Some of the most influential guitar players have all attended the Berklee College of Music, with the prestigious music school boasting the likes of Steve Vai, John Scofield, Susan Tedeschi, St. Vincent and many more on its list of alumni.
It goes without saying, though, that a Berklee education is by no means a prerequisite for six-string success, with many guitarists of equal caliber finding their own path in the world of guitar music.
One name on that list of game-changing electric guitar players who didn’t go to Berklee is Polyphia’s Tim Henson – but it wasn’t for a lack of trying.
Speaking to Kerrang!, the progressive music virtuoso reflected on his early career aspirations and revealed he once set sights on studying in the classrooms once populated by the likes of John Mayer, Al Di Meola and John Myung.
Alas, he was turned down by Berklee – a decision that merely motivated him further to dive head first into his musical career and do a band “for real”.
“I didn't have a back-up plan,” Henson said. “It was just like, ‘Well… fuck.’ There was a week of depression, but after that, it was just like, ‘Okay, fuck college. Let's do this band for real.’”
Doing the band “for real” meant putting all his efforts into his music. With his parents thinking he was attending community college, Henson was instead “getting up at the fucking ass-crack of dawn” to sit in a Starbucks with a laptop to promote Polyphia’s music.
From there, Henson sought to raise funds for Muse – the band’s debut studio album – for which a $15,000 target was set. His parents, who by now had been filled in on Henson’s extra-curricular activities, were “pissed off” at the development, but would soon be appeased when Polyphia ended up raising more than double its funding target.
“We ended up raising like 33 grand,” Henson said. “That’s when my dad was… he wasn't pissed anymore. After that, he was like, ‘Okay, you guys could do this.’ I guess that was the moment that we all realized we could do this.”
All in all, it’s a pretty inspiring success story – from being turned away from Berklee College of Music to becoming one of the 21st century’s most forward-thinking fretboard masters, one who has not one, but three signature guitars – and a set of signature Fishman pickups – under their belt by the age of 29.
During his Kerrang! conversation, Henson also imparted some words of wisdom for aspiring musicians: “As long as, as an artist, you're you, you like what you're doing, you care about it, and you talk with it like you're proud of it, that's the best thing that you can do.”
