Intro and Tim Henson's supervillain alter-ego: 0:00 Burning Questions: 17:03 Tim's Guitar Approach - Hooks and Flexes: 19:35 Blending rap and instrumental music: 23:50 A bad acid trip yields a great music video: 26:20 Name Those Notes: 30:00 Tim's love of Jimi Hendrix: 37:27 New Polyphia music: 41:06 Tim's unique guitar technique: 44:46 The hardest and easiest thing about guitar: 49:29 Tim's favorite airplane album: 54:34 Tim's dream band: 55:20 Tim's supervillain advice: 1:00:05 Subscribe to Guitar Villains on Spotify: spoti.fi/3i8q2xg Subscribe to Guitar Villains on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/3n08vL3 Welcome to this episode of 'Guitar Villains', my podcast that features some of the world's greatest guitar players in a way you've never heard before. Why Guitar "Villains", you ask? Because villains are cooler than heroes, it's just a fact. Today’s guitar villain is Tim Henson. An innovator of the guitar and a no-nonsense straight-shooter, Tim has cemented himself in the guitar world as a cutting edge riff-writer, combining elements of tapping, slapping, harmonics, and rhythmic displays second to none. Fronting his instrumental prog outfit Polyphia, Tim has produced some of the most unique and fun guitar moments to fill your eardrums with, and the only thing more refreshing than his music is his no-bullshit demeanor. You’re gonna enjoy this one, so let’s kick off this episode of Guitar Villains. Follow Polyphia on RU-vid: ru-vid.com Follow Tim on RU-vid: ru-vid.com/show-UCdKj0VzVR0Af0wzd7-68Avw
Damn I had no idea the blurry thing was that bad lmao. Sorry Tyler and viewers 😅 I haven’t used Skype in like 5 years so idk if it was some setting in that or what I’ve never seen my webcam do that lol. Also guitar is like my fidget spinner when doing things that are out of my comfort zone so there’s some context on that. Anyways thanks for having me Tyler!
I like what he said about guitar being a MEANS. He doesn't want to be good at guitar simply to be good at it. He uses guitar as a means to make music. I respect that.
That's the mindset that separates the men from the boys. I know a guy that can play most classic rock and metal songs really well. I tried being in a band with him and it just didn't work because he was a guitarist, but wasn't a musician.
Western academia has ruined musical creativity. We applaud imitators of virtuosi. I haven't learned any songs besides riffs in the very beginning, to practice techniques. After that and a little theory knowledge, I began to WRITE. And over 15 years I literally couldn't tell you how much I've written, usually based off of an improvised riff. (And i don't mean you have to know every chord inversion and irrational time signatures.) Just write man! Who cares if it's simple? If you can play random chords or melodies and stay in key and time, you can structure a song. This is what needs to be taught now a days, especially since almost everyone is able to record themselves! When you practice, you should be improvising. Techniques are meant to be applied, not imitated, and music is meant to be played, not worked. Its supposed to be fun. If you cant let it all go and sink into your instrument, find a different hobby, cause the pressure can be miserable. I've seen so many high strung musicians burn out, because they think plateauing is a bad thing. No. It isnt. Walk around that plateau and use the tools you find there to build a staircase to your next plateau. Write write write. Lol. The more familiar you are with creating music, the more you learn about yourself. Its truly divine.
@@Mextalhead I know, I use the same thing all the time at work. But if he were just sitting a bit closer to the camera, it wouldn't have been as problematic.
Judging by some of Tyler's facial expressions, I'm guessing there is more to the story. I have a feeling something was going on in the background behind Tim that needed to be censored with the still photo. Maybe Tim (and ?) thought they could get away with a prank by using the blur effect, but Tyler had to shut him down by puttung up the still photo over the video feed. During some of the time when they did shiow the video, you could see someone standing on the bed behind Tim, moving slowly.
@@btta_wzrd6699 Well John Mayer's history with the ladies easily place him into that category! Even though it's completely unrelated to his playing, the guitar player image is still something worth acknowledging! And that being said, John beibg great at Blues, Rock, Pop, Country, Folk, and so on makes him a boss level villain in my opinion! Remember that he sings while playing those crazy licks! And Mateus has been praised as one of the best and most tasteful player on the planet at what he does, but he still hasn't released any official album of his work yet! I'm sure this would fit the "anti-conformist" villain of your choice haha
You're an incredible interviewer. You're just adopting your chill level to match the person you're interviewing and getting all the best answers. Way to go, man! This shit is the best!
Looking young like that in your 20's is no fun... I'm fairly certain he'd prefer people not poke fun at the fact. I mean, he's real so I'm sure he's not in denial, but it's just not cool to hear that shit all the time (from personal experience).
Ichika? Manuel? They all are important. Unfortunately, this style won't stay fresh for ever. There will be some coppycats who'd make this genre old and generic. Maybe I might be one of them, because I'm giving all my effort to learn this style.
@@an_38kitkashyap he said ONE of them, not THE, he pointed out Tim specifically cause yknow... this vid is about Tim not ichika and Manuel also come up with your own style, maybe adapt his style but trust me any person whose sounded like Tim have pretty much been told that they’re a copycat or that they are a great value Tim Henson , I doubt it’ll become something that becomes generic, you’ll more likely to just live in Tim Henson’s shadow copying his style than become an equal, making it unlikely that his music style will become generic, as you’ll just be seen as a Tim clone, not to mention his music is more trap and pop oriented math rock, a lot of guitarists at his caliber normally aren’t into trap music, so coming up with hooks like he does would be more difficult if say, you’re only listening to more guitar oriented music, it’s like trying to come up with a classical guitar piece when you hate classical music, how do you dictate what sounds classical if you aren’t listening to it
Holy moly...Tim's taste, heart and feelings are in their place. Great guy, huge talent. I started listening to his music recently, and I never in my entire life thought a song could sound like his pieces.
@Adam Silver lol u obviously have not listened to good death and thrash metal. It's stupid of u to say that thrash and death metal guitarists aren't guitarists.
Tim is a really down to earth person. I appreciate his honesty and bluntness in response to questions. I feel like he plays the "Fame game" really well.
This is a side of the coin everybody needed to see, an awesome guitar player who does not give a F to what ppl say about how he makes interviews, he is living his life the way he likes it, and if he is happy, why should we talk $@## about it? Great interview
What Tim said at the end to me was very inspirational. I'm just realizing i want to be a producer. Played keyboard for like 15 years and still impoving on guitar. I love prog, rock, metal, classical, jazz etc and i love when artists mix genres. , music is a vision, it's the urge to make something with sound that convey vibes, emotions. I wish i can do that successfully too one day. That thing he said about being in a room with the best ppl to producing and create your musical vision was really inspirational and made me think about Brian Wilson. He's totally different to his background but he really was a musical genius almost like a director composer. I had the same motivational feel watching his biopic Love & Mercy. I really think this guy and MGK (with his last album giving new life to punk rock in the mainstream) are the most influencial and inspiring musicians of these years. Their using their influences from hip hop and rock to create something important and motivational for the new generations (like Hendrix did) mixing the styles to create something new from the past musical legacy. This is the important thing for music and not the purists that keep a genre locked in his niche, cause they're the ones that are causing the death of rock, not an original (and over the top) musician like Tim or a rapper who dares to love punk and incorporates it in his music.
This is the best interview I've ever seen and you can tell that Tim is actually interested in talking to you, which seems like a hard reaction to get from him haha. Congrats on being the most innovative interviewer
See if you can get Nuno Bettencourt in the series. There isn't much info on how he comes up with riffs and solos and so on (if any at all). I think it'd be very interesting 👍
Thanks for making these amazing interviews! The point about making music on the guitar versus the endless shred type stuff is so true, I really like the fact that you guys brought that up. Tim is such an incredible and inspiring player- this was a super interesting one to listen to!
Tim might seem a bit cocky but honestly it fits him so well, he literally fits the theme of this podcast and looks straight up like a pretty boy villain badass!
@GroteB....it's like...um you know like...ah well like..on some shit like..really but..like....I'm having a bad trip like...yeh like..It was like really bad like...bahaha like..wtf like...so cool like...w.s..like b.s...like...im out like..🤪👍🇦🇺
Unluckily I'm Brazilian and I can't understand English so well to get what they are talking in this podcast, but I'm 100% sure that was a great conversation. Please try to talk with Matheus asato, He is a awesome guy to talk about music, he is not probably a Guitar villain but we need some angels/heroes in this place. Hugs from Brazil 🎸
The first time I heard Tim's playing was about 9 years ago. An old co-worker who went by the name of "Brown Kid" was like dude I wanna show you my old band from high school/right after high school, that I did the vocals for. So I let him blast his music on the speakers of the smoke shop we worked at. Immediately, I was like dude, who the fuck is this guitar player?!? His reply "Oh, that Tim. He was 15 when he recorded this. He's the best!" A few years later, Polyphia blew the fuck up.
22:05 super honest stuff from Tim. Great job, Tim. I think you should do more serious interviews like this. I watched the whole thing and you seem like a very thoughtful, smart, and interesting guy.
Only thing I would suggest is - less structure. Some of the themes and questions are cool (like the supervillians) . But one of the things that makes podcasts so great (like rogan) is the ability to go off the rails with the guest and let them rant about things that aren't even guitar related.
What’s crazy is that what Hendrix is for Tim, Tim is for me and Idk if he realizes how inspirational and important he is in the community but I’m sure he will go down as one of the greats
Hey Tyler - This podcast is freaking awesome and fun. I say fun because it’s an escape from physically practicing guitar and music, but i find myself learning so much mentally that I can then implement or play around with during my next practice or jam session. I am a classic rock and blues enthusiast, but this podcast has inspired me to be more open minded and thus is making me a better musician. Kudos to you and really stoked for the next hump day inspiration. 🔥🔥🙌🙌🤘🤘
I already had a lot of respect for Tim but after seeing this I REALLY had even more respect for him, he stayed true to himself as a person, guitarist, and was honest. Not to mention Tyler and Tim definitely seemed to click, thank you Tyler this was a wonderful interview/Podcast. 🤘
Jake, you've done such an AMAZING job with creating Guitar Villains, and especially getting the guitarists you are able to get on here is OUTSTANDING!!! KEEP IT UP, MY GUY!!! THIS IS BY FAR MY FAVORITE GUITAR POD CAST!!!!!!
Mario Camarena and Erick Hansel from CHON. These players are in the realm of Polyphia, but are like way chill and tight. Their extremely clean sound is really unique too.
It’s all old boomers and Gen Xers like myself and most of them are making a snap judgement based on his looks. Once you listen to his music and him as a person, you have to be brain-dead to not understand his talent.
This is encouraging that tim apparently doesn't know music theory and is still so scary good but it simultaneously shows how lazy I've been as a guitar player 😂 I like when he said its mostly feel that makes a great guitar player and that's all I need to hear. Thanks for giving me hope
Keep it up dude, it will all work out in time with alot of practice. I hit a plateau for a oulle years and put it down for a while, after going to some local shows, jamming with a couple others the doors opened and the drive came back and creativity is flowing now.
@@francisnorthwood7862 You're so out of touch. I bet you hated the people that judged your music for not being "good" enough when you were growing up. Such a shame you've become one of those people.
You gotta admit that just the fact that someone is talented/great at a specific art, doesn't automatically make them wiser in everything else. No offense.
53:00 Tyler listening to Tim talking about how good is Steve Vai is and thinking in his mind like "all steve vai does is play a million notes, he has no feel"
This was such a good interview! I love that you did background research and asked unique questions. Will there be a round two updated interview in the future?
Finally Tim has answered the long big question in my mind...thanks Tim! I listen to metal and pop too...but people don't get it so the people who hate Hiphop but love rock and people who love rock and hate Hiphop they meet there in Polyphia Music...
Tyler, please have Tom Monda from Thank You Scientist on. Theres like an intense lack of interviews with him, and I'd love to see how he answers your questions
So glad to see Tim doing well! He definitely seems to have mellowed out. I did a Skype guitar lesson with him a few years back after the release of "Inspire" and he did a pretty good job at making you feel like shit for not understanding certain concepts or techniques. He seems super happy and nothing but positive, it's great! "Nightmare" is my absolute go to Polyphia song.
