Reynolds Rap

When Tim Reynolds was a kid, he wasn’t allowed to listen to the great guitarists of the time like Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix. He had his record collection taken away twice and the only way his parents would allow him to play bass or guitar was in church.

More than 35 years of guitar-playing later, Reynolds is famous for his own original music as well as his covers of many of the artists he was once denied. “When my parents were gone I would crank my older sister’s records,” Reynolds recalled in a phone interview from his North Carolina home in the Outer Banks. “I would be thrilled that it would sound like there was a band in the house. Obviously, not as loud, but to hear that music with a good deal of volume, that would inspire me. I would bring out my Tonka fire engine ladder and play air guitar. That experience stuck in my mind.”

After Reynolds mastered air-guitaring to The Beatles’ early classics, he began learning the instrument from a guitar-playing uncle. Eventually, he was given a bass for Christmas and started playing in church, but secretly listened to “forbidden psychedelic things” that would influence his playing for the rest of his life.

After high school, Reynolds moved to Charlottesville, Va., and began playing music more regularly, but had trouble breaking into the scene. He joined the Air Force for a short stint, but promptly realized the service wasn’t for him. “It was an eye-opening experience,” Reynolds says. “I needed to do music.”

He returned to Charlottesville, a move that was essential to his growth as a musician. “Where I grew up was limiting my options and outlook on life, so it was a great education to move to Charlottesville,” he says. “I just knew I wanted to get away and started meeting these musicians that had a more worldly and liberal view of things. And they were way cool and patient, with me being ignorant in a certain way. They schooled me to be more aware.”

During his years in Charlottesville from 1980 until 1997, Reynolds expanded his musical knowledge, learning instruments ranging from sitar to drum machines, always bringing that acquired knowledge back to his guitar-playing. He also played with several bands and formed TR3 (Tim Reynolds Three) in 1985, which has seen a rotation of musicians come through, including occasional sit-in singer Dave Matthews. Reynolds often performed at a venue in Charlottesville where Matthews was a bartender and the two began casually making music together long before the Dave Matthews Band was ever a thought. Since then, Reynolds has collaborated with Matthews on many occasions, performing both acoustic duo sets and with the full band.

Currently, Reynolds is on a nine-date tour and will be visiting the Westcott Theater, 524 Westcott St., on Thursday, June 2, 8 p.m., with his 4-year-old reincarnation of TR3 featuring bassist-vocalist Mick Vaughn and drummer-vocalist Dan Martier. Tickets are $15 to $18, available at www.thewestcottthe ater.com and at The Sound Garden, 310 W. Jefferson St.

The trio released the studio album Radiance (independent) in 2009 and has a live album slated for release this month which compiles live performances from three cities, Chicago, Towson, Md., and Lancaster, Pa., in November 2009.

At the Westcott, Reynolds plans to play originals and a variety of covers spanning Zeppelin, Portishead, James Brown and maybe even Prince. For this tour, he is especially excited to break out his new classic Jimmy Page-style double neck Gibson. “I liked playing acoustic 12-string for many years, so it’s cool to have an electric one,” he says. “It’s a different animal.”

—Jessica Novak

Time for Trishstock

The first annual Trishstock is gearing up to rock the socks, shoes and spikes off of metal fans this weekend at Oswego nightspot D.S. Humphrey’s. The festival will showcase 20 of the area’s best metal bands, with food, a cash bar and beer on site. But the best part is that this festival is “Full Metal Jacket” approved: A portion of the proceeds will go to military families in need.

Trish Watkins, the musical mastermind behind the festival, said that the event practically planned itself. Her father was in the Marine Corps, so the cause holds a place close to her vest. “You know what they say: Once a Marine, always a Marine,” Watkins says. “So this was the right thing to do.”

Following a 17-year career as a music promoter for shows around upstate New York, Watkins brewed up Trishstock on her own. “I wanted to break away from the pack and do my own thing,” she said. In January, Watkins spread the word that she was looking for bands to be a part of a new project which she hoped would later become an annual affair. Submissions from musicians quickly came pouring in, as Watkins proclaims the response “almost overwhelming.” Among those scheduled to rock the house: Chaotic Embrace, King Snyder, Capricorn Black, Descending Angel and Silent Fury.

Watkins’ harder, edgier take on Woodstock starts with a preview on Thursday, June 2, 9 p.m., with acts Lowkey and Smite. Then full sets by 10 bands will take the stage on Friday, June 3, 3 p.m. to 1 a.m., plus 12 groups on Saturday, June 4, 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. Watkins originally anticipated the event to more closely resemble its 1969 counterpart regarding the option of camping outdoors, but permit issues scotched that plan. Judging from Trishstock’s active Facebook wall, however, no one seems to mind. Above all, this event is about the music and the cause.

Watkins also arranged for admission discounts in addition to donating part of the proceeds to military families. Anyone with a military or Veterans’ Association ID receives $5 off the ticket price.

Trishstock is being held at D.S. Humphrey’s, 271 Barker Road, Oswego. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the gate.

Purchase them at The Sound Garden, 310 W. Jefferson St.; Fusion, 3705 Brewerton Road, North Syracuse; Bodified Piercing, 25 W. Bridge St., Oswego; and Trip on the Wild Side, 671 Mill St., Watertown The show is open to viewers age 18 and up, and pets are not permitted. For information, call 209-8294 or visit trishstock2010@aol.com.

—Jessica Zurell

TR3: Tim Reynolds and friends will rock The Westcott Theater on Thursday.