Canadian Exile

For Canadian-born guitarist and singer Steve Reynolds, Los Angeles - a town stereotypically known for its film industry, shiny cars and palm trees - was the last place he thought he’d find a haven of talented musicians.

“L.A. in general is kind of a paradox,” he said. “I remember driving down here with girlfriends and they’d ask if I would ever want to come to L.A., and I’d always say, ‘Not a hope in hell, you’re not getting me inside L.A.’ because I had a perception of L.A. and all the cliches that go along with it.”

Reynolds relocated to California in the late 1990s and now resides in Echo Park, which many describe as a bird’s nest of talented musicians, many of whom relish in the notion of establishing an unfettered, eclectic enclave of troubadours that many outsiders wouldn’t normally associate with Los Angeles.

“My neighbors were in the Warlocks, and I just went down to local club Spaceland the other day and Daniel Lanois is playing, and the guy who opened for him is a good friend of mine,” said Reynolds describing life as an Echo Park resident. “Then you’re in the lineup and then there’s Gus Black and you realize how good everyone is. There is just an amazing melting pot of talent here.”

Reynolds’ current album, “Exile,” was released on 429 Records last month after he inked a deal with the label that is a pop imprint of Savoy Records.

“I’ve been gone eight years. Vancouver, I don’t have a huge connection to it,” he said. “I’m fortunate enough that my uncle has a big place on the water and a cabin set back in the woods that he gives me. I probably go up there once every six months to write, it’s just a beautiful idyllic setting with deer walking by and hikes to the beach. I take my laptop and some instruments and hole up for a week at a time, and that’s how I’ve been doing most of my writing lately.”

Reynolds keeps his brain active in terms of songwriting by jotting down musical ideas and playing the guitar in some form or another for a few hours each day.

“Songwriting is a crazy, unruly animal, especially the more your career unfolds there are the pressures that you put on yourself to do better and better stuff,” said Reynolds. “Playing live is the payoff, that’s where I really shine and feel the most connected to what I’m doing.”

What is most unique about Reynolds’ musical presence is his varying guitar tunings and impressive finger picking. He brings a subtle pop flare to songs that taste of quaint folk and searing guitar rock, along with percussion-based ditties reminiscent of Irish jigs. He is a young man with a big acoustic guitar sound that has the ability to melt the hearts of some of the most hard-core rock fans.

“For me, I tune the guitar many different tunings and that really dictates the melody to me, so once I’ve got something locked in then I will usually sing utter rubbish until something sort of captures me,” said Reynolds. “I remember writing ‘Miner’s Lamp’ and saying that phrase, I have no idea why, and that was all I needed, just one visual, and I can write the song around that.”

Reynolds’ melodies have a kind of romantic and nostalgic quality remindful of Bruce Springsteen and a voice that has a passionate yet delicate tone similar to Josh Rouse.

“Growing up in Vancouver with the rain and nature, it really armed you to sort of be engaged in the world and it’s a great place to sort of ground yourself whereas L.A. brings out the world of possibility and I really enjoy sunny days,” added Reynolds. “It’s sort of clich/ but you really do feel things are possible here.”
Reynolds is playing at Fingerprint Records in Long Beach Feb. 4 at 1 p.m., a show sponsored by radio station KCRW, and March 7 at 9 p.m. at Hotel Caf/ in Los Angeles.