Boyd Tinsley
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Boyd Tinsley
Tinsley playing an electic violin in July 2008
Background information
Born	May 16, 1964 (1964-05-16) (age 44) Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S.
Origin	Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S.
Genre(s)	Rock
Occupation(s)	Musician, singer
Instrument(s)	Violin, Mandolin
Years active	1991–present
Label(s)	RCA
Associated acts	Dave Matthews Band
Website	davematthewsband.com

Boyd Calvin Tinsley (b. May 16, 1964, Charlottesville, Virginia) is the violinist, mandolinist, and one of the backup singers in the American jam band Dave Matthews Band.

Early life

Tinsley was raised in a highly musical family; his father was a choir director and his uncle a bass/trumpet player for local bands. Coincidentally, he grew up in the same neighborhood as future Dave Matthews Band drummer Carter Beauford and the late saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Even so, at a young age, he himself was not an avid music lover and player. In fifth grade, he joined the Walker Middle School orchestra. He was torn between violin and cello. From there, he excelled greatly. He learned violin by accidentally signing up for a middle school orchestra class, intending to study the guitar. The idea of learning the violin, however, was interesting enough for him that he stuck with it.

As a teenager, he took part in forming the Charlottesville-Albemarle Youth Orchestra, in which future Dave Matthews Band member and bassist Stefan Lessard also took part. He studied under Isidor Saslav, concertmaster of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Saslav offered him the chance to move to Baltimore and become a virtuoso. Tinsley was 16 at the time, and as such he realized he was not ready for the commitment that would come with it. This was also the point where Tinsley realized he did not want to pursue orchestral music. Instead, he started listening to other musicians who worked with rock, blues, and jazz.

Career

He attended the University of Virginia and became a member of Sigma Nu, which influenced him to start philanthropy work and the Bama Works Foundation. While there, he started having regular jam sessions that would last all night. This attracted more than college musicians; it even got the attention of Jorma Kaukonen (Hot Tuna and Jefferson Airplane). In the early 1990s, he formed the Boyd Tinsley Band, which lasted only a couple of years.

In 1991 he was asked by Dave Matthews to play the song "Tripping Billies" with his band on their demo tape. Tinsley eventually joined the band and has been with them ever since. Aside from playing in the Dave Matthews Band, Tinsley does endorsements for products from Twix,¹ JanSport, and Tommy Hilfiger.

In 2000, Tinsley made a guest appearance on The Getaway People's second album, "Turnpike Diaries".²

In 2003, Tinsley released a solo album, True Reflections, featuring the title track he wrote over a decade earlier.

Personal life

Tinsley has two children with his wife Emily: A daughter, Abagail (Abby) (born 1996) and a son named Noah (born 1999).

Tinsley is an avid tennis fan, who sponsors a women's tennis tournament in his hometown. In fact, he has his own tournament in his hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia. He often attends the Championships at Wimbledon, and in 2007 played doubles with John McEnroe and Pete Sampras.³ He has even recorded a song called "The Ghosts of Wimbledon" for the 2006 ESPN coverage of the tournament.⁴ He is a close friend of tennis player Andy Roddick, as well as tennis players Bob and Mike Bryan.⁵ Tinsley sponsors the Boyd Tinsley Tennis Program in Charlottesville.⁴

Equipment

• Zeta Boyd Tinsley Model violin
• John Norwood Lee bows
• Thomastik-Infeld string
• Furman PL-8 power conditioner
• Coleman audio switcher
• Shure U4D-UB wireless units
• Shure UHE antenna distro
• API 500HPR preamplifier
• Eventide GTR-7000 Ultra-Harmonizer
• Korg DTR-1 digital tuner
• Fishman acoustic amp

Solo discography

See Dave Matthews Band discography for his work with the band.

• True Reflections (2003) - #3 Billboard Internet Sales chart⁶

See also

• Sigma Nu LEADership learning program

External links

• Tinsley's works mirror his past
• "Central perk: DMB provides the sound of money" article in which Tinsley talks of the Central Park concert to the Hook weekly
• "The boys are back: DMB come home to finish up" interview in the Hook weekly

References

Notes