Tim Henson
Born on 19th November 1993, Tim Henson is an American Twitch streamer, YouTuber, and founding member of the progressive rock band Polyphia.
After joining YouTube in 2012, Tim uploaded three videos on his channel over the next two years, and began shifting his focus towards his musical career. He began uploading more frequently in the mid-2010s, gaining thousands of followers after participating in musician Jared Dines’ Biggest Shred Collab due to his unusual style.
Since then, Tim has used his channel to upload improvisions, covers, and demos of various songs as well as unreleased Polyphia material. His most popular video to date is just 49 seconds long, but has racked up over eight million views, and is a snippet of a prototype song entitled “Blood Moon”. Although a full version of the song doesn’t exist, in response to the high demand, Tim promised to include it in the band’s next album.
In 2022, Tim went public with his girlfriend Gigi, also known as @minoudoll on Instagram. Gigi, who claims to be of Spanish, indigenous Caribbean, and Senegambian descent, has almost 40,000 followers on the photo-sharing social media platform, and is known for her highly filtered and edited snaps and love for make-up and Lolita costumes.
It’s unclear how long Tim and Gigi have been dating for, but in December 2019 the Instagram model thanked her guitarist boyfriend for making her 23rd birthday so special. “Thank you my love for everything you do,” she said, sharing a photo of Polaroid snaps of the couple accompanied by Tim’s birthday gift to her.
As an Ibanez endorsing artist, Tim’s signature guitar models are the TOD10 and TOD10N.
Polyphia
Polyphia was formed in 2010 by Tim Henson, Scott LePage, Brandon Burkhalter and Lane Duskin; the latter two founding members were later replaced by drummer Clay Aeschliman and bassist Clay Gober. The rock band’s sound incorporates virtuosic guitar parts with other music genres, with some of its latest projects combining hip hop and electronic music.
The band first single went viral, thanks to a guitar play-through of “Impassion”, from their EP “Inspire”, being viewed millions of times. Polyphia’s popularity began growing steadily from that moment, as they have since performed with August Burns Red, Between the Buried and Me, Periphery, and other progressive metalcore groups.
Group members previously confirmed that they are influenced by artists of all genres. In 2013, the band’s name was revealed to have come from the word “polyphony”, which means “music whose texture is defined by the interweaving of several melodic lines”. In Tim’s words: “We stray from the idea of a one-dimensional, vocal-centered, or guitar-centered, or drum-centered group, and let each member of the band play an integral part in the overall product.”
Polyphia released its first independent project, the EP “Resurrect”, in November 2011. It was followed by “Inspire” in April 2013, and the debut studio album, “Muse”, in September 2014, both of which were also released independently. Sometime between 2014 and 2016, the band signed to Equal Vision, an independent record label based in Albany, New York, and founded by punk singer Ray Cappos in the early 1990s.
“Renaissance”, the band’s second studio album, was released under Equal Vision in March 2016. Polyphia released its third EP, “The Most Hated”, independently in July 2017, joining forces with Equal Vision once again for the October 2018 release of its third studio album “New Levels New Devils”, the first project of Polyphia’s to chart on the US Album charts, peaking at #61.
“The power of manifestation is really important”: How Polyphia’s Tim Henson became the guitar hero metal needs in 2022. https://t.co/K3CXC3ngX5 pic.twitter.com/VwtTnT7ylA
— Kerrang! (@KerrangMagazine) December 24, 2022
“Remember That You Will Die” is the group’s fourth album and its best-performing project to date, peaking at #33, #72, and #73 on the US, Australian, and Canadian album charts respectively. This album was released under Rise, an Oregon-based level with an enviable roster of alternative rock, heavy metal, and punk rock artists.
In the lead-up to the album’s launch, Polyphia released various singles: “Playing God”, “Neurotica”, “ABC”, and “Ego Death”. “Ego Death” was accompanied by a video featuring the guitar talent Steve Vai. Other artists who made guest appearances on the album were Chino Moreno, Brasstracks, Sophia Black, and Snot.
May 2023 marked the beginning of Polyphia’s latest European tour, with fifteen dates spread across Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Australia, amongst other countries.
Polyphia – Other Members
Apart from Tim, Scott LePage is the only founding member left in Polyphia following Brandon Burkhalter and Lane Duskin’s departures. The guitarist, whose signature guitar is an Ibanez KRYS10 model, was born in Dallas, Texas, USA, on 9th May 1993, and is instantly recognizable thanks to his signature long hair and distinctive tattoos. Scott, known as Scottie to his nearest and dearest, has been in a steady relationship with girlfriend Kris Elizabeth since December 2017.
Although Lane Duskin has gone completely AWOL since leaving the band back in 2012, we do know what Brandon Burkhalter’s been up to. In December 2015, Brandon was fired from Polyphia during the group’s tour with August Burns Red and Every Time I Die.
In an official statement, the band said: “Having grown up together, we have the utmost respect for Brandon as a musician, and wish him the absolute best in everything he does. This alteration of Polyphia is rooted purely in artistic differences.” The drummer previously left the band in August 2014, returning a few months later. These days, Brandon’s image has undergone a drastic change, but he’s still doing what he loves most: music.
Meanwhile, Clay Aeschliman and Clay Gober have thriving social media accounts, which they use to promote tour dates and other Polyphia-related content. Gober is currently dating an Only Fans model named Misty, whose risqué photoshoots have earned her thousands of followers; meanwhile, Aeschliman appears to be single, and focusing 100% on his music.
Although Scott, Aeschliman, and Gober are all vital components of Polyphia, it’s clear that Tim is the star of the show, and plans to keep it that way. The guitar prodigy is said to be worth $1 million, thanks to album sales, sold-out tours, and band merchandise.
