John Alfred McReynolds III

Trey McReynolds (legal name John Alfred McReynolds III) age 61 of Knoxville, Tennessee passed away on Sunday, August 24th after a courageous battle with cancer complicated by a long-term heart condition.

Trey kept his personal health issues very private, but somehow, he took on all that adversity with a positive mindset throughout these last few years. Mr. McReynolds was well known as “Colonel Bacchus”, his radio and musician stage name. His lust for life, his creativity, and his ability to cope with his inevitable passing are traits we can all learn from.

Trey was born and raised in Knoxville, attended Bearden Junior High, Lenoir City High School, and graduated from Farragut High School. Soon after high school, Trey moved to New York City for 3 years. That experience of living and working in the middle of New York City was always a part of Trey when he moved back to Tennessee and went on to study music recording at Middle Tennessee State University and broadcasting at the University of Tennessee where he began his Colonel Bacchus Radio Show on WUTK 90.3FM.

Trey was a true pioneer in the Knoxville skateboarding scene; he began skateboarding in the 1970s and he continued that rolling passion for nearly 50 years! Trey had a cutting-edge punk rock band called Turbine 44 in the very early 1980’s, and his creativity and involvement in music continued as a larger than-life radio personality at WUTK and 94Z. In later years his radio broadcasts were available on the internet, and he had radio fans worldwide. Trey often ran the sound board for live bands at Mercury Theatre, and he helped manage the historic live music venue too. He was a very popular dance music DJ at Moose’s, Tonic, The Underground, and Fiction nightclubs. He continued making his own original music throughout that time, and in recent years he created three LP vinyl records. His music career began in the 1970s making synthesizers out of cassette players and ended up with professionally produced all original vinyl records in collaboration with The Arbor Dukes Band. He was particularly proud of his last record, “The Bride “, that revealed in song some of his very personal 50 year skateboard story.

Trey skateboarded at all four of the Knoxville skateboard parks in the 1970s, and he helped create many homemade ramps and skate spots in the 1980s and 1990s. He skated in several competitions in his younger years, and in his adult years he continued to skateboard extensively on his large quiver of longboards. He helped advocate for a Knoxville public skatepark, which eventually happened at Tyson Park. Trey created many avant garde skateboards that were a form of performance art, his “ridable art pieces “even got attention and bewilderment from Tony Hawk when he visited Knoxville. He also created incredibly intricate wall art pieces made of old skateboards and skateboard parts. Trey worked at Pluto Skateshop for many years on Cumberland Avenue and in West Knoxville, and he would save used and broken skateboards to build large and elaborate art specimens that were displayed in museums and shows. Many of his art pieces used pieces of over 100 skateboards painstakingly cut and assembled to his liking. Trey was interviewed for the 2025 documentary “Knoxville: A Skateboard History “where his skateboard story and inventive skateboards were featured. Some of his prized skateboard art is now displayed in many area collections.

Trey took his ingenuity and skills of skateboarding to the snow and created his own snowboards before they were available. As an adult, Trey continued snowboarding at many resorts in Tennessee, North Carolina, and West Virginia. He was one of the first in this area to ever ride a modern snow skate (bindingless snowboard) at ski resorts. His creativity and enthusiasm on the snow were welcomed by everyone that snowboarded with him down a slope or rode a chairlift with him up a mountain.

Trey began playing disc golf in the late 1980s and continued playing competitively and recreationally for 35 years. He played at all the Knoxville area disc golf courses, but also played at courses in Florida, South Carolina, California, Indiana, North Carolina, and other states. His eccentric collection of rare and unusual discs made him a favorite wherever he played. His comradery and humor on the disc golf course made him a popular player wherever he was. He helped plan and develop some of the many disc golf courses we now have in Knoxville.

In addition to music, skateboarding, snowboarding, and disc golf, Trey was an avid hiker and kayaker. Many people from skateboarding, radio, music, and disc golf did not know that Trey was a true outdoors adventurer. He hiked House Mountain 75 times. He hiked extensively in the Smoky Mountains, Frozen Head Park, and on many other rigorous trails in the area. His favorite place to go was Seven Islands State Birding Park. He kayaked hundreds of miles throughout East Tennessee, traveling to little known places to enjoy nature on his kayak with friends and sometimes by himself.

If he could tell you, Trey would want to say, “Hey, don’t take life so seriously. We don’t have much time left here on Earth. Take care of each other. Don’t work too hard, and live life to the fullest. Embrace every minute,” That is how Trey lived until the very last hours of his life. Anyone that knew Trey would tell you he was a true friend. He held fast his many decades-old friendships, and he never met a stranger. He loved to make you laugh. He embraced life and friends the way we all should. He travels, experiences, and memories. He died courageously, sharing his journey with those close to him until his final hours. He will be deeply missed by his loving partner, Robin Key Woodruff, his wonderful brother Christopher and wife Kate, McReynolds, his brother Matthew and wife Sarah McReynolds, his large extended family of the McReynolds and Ganser’s including his nephews, Harrison and Miles, numerous cousins, including Greg McReynolds and wife Trista, Meghan McReynolds, Percy McReynolds, William McReynolds, Bob McReynolds, his extended Ganser family, too numerous to list, along with his loving stepmother, Linda McReynolds. He was preceded in death by his father, John Alfred McReynolds Jr., his sister Lisa McReynolds, and his mother Rose Ganser, with whom he was very close and deeply missed after her death in 2023.

Trey had personal style, approaching life with fierce independence and a carefree attitude, entertaining audiences in his comedic style that is so evident in his collection of outlandish fashion statements, eclectic music, and incredibly creative videos. Colonel Bacchus will live on forever in our hearts and on his YouTube channel. Please check it out in his memory. Friends and family come enjoy the legacy and celebrate the life of Trey McReynolds at The Colonel Bacchus After Life Party to be held at Scruffy City Hall on September 20th from 6-9pm.