A documentary outlining Tim Henson's rise to fame as a guitarist. This video covers details like his upbringing, formation of Polyphia, Influence and more.
That slaves tour was really rough. I was in that band at the time and was the one who' got them put on the tour. I knew these kids had it and I watched them every night. So proud to see how far they've come. Good memories
Thank you for your contributions to the music scene dude. Tours are rough but from what I understanding can be incredibly rewarding experiences! Are there any moments from that tour that have stood out to you all these years later?
@@benseraphin the first day of the tour when I met them. They were not at all what I was expecting lol. Just kids chain smoking cigarettes and blasting rap out of that van. I also did one other tour with them as their merch guy after I quit slaves
In 2014 I ran into Tim Henson at UNT, I was sitting outside the library one night swinging in a bench noodling around acoustically, he came up, we had a 10 min chat about guitar then never saw him again and didn’t think anything of it until I found polyphia much later
Did it cross your mind to let Tim jam on you’re acoustic. If I didn’t know who Tim was I probably wouldn’t just hand him my acoustic guitar, no big deal. Having conversation not but not playing in front of me (on my guitar). I love when someone gets sounds i cannot get myself. (Which never happens i play forever. Tim I’m sure watching his short tutorials he was up. So much skill, that by todays standards Slosh is intermediate level. Had I found out later that guy I met in 2014 was Tim Henson and I seen him video him playing, monster guitarist of hard techniques. Probably bother me that he didn’t play my guitar. I knew polyphia way back from my suggestions. I thought they were progressive skilled band playing glo pop music like chon. Chon lmao! You guys set up play hot topic”laughin! Seriously it wasn’t until ‘goat’ I excepted polyphia.
When i first saw them, based on their style, the expensive gear, i also assumed they were rich kids. But these guys are the real deal and grinded like most would never be able to. They worked hard, smart and it shows. They deserve the success they have.
I mean the fact that they're all incredibly pretty definitely helps with the whole "looking rich" thing, they legit all look like Hollywood stars it's insane
They did work hard but a huge part of the success is the fact that their parents paid loads for it to happen. Without it i doubt any of this would have happened
It happens to them every year, not a big deal. Most (if not all) applicants there are great and have enormous potential. And sometimes a setback of not being admitted might even add motivation to these people.
Ok? Big deal. If he didnt have what they thought he needed to go to Berklee then they can't just let him in on a hunch that he might be some great guitar player one day. You all sound ridiculous saying this.
Thanks for this, man. I'm a bass player and I’ve been studying music since I have memory. Tim is one of my biggest inspirations and knowing how he did it give me so much hope. I am truely thankful for this, bro. :')
I am by no means anywhere near the level TH is. However, he and I are close in age. My biggest fear when I was 18 was that I would be lost in having a job and family to where I have no time to enjoy my greatest love, which is music. I listen to Polyphia at work basically everyday. It keeps that flame of passion alive in me. My biggest dream is to be the best jazz guitarist I can be. I sincerely love these guys more than anything.
Focus on being the greatest. Trust me. I love music more and more everyday and my skill level through practice is growing every day. I love to practice. I tell people that I will be famous and get asked if I seriously believe that. I do.
This is the way to do it. I hope all young aspiring musicians reading this comment take the lessons in this video to heart: 1) Treat your band like a business... 2) the music industry is all about who you know. Network and always be cool & return favors, dickheads always get cut down eventually in the entertainment industry... and 3) just go for it. I've been earning a living in the music industry behind the scenes for over 20 years. If I never took that chance, I'd be middle aged & miserable now!
I'm old...57 I am Eddie van halen Stevie vai. Satch and srv all day for ever.....this kid make me wanna jam!....I love his playing and talent!....I thanked all the ones before. So Thank you Tim Henson!...😊
I'm 60, and I LOVE this dude's music! I'm glad that we still have original-sounding mind-blowing new guitar players showing up on the radar. Tim Henson is an absolute BEAST.
Thank you for all the hard work in putting this video together! That's a lot of writing, finding the video footage/pics, and the editing. Well done sir.
Man i remember being awe struck by impassion i was blown away wondering how a kid could be doing what Tim and Scott where doing id just got out from a 7 years stint in prison and had never seen RU-vid before and am a bassist and guitar player and i stantly kbew polyphia was something special im not surprised Tim is as influential as he's now is in the music world i live these guys Tim is by far my favorite guitarist ive followed him now for years no one plays quite like he does as hes blown up there are allot of guys teying to emulate Tim. Tim and my idol Victor Lamont Wooten are my favorite musicians ive been lucky enough to have talked one on one with Vic my cousin is very good friends with him Marcus Miller and Stanley Clark Vic took time on thanks giving with his family to talk to me hes incredibly humble i didn't know what to say i hope to one day meet Tim as well
Impassion was my introduction to the band as well. It's been really awesome watching their story unfold especially in an area of music that more often than not rarely rewards artists (monetarily). Before playing the guitar I played bass for many years so I have a deep admiration for Victor Wooten as well. Book that ticket and get a VIP pass dude, I'm sure the band will appreciate it and it is well within your means to meet him the same way you've met Victor Wooten. :) You've got an interesting background thank you for sharing a part of your story.
I have a feeling that somebody at Berkeley saw how freaking talented these guys were and was too embarrassed to have them join the school because they would outshine them
I'm so impressed how you can get obsessed with learning and playing an instrument in that young age and that even for like 8 to 12 hours a day!?! I wish I would have had somebody in my family who brought me into music and guitar in my kid or youth stage.. I grabbed up the guitar by myself way too late... this is one of not many things I personally regret in my life. and by now being 35 years old and having a full-time job it's hard as a beginner for me... I got so much respect for Tim and many others out there. Unbelievable
Its never too late. You learn exactly kids studies show, you just dont have the same amount of time. Thats why you perceive it that way. I dont think practising 12 hours is something parents should push their kids for. It sounds great to you know, but pretty sure as a kid you wouldnt have enjoyed it. It is not a "kid like" thing to do!
Obsession is what makes a good player a great player. It’s what makes an average talent player a prodigy. Talent isn’t “common” but it’s also not rare. When you combine the two? GENUIS. That is rare, someone with talent, ability (as in access to music etc) sacrifice, passion and obsession, THAT is a rare combo that comes along every once in a while and we see it with Tim.
It's never too late. A cliche but true. I've been teaching piano & guitar for over 20 years and have had students start learning in their 70's. Stick with it, you'll never regret continuing to play and practice.
@@benseraphinYou put a lot of work into it. For example I knew about Palesaides - but how you found the old photos and so many videos I've never seen before, I don't know 😂 Great work man
I've only been playing bass for less than three years but I love it. I try to listen and to a wide variety of music and Polyphia came up on my radar. They're a great band but Tim clearly stands out on his own. This background info sheds the proper light I never new. Theo Katzman is another I respect who had the same exact drive. I'm glad things worked out for this band because we need good music to thrive. Lari Basilio is a great guitarist whose sponsored by Ibanez as well. Thanks for sharing this.
As usual, amazing insight and quality in your research and delivery. I knew bits of Tim's story but you brought it together so well in this doc. His entrepreneurship and commitment to sharing his vast wealth of knowledge and experience is pretty staggering. He will always be one of the greats for me. Keep up the great vids dude 👍
Yo man great video, I appreciate the hard work you put into it! The only thing I wished you had was more cuts into the interviews and music so that there could be a bit more color to it. Awesome work man!
Knock classical all you want but I GUARANTEE you that his experience in that realm absolutely played a huge role in the technical abilities he has in guitar as the violin, particularly when playing classical repertoire is one of the most difficult instruments that exists.
Great video, thanks for the info and effort you put in to this. I've just started to get into Polyphia and provided a lot of background into why they are so good. Thanks again! 😄
This was a GREAT video, dude! I can tell that you are a true fan of them. I have been listening and attending shows of theirs, since pretty much the beginning. I look up to Tim as a guitar player, and have for many years. I like to do research on the people that I look up to and find out as much as possible about them, but there was quite a bit of info on this video that I was unaware of. Again, what a great video you have made, here. You made a fan of your channel from just this one video! CHEERS!
its crazy knowing how hard he worked and all the leaps of faiths he took before he got to this point most of the time this wouldnt work but instead of going for the usual sounding guitar playing, they decided to make a unique one for their band
Thanks for this...I'm in my late 60's, and several years ago I came across Tim, on RU-vid, I commented that to me he was one of the best in all time..because very seldom does a guitar player come along that does something no other has before..for me it was Hendrix, jimmy Paige, David Gilmour, Joe satriani...Tim Henson, and that where I would rank him now...in another 30 years.. maybe no 1
Wow, now it makes sense!!!!! I'm not a huge fan of his style of music with respect to composition, but this dude is a prodigy. We have not seen someone this talented since Jason Becker.
Something tells me there are some pretty incredible musicians in the making right now being influenced by the modern day guitar icons that will be blowing our minds in the coming years! We have a lot to look forward to.
The super chon brothers tour was were I heard of them. They came out right before chon, and I remember thinking they should have been headlining that tour. Loved em ever since.
Sadly you can't see the tattoo on my channel but there's a few shorts from when I saw polyphia live earlier this year and pictures of the tattoo on my insta
Back when that first playthrough was released my friends and I watched it and thought it was awesome. We called it Bieber metal because of the hair styles though 😂 glad to see them going places
I really appreciate this band and guitarists. I dont honestly like the music that much.... But their aesthetic and dedication is formidable. I like seeing unusual artists make it.... because thats what enriches our world.
Its always the teachers and strictness that makes people quit whether its an instrument or sports. You can't push passion but you can squeeze it out. I started playing and making music once i got out of forced music classes.
I am 11 years old. I started guitar when I was around 8 and I practice around 6 hours a day and this person person this band I have looked up to the whole time I want to be like them one day I’m probably going to be on the street side if I try but I only have one life for it XD
Take it from an old man that was once an extremely gifted young guitarist: play as much as you possibly can and if you truly love music try as hard as you can to pursue it or you will regret it for the rest of your life... I was gifted with gods touch of talent and I wasted it. Don't be like me.
Thanks, I have spent quite a lot if time listening to Inspire myself. As time has gone on I find myself listening to Renaissance quite a bit. It has aged very well IMO.
@@benseraphinRenaissance was SUCH a good album. You can hear some of the inner workings of Tim's processes in it as well, such as Nightmare essentially being a guitar version of The Weeknd's The Hills). I'll always have a soft spot for Finale off of Muse as well, that song was what got me hooked on Polyphia when it released.
UNT is called "The Berklee of Texas" the Jazz school and the official Jazz ensemble has won just about every year, the "production recording studio" program wait list is year's long not semesters long, Just bein accepted puts you into the "little club", I live in Dallas I saw them play at "Basement" doin the "death metal style", I'm proud of em
@@benseraphin I just think winning a place in a music school is a bit of lottery. It must be almost impossible to tell who's better among people who've spent so much of their young lives perfecting their skills. Winning guitar contests, letters of recommendation from known guitar teachers, and just being known in the "serious young musician" circles might mean more than actual playing skill, which is surely hard to gauge in a short performance. Being self-taught can't be good when trying out for music school; they probably want to know you're good at taking instruction from actual instructors.
Fantastic video as always man. Also I have a suggestion for your behind the guitarist series: Danny Yau. I'm sure you're familiar with him as you're a fan of polyphia. Me and him are homies, he actually did a solo on my most recent single. If you wanted to do an episode with him, I could reach out to him and arrange it for you.
Polyphia at a name on the dfw scene as early as 2009. I never saw them but their name came up in band practice several times as we were preparing for shows.
Tim has been actively building up his personal brand outside of Polyphia’s. So much so that his following on Instagram exceeds that of the band’s. Part of it is intentional but I’m certain there are additional factors that have put the spotlight on him.
There are a lot of amazing players these days, but one thing is for sure. If Tim isn't the best in the world, he is definitely among the names mentioned as candidates.
Hey, In any endeavor expanding your skillset and learning the things that will help you get whatever the desired outcome is you want in the future can be a good start. I'd also like to address a few points and they're going to sound counterproductive to most of the stuff you read and hear online since there is an immense amount of pressure nowadays to reach "success." Just be yourself dude and explore the things you are genuinely interested in because that will make you happy in the long term. Don't worry too much about what things look like on the outside and be more concerned with how you feel in the inside. It gets really easy to compare ourselves to others but it's futile because we all have different wants and needs. It's extremely difficult to say why some things end up successful or not... maybe its through sheer individual will... maybe its through something greater than ourselves.... I don't know and I can't make claims that bold. If you have certain things you would like to realize go for it with as much of yourself as you can muster and see what happens. I'm not sure how the whole life thing works but maybe things will want to express themselves through you that will allow you to live a good, meaningful life. Only one way to find out. Additionally, I think authenticity goes a long way in today's world and helps us attract the things into our lives that are supposed to be there. Best, Ben
Don't forget that Victor Wooten & his brother were doing this exact same kind of Prog playing for the last 20 years! I've heard say he got his style from Tosin & Tosin got it from Victor's brother! Just in case you care about the origin of this style!
One big thing that wasn't mentioned in this was how Tim said that he loved smoking pot, and it's a huge thing in his life. He would be punished harshly from selling to his friends at school, and was put on essentially house arrest where he couldn't go anywhere but school, and then straight home. He would practice guitar for hours and hours and become great at guitar. I've watched several interviews (actually just about all that I could find ) from him.
