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Wednesday, November 14, 2001
thebatt.com

Gone Solo
Tim Reynolds discusses his career without Dave Matthews Band

By Lycia Shrum
November 14, 2001

JohnLivas, The Battalion

From reluctantly playing the piano at age 8 to becoming a skilled guitarist, Tim's ability to play the acoustic guitar continues to amaze his listeners time and time again. Although the piano is where his affair with music began, it certainly is not where it ended.

"Playing the piano just helped me with my form when it came to music. But I've known guitar was my thing. I was playing guitar before I knew I was actually playing guitar," Reynolds said.

Best known for his work with the Dave Matthews Band, Reynolds also has a successful solo career and a successful career with his band Puke Matrix, formally known as TR3. Touring now to promote his recent CD, Nomadic Wavelength, Reynolds has been able to enjoy the feeling of performing solo.

Reynolds said because he is getting older and has a family of his own, he feels it is harder to be involved with a band because it is like having another family. He said the time needed for a band is a lot more than what is needed to have a solo career, and it also does not provide him with as much freedom.

"It's different when working with a band compared to doing solo work," Reynolds said. "I'm able to be in charge of everything and do exactly what I want to do without having to make sure all the others are on the same page as me."

Many people only associate Reynolds with the acoustic guitar, but he is not limited simply to this instrument. With Reynolds' mastermind at work behind every aspect of his music, the possibilities are endless. Reynolds said he has been tampering with more electronic aspects in his music.

"Some people don't consider electronically-made music to be actual music, but it is," Reynolds said. "You're the one fitting the sound into the music and making it work. New technologies are being used to bomb countries, so why not use them to make music and make people happy?"

Reynolds also plays the mandolin, sitar, violin and djembe. He said he is able to combine the sounds of these instruments to create the sound of an entire band made solely by him, his guitar and the altered sounds he is able to create with it.

"Although I have the guitar under my belt, there's still things I'm learning to do with it," he said. "I still have fun discovering new ways to manipulate the sounds from a guitar. It's like music on a sonic level."

Two of the bands Reynolds said he admires, along with many others, are Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails.

"I think Trent Reznor is an amazing guitar player. Their sounds are so raw and aggressive," Reynolds said.

Reynolds said his next CD to be released, titled Petroglyph, will be all electric guitar. Reynolds said that most people are surprised to know that there is a heavier side to his musical taste.

Along with working on a new CD, Reynolds has also released a double album in MP3 format, which is available over the Internet for free. Reynolds said he feels that by putting this album out on the Internet, it will have an aspect of spontaneity to it and a lot of improvisation.

"I have access to the Internet, and I want to use it," he said. "I think it really gives a loose approach to music. It's like the whole time the music is there; it's just a matter of figuring it out and expressing it. And when I did, I didn't go back and alter it. It's completely raw."

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