David Reynolds: News

Well, things have been pretty busy.  Had another successful Alaska tour, and I've been playing shows around WA and OR as well.  Lots of people have been grabbing the new album...in fact its going faster than the first one did.  I'm having to order more "Partial to Blue"s, because I just ran out!  I played a handful of radio shows this spring...it seems like the word is getting out there.  So things are going well.

The pace is picking up now.  I now own a van to carry all of my soundgear, and everything I need to live on the road.  So I am booking a fall tour.  It looks like this will be the route I will be travelling until the end of Oct:  WA, OR, ID, MT, WY, CO, UT, NV, CA, OR and back to WA for a week or so.  Then I will turn around in Nov. and go back down the coast and eastward.  My hope is to spend a little time this between Colorado and Austin, TX this winter..where the music scenes are pretty stellar.  Then I will probably continue to book another tour.

Anyways, that's the rough plan.  It's hard to talk about and I'm sometimes hesitant, because it changes daily.  When I am headed to places where I haven't been before, my direction is guided by the venues that have faith enough to book me..simply by what they can see on this website.  The second time through an area is easy in comparison.  I just call them and say, "Hey, so do you want to do another one on such and such date?" And that's usually all it takes.

I was thinking about it though.  Don't ever let anyone tell you that a do-it-yourself, touring musician has it easy. Between planning the route, finding the venues to play at, booking the shows, promoting the shows, budgeting, writing the songs, recording, practicing, performing!, managing the different websites, etc....  It's not just 8 hours a day.  It's a full-time job!  It's a life.  This isn't me complaining, at all.  I am so overjoyed to be doing this as a living now, and I'm striving to get better at all of it.  It is exciting and fulfilling.  And better than working for the man.

Spring is here!  It's been a busy start...  I released the new album "Go Along Blind" with great success down in WA.  Then I immediately headed north to Alaska.  I enjoyed the weeklong craziness of the Alaska Folk Festival in Juneau.  I had an album review released in the Juneau newspaper during the same week, played on the local radio station, opened for a musician that I definitely have respect for (Tim Easton...check him out), and had a few shows of my own.  In my off time, I just sat and watched the amazing music that rolled through town...  Let's just say I will be going back again next year.

So now I am back home in Ketchikan for a brief stay...  It's been quite the welcome home.  Last night's show was a packed house, and everyone seems very excited about the new music!  I'll be playing a few originals on the local radio station here a few nights this week, and playing at the bars/restaurants around town as much as possible before I leave.  

The rest of my free time is being used for booking the summer tour.  Looks like I'll be heading to the interior for a brief tour, then down to the lower 48.  Can't wait!  Keep checking out the schedule as it gets updated.  And buy a copy of my new CD!!

Hello again,

Well I haven't had much in the way of news for a month or so.  I submitted the artwork and final mastered version of the cd a few weeks ago, and it's a waiting game now.  The new album "Go Along Blind" should be ready for release by the 1st week of April (assuming there are no problems at the printers)..  I've got my fingers crossed!

Today I realized that it is crunch time... Suddenly I am consumed by calendars, booking emails, plane tickets, car rentals, album reviews, show posters, and on and on.  But, I love it. And somehow I also manage to be in the middle of writing a couple new songs that I am in love with.  I think my goal this time around is to keep at the songwriting every day, even amidst the organized chaos.  Then maybe it will only be a year in between albums, instead of two...

Each day passes, and I find that I am more at ease, living the life that I have been looking for.  Don't get me wrong, it has it's exciting moments...like staring at the $10.00 in my bank account after putting all of my eggs into one basket.  But then I just remember to breathe and live by my own words: "Money is unimportant, it always works out."  And when it eventually does, I let out a big ol' smile.

It's starting to shape up to be a busy spring/summer.  I get to go back to Alaska and smell the salty air while watching the passing boats and airplanes.  And I must admit, it's nice not being on the passing boats and airplanes, this time.  Bittersweet, maybe.  I'll watch all of the different animals crawling out of their holes for the long-awaited sunshine..  Hopefully my nights will be filled with live music, obscure bars, and all of the people that crawled out of their holes for the summer as well.  After that, I'm not really sure.  Probably down to the lower 48 for a bit, book another tour...  I'm really only looking ahead about a month or two at a time, and trying to live day by day at that.  These could very possibly be the best years of my life, and I do not take that for granted.

Hey everybody, Well I just got done recording my 2nd album, and I'm stoked!! I headed down to Portland to The Vault Recording Studio (http://www.vaultpdx.com/) last week. This was my second time recording with Brad Wager, and I'm glad I went with my gut and went back to him. The first thing we did was discuss how we wanted to make this album a step up from "Partial to Blue,"(even though we both still enjoy P2B!) and I think we accomplished just that.

He had a really good feel for the project, and he incorporated some new techniques to capture the acoustic guitar in a natural sounding way. Not only was I impressed by his engineering skills once again, but he was also a source of motivation sometimes..saying things like: "I liked that vocal take, there were no mistakes...but I'd like you to try again and use that energy I've heard from you before." This was very valuable for me, because it's easy to focus too much on perfecting a recording, instead of just cutting loose the way I would in a live scenario.

I came into the recording session very prepared, and we managed to get done after three 10-12 hour days. In my opinion, we were able to capture a great variety of tunes in an upbeat, energetic way. All in all, I just felt a little more free-spirited this time around. Now I'm heading back to the mastering studio once more for a few touch-ups, and then it will take a few weeks for the cds to get back from the printers.  I'll keep you posted!!