Finally, the answer to the question – Who Is TIM?
TIM were an ‘almost super-group’, at least with the benefit on hindsight they sure are. Not so much at the time of writing and recording this album in 1983. Regrettably, TIM members were so busy individually with sessions, and family commitments, that the band never made any more music together.
TIM is:
Thom Griffin – Vocals, Guitar
Bruce Gaitsch – Guitars
Bob Lizik – Bass
Terry Tossing Esq – Keyboards
Tom Radtke and Jim Hines – Drums
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The individual recording credits of these guys are incredible:
Thom Griffin – Trillion, Ambition, Brian Wilson, Mecca, Pride Of Lions, Jimi Jamsion, Dennis DeYoung
Bruce Gaitsch – Richard Marx, Fergie Frederiksen, Chicago, Peter Cetera, Michael W. Smith, Madonna, Jim Peterik, Kelly Keagy
Bob Lizik – Brian Wilson, Pride Of Lions, Dennis DeYoung, Soleil Moon, Peterik/Scherer, World Stage
Tom Radtke – John Prine, Dennis DeYoung, Barbra Streisand
Jim Hines – Brian Wilson, Cyndi Lauper
Together they made an unreleased masterpiece. An album so good it would have challenged the other rock albums of 1983 for their dominance.
Thom Griffin comments: “TIM was comprised entirely of session players from Chicago. We were consciously trying to be commercially viable. Bruce had a condo in downtown Chicago where we would meet between sessions to write. I believe we flushed out our ideas on a Fostex 4 track porta-studio.”
Bruce Gaitsch claiming: “We were trying so hard to be Chicago’s Toto!”
All the songs were recorded using analog recording with no auto-tune or quantization or sequencers and were intended as demos with very few overdubs (with the exception of an occasional instrumental overdub, and vocals). The fact they still sound so amazing today is tantamount to the talent behind the writing and recording.
Bruce continues: “I do recall doing sessions all day and going into Universals big room at night, 8:00 and working all night then going right to a session the next day! We used to write when we had time between sessions at my downtown apartment. It was fun, a nice release from doing commercials 6 times a day.”
Bob Lizik recalls calling the band’s sessions as ‘dust rehearsals’ as the low-rent hired rehearsal space still had a dirt floor.
Bruce: “We helped the first rehearsal studio get started by booking lots of hours even when they still had a dirt floor! Rehearsals would be cancelled at the last minute because of work all the time, then we’d see each other at the sessions.”
And the name? There’s been plenty of guesses where it came from. I’ll leave it to Thom Griffin to reveal the truth: “Yes, the name TIM was a reference to ‘Tim, the Enchanter’ in Monty Python’s “Holy Grail!” movie.”
29 years in the making, the debut TIM album will finally and rightfully see the light of day on July 16 via reissue label MelodicRock Classics on Limited Edition CD (1000 units) and Digital.
01. Somethings Coming 3:25
02. Never Let You Get Away 3:52
03. Maybe It’s Better 3:37
04. Astral Games 3:27
05. Think Back 5:09
06. Whatcha Gonna Do 4:18
07. One Dark Night 3:12
08. Victim Of Love 3:43
09. Lovers Never Cry 4:24
10. Kiss And Tell 3:20
11. Mary Anna 5:47
All songs written and produced by TIM
Additional lyrics provided by Keithen Carter for Somethings Coming, Never Let You Get Away and Maybe it’s Better
Recorded at: Universal Recording (Bob Bennett engineer in the A Room on a Neve 8048 console over the course of 3 evenings); Tanglewood Studio in Brookfield (Larry Millas engineer on a Neotek console over the course a few days)
