Hollywood Reporter

"Reynolds ends 'Exile' with East Coast Tour"

His album may be called "Exile" but Steve Reynolds is starting to feel like Los Angeles is his town - even though he'll soon abandon it for some rigorous touring.

In his hometown of Vancouver, Reynolds says, "It's a whole different mindset.   You never see yourself getting up and out."   In L.A., where he arrived in 1997, "You look around you, and you realize the caliber of the (musicians) - and they're your buddies."

Even among a fairly heady crew of locally bred roots music artists, Reynolds stands out in the pack. "Exile," which will be released January 24 by 429 Records (a pop-oriented imprint of Savoy Label Group, the stalwart jazz label), is an especially distinguished showcase for the Canadian musician's distinctive singing, guitar work and songwriting.

An immediately captivating element of Reynolds' music is his dense finger picking in unusual tunings.   The style dates back to his teens, when he attended the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop in Bremerton, Washington.   "You walked out into the woods," he recalls, "and found a tree stump and had these classes."

Reynolds had an instructor who tuned his guitar like a harp, he says, and the path was lit.   He was further encouraged to pursue offbeat tunings by the example of such English folk artists as Roy Harper (an immense influence on Jimmy Page and other British players) and the late Nick Drake.

"I have one song in regular tuning, and that never sounds like it's in regular tuning," he says.

His highly melodic, sometimes cryptic sounding writing - which bears such professed Celt-rock influences as Van Morrison and the Pogues - comes at the listener from around a corner.   One of the most compelling songs on "Exile," "Dear Rose," plays like a love song, but its oblique lyric is actually about a father grieving the death of his daughter in a drive-by shooting.

Reynolds, who came to songwriting after years as a player, explains, "I'd just come to L.A., I'm in a foreign country, and I just opened my mouth and started singing.   I could see an image in my head and write in whatever language that appeared to me."  

Playing gigs at such local venues as The Mint, Temple Bar and the Hotel Café, Reynolds acquired a rep as a musician's musician.   He recorded the original version of "Exile" as demos in his Koreatown apartment.   It wasn't until he undertook a tour of Europe last year with English singer-songwriter Tom McRae (following a long L.A. residency by McRae) that Reynolds took to live performing in earnest.

"I did a double bill at the Hotel with him, and we became fast friends," Reynolds says.   "I played in his band when he went to Europe.   He's kind of like a rock star over there.   That trip gave me the energy to go hard again."

Reynolds is not letting any grass grow under his feet.   Starting Nov. 28, he'll undertake a two-week, five-city residency tour of East Coast clubs with Peter Bradley Adams, formerly of the overlooked but wonderful DreamWorks band eastmountainsouth.   But Reynolds is making time for a Tuesday Hotel Café appearance to promote the release of "Exile," backed by a strong band that Adams, Anthony Zimmitti of The 88, and guitarist Ben Peeler.   Count me in.