Minor league pitcher trades in glove for mic
From the pitcher’s mound with mitt in hand, cheers and chants echoing through a packed stadium to center stage, lips pressed against a microphone and a roomful of music lovers hanging on every note.
Jacob Reynolds has turned from an early career as a pitcher for the Cleveland Indians’ minor league team to a Tin Roof–touring run in the world of music alongside the Jacob Reynolds Band.
“I always loved singing. And when I played baseball, it just came easy to me — I was never passionate about it,” Reynolds said. “I would get up, go play and that would be it.”
But Reynolds — whose athletic career came to an end with an elbow injury and surgery in 2000 — has turned to his real love with his cover band, which will be playing at Tin Roof of Columbia Friday and Saturday.
With a sound the lead songster describes as “soul rock,” the Jacob Reynolds Band is unique in its hodgepodge of musical influences, icons and inspirations. Ranging from Maroon 5 and Gavin DeGraw to Jimi Hendrix, each member of the band has brought his background to the table.
“I grew up listening to the only station that came in on the old-fashioned stick radio: R&B,” Reynolds said. “I’ve always been more of a soul fan.”
However, the band, which has been together for almost two years, satisfies fans of any genre and any decade. Guitarist Nick Goodale was signed to Universal Records in the early 2000s with his band Jeremiah Freed and represents the hard rock in the group, while drummer McCoy Gibbs goes for ’90s rock and bassist Jason Navo represents Muse and the alternative wave.
“It has to be a mix of what we like to play and what the audience wants to hear,” Reynolds said. “In Lexington (Ky.), we play more country.”
And it’s all about the covers. Although the band is working on recording its first original, full-length album due out this spring, live performances are filled with the guys’ favorite upbeat, classic and Top 40 covers.
“We try and interact with the audience during every show — they don’t want to see someone just stand up there and play,” Reynolds said. “And we do a lot of off-color stuff.”
The set can range from “Party in the U.S.A.” to “Reading Rainbow,” with jingles from TV commercials and a little bit of comedy thrown into the mix, Reynolds said. And it all helps to “keep the audience loose” and craft the band’s cool and carefree style.
The band is on its way to Southern success, but Reynolds still feels like he’s playing catch-up after his change in careers — even though he’s never felt better about the shift.
“All the guys in the band grew up listening to and playing music; I’m more of a late bloomer to the industry,” Reynolds said. “I had to start listening to music I listened to as a teenager, and really appreciating it for everything it was.”
Reynolds first moved to Nashville in 2006 and had the opportunity to play an acoustic night at the Tin Roof in Franklin, Tenn. The band was born in 2010 and played its way onto the Tin Roof circuit, performing at each of the restaurant’s seven locations.
The Jacob Reynolds Band will play at Tin Roof Friday at 10 p.m. and Saturday at 9:30 p.m.