TR3 featuring Tim Reynolds

With his latest album, “Watch It,” guitar virtuoso and multi-instrumentalist Tim Reynolds once again dives deep into the unknown depths and unfolding sonic landscape of his trusty acoustic 12-string and six-string. “Acoustic just gives you a more personal voice,” Reynolds says. “And I’ve starting playing the acoustic more and more as I’ve gotten older. It’s a steady sonic platform, but it also gives one a chance to use it as a voice like a singer.”

Alongside his band, TR3, the power trio harnesses the pure emotion of simply being present and in-the-moment. And it’s this closely-held philosophy by Reynolds to always chase after the emotion of a melody and the space between notes, rather than just showcasing proficiency. “I like the idea of emotive expression, where you’re not really trying to play technical things, you’re just trying to emote things that are in the songs,” Reynolds says.

Hunkering down in the Dave Matthews Band’s famed Haunted Hollow Recording Studio, just outside of Charlottesville, Virginia, the 10-song LP was captured by longtime TR3 and DMB sound engineer Rob Evans. “[Rob] is so seamless as an engineer/producer,” Reynolds says. “He’s so passive, but he’s also a great teacher who doesn’t say anything about how he’s teaching you, because he’s doing his magic — he’s like a member of the band.”

“Watch It” is also a celebration of sorts, seeing as this chapter of TR3 recently crossed over the 15-year mark. Featuring longtime bassist Mick Vaughn and drummer Dan Martier, it’s not lost on Reynolds about how that — beyond the intricate nature and sheer talent involved — whatmatters most is the time spent together, for that’s where the real melodic bounty emergesfrom.

“There’s this sense of trust. Everybody really gets along, so that comes through in the music,” Reynolds says. “We love each other, and with that we’re able to unlock all kinds of possibilities. We understand the drill, we understand the process — if it wasn’t working, we wouldn’t have been here this long.”

This latest chapter of TR3 also marks 35 years since its inception in Charlottesville. It’s a segment of time and place that remains a testament to Reynolds nose-to-the-grindstone work ethic, his unquenchable thirst for tonal discovery and creative fulfillment.

“If there wasn’t that [continued] sense of discovery, then it wouldn’t be worth it — it’d just be totally boring,” Reynolds says. “With [‘Watch It’], it’s not about shredding [the guitar], it’s more about melody and form. I spent a lot less time soloing, more time working beyond that, towhere it’s about finding a rhythm and just going with the flow together.”

Having “Watch It” and the rest of the TR3 catalog at his disposal, Reynolds uses the selections as a platform by which to expand upon within the live setting — this sacred realm of improvisational brilliance only found in those happenstance instances onstage, in front of a captive audience of longtime fans and the curious alike.

“I’ve spent years going ape-shit [onstage] and that’s really fun — I save that [energy] for the live gig,” Reynolds laughs. “And I just feel fortunate that people are open to what we’re doing, to come and see what we’re all about, and to be able to relate to it — this feeling within me that comes out naturally [onstage].”

And yet, for Reynolds, this juncture of his whirlwind career also signals a shift in his intent, perhaps perspective, about what he does — and ultimately wants to do — as he pushes up and down the fretboard with a timeless, seamless sense of self.

“I used to play [guitar] with my teeth and play behind my back. But, when you get older, you get more into different kinds of musical aspects,” Reynolds says. “[Nowadays], I would rather play some music and try my hardest to play something that goes inside of you — it’s not something you have to see, it’s something you hear and feel.”

Pondering the live realm of performance and improvisation, Reynolds himself will be the first to tell that his quest within TR3 remains to keep wandering down the endless rabbit hole of sonic possibility.

“When you want to express yourself, it’s always kind of a journey,” Reynolds says. “Because there’s always thing that you how to play, but then, once-in-a-while, in the middle of something, something fresh happens and it’s hard to describe — it’s this different feeling, and you try to hang on to that.”

Reflecting on his life and career — either with TR3, his longtime collaboration with Dave Matthews or his continued work with DMB — Reynolds can’t help but offer up a wellspring of appreciation for his artistic trajectory that continues to soar across the ether of passion and purpose.

“I guess I’m lucky that things you thought would happen and things you didn’t think would happen, well, did,” Reynolds says. “Over the years, you’re trying to find a balance. And I’m lucky to be able to do two things that I really love with TR3 and DMB — it’s nothing but gratitude

Host or Publisher Lark Hall Albany