past the childhood home of Tinsley and seeing him practicing violin on his porch and describes his playing at “very scratchy.” Beauford even admits to making fun of Tinsley for his playing abilities back then. Tinsley continued to grow as a violin player and started his own band in Charlottesville at the time known as the Boyd Tinsley Project. Several years went by and Tinsley was approached by local bartender and musician, Dave Matthews to sit in on a song for his new band, The Dave Matthews Band. Other band members included young protégé bassist Stefan Lessard, and the childhood neighbors of Tinsley, drummer Carter Beauford and saxophone player LeRoi Moore. Tinsley agreed to sit in on the song, Tripping Billies, which soon after became a fan favorite. The rest, as they say is history; Tinsley left his band to join the Dave Matthews Band, full time.
Fast forward to 2008, Tinsley went through one of the most traumatic times of his life when band member and longtime friend, LeRoi Moore, passed away from an ATV accident. Late one night Tinsley could not sleep. Around four o’clock in the morning, while eating donuts, listening to music and playing Call of Duty on his Xbox at his home in Charlottesville, Tinsley decided he would make a movie. Ever since the “Crash Into Me” music video, he was always intrigued about making a short film someday. Tinsley could not get past the idea of making this movie, and over the next several weeks Tinsley started to make calls to get the process going. Everyone who worked with Tinsley on this project, from the producer Ryan Gall to lead actor Ryan Orr has said that it was Tinsley’s enthusiasm which was why they were so eager to jump on board to make this movie.
There was never a script for the soon to be named, Faces in the Mirror, film. Tinsley wanted everyone to work from their heart and not be constrained by words on a script. “Many would say that we were crazy to make a movie the way we did. But it was really the one way that we could make this film. When you want to create a work of art, then you cannot rush it. You have to let it come naturally”, says Tinsley. It could surprise some fans just how involved Tinsley was through the entire process and refused to release the film until he was completely happy with the final product; the true mentality of an artist.
After the film was released in August 2012 he decided he would go on a grassroots movement to get the film to the fans. Tinsley took to social media to connect with his supporters. Often around 2:00 AM, while Tinsley would be in the gym on the treadmill he would go back and forth with his fans on twitter. “The amount of love I received was incredible. Twitter truly changed my life for the better”. Tinsley started screening the film in small bars and theaters across the nation. If even just one fan asked Tinsley to come to their town to screen the film, he made it work. He was not worried about logistics, whether he was in the on the other side of the country or if he had to pay out of his own pocket for a venue. During his days off from touring with DMB, he would often fly to a city and screen the film. It did not matter if there were 50 people in the audience or 500; he would be at ever screening possible. Tinsley was very honest to the audience that he was not making the film to make money, he just wanted to share the film with them because of how much it meant to him. He said his reward was the fans showing up every night to the screenings and showing an interest in this film.
Fans started to see Tinsley in an entirely new way. No longer was he the wild violin player they have seen on stage jamming out during a solo of “Ants Marching,” but he was a gentle giant, a soft spoken man would sit in a room full of fans for hours answering questions. For the screenings, Tinsley would invite a local band to perform. This was the perfect example of just how talented Tinsley was; Tinsley would not always get the opportunity to rehearse with the groups due to his crazy schedule but Tinsley never missed a beat on stage when he would sit in with the different bands. Night in and night out, he would adapt to play whatever style of music the local band was playing. Tinsley would walk on stage and shut his eyes under his dark Chrome Hearts sunglasses and play whatever he was feeling in his soul. Tinsley says this is the most creative, and exciting way to make music.
This way of making music is nothing new for Tinsley. He says he would do this when he records with Dave Matthews Band albums. In the past, DMB would lay down the tracks during the day but then he would come back to the studio at 3:00 AM with the producer and lite candles around the studio and listen back to the music the other band members recorded and would just shut his eyes and play. Tinsley says this is when he makes his best music. It comes back to that sense of calmness in a dark room which Tinsley sits in before a shot; this lets Tinsley open up and become completely vulnerable and just play the music that is in his heart. Tinsley says it’s not about thinking, it’s about feeling music.
While Tinsley was going around the country he made himself available to take photos and interact on a more personal level with fans. These would soon become known as gatherings. Most nights Tinsley would stay for three to four hours talking with fans and getting to know each fan individually. He would hug each fan for several minutes. He never turned a single fan down and would refuse to leave until he got to meet each fan. Tinsley says felt such a connection with the fans; he carried the tradition over to the DMB tour. After playing for hours with DMB, he now jumps on his bus and drive to a designated meeting location to interact with fans. Often fans will give Tinsley a gift and after the gathering he will go back on his bus and look at the gifts or read the letters the fans have given him. It is obvious that he does not take these fans for granted, he loves them as if they were his own family.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, Tinsley has an undeniable work ethic. While he was making the film, he was recording the Dave Matthews Band record, Big Whiskey and the Groo Grux King. A typical day for Tinsley would be to go into the studio with DMB from 6:00 PM till midnight and then meet the musicians working on his film in the studio and record with them from midnight till 6:00 AM. Tinsley says that during this time he found himself becoming more creative musically by working on two different albums at the same time. He was able to carry that creativity onto the stage in later tours.
If making movies, recording hit records, and touring around the country were not enough, another one of Tinsley’s passions is tennis. Tinsley has built tennis courts in his hometown of Charlottesville to help spread the sport to the younger generations. He hosts an annual tennis tournament and he has even received the Arthur Ashe award for his dedication to the sport. Also, Tinsley has spent some time visiting injured soldiers. He has said that for all these men and women do for this country, visiting them in a hospital is the least someone can do. Most troops are honored that celebrities take the time to come to the hospital to visit them, but yet Tinsley feels that he is the one who is honored because he gets to hear the stories of these young men and women. Tinsley never thinks of himself as a celebrity or hero, he sees himself as a man who makes music and those who have risked their lives for this country are the true heroes. Recently at a private event in New York City, Tinsley walked over to a group of soldiers in attendance who were representing the Wounded Warriors and he went up to thank them each and to give each one a hug. People close to Tinsley just explain it as, that is just the way he is.
After spending some time with Tinsley I can say he is the most caring man I have ever met. He never has a negative word to say about anyone or anything. He is incredibly talented at playing the violin but he has also proven to be an incredible film maker and an overall amazing humanitarian. He is constantly thanking fans for taking the time to talk with him on twitter or taking the time to stand in line and meet with him after a concert. The fans usually walk away feeling they are the lucky ones for getting to meet Boyd Tinsley, but in fact, Boyd Tinsley feels like he is the lucky one…
