Biography

Timing is everything for Timelord Smith. It was a chance meeting in early 2010 between drummer Rob Plunkett and the two remaining members of punk band Timelord, guitarist and vocalist Christine Miller-Polselli and bassist Damien Marianucci, that led to the formation of shoegaze band Timelord Smith. Christine, Damien and Rob had been sharing a rehearsal space in Hoboken, NJ for three years, but never met. Then one Sunday afternoon Rob was a few minutes late packing his drums away: “They kind of fell into the room”, Rob says, “chatting away, juggling guitars, amps, coffee cups. They didn’t expect to see me. We’re all pretty shy and so there was a moment of wondering when we looked at each other, like ‘what’s this all about and what do we do now?’”

Damien and Christine knew right away that Rob would be their new drummer. “We were a band who had just lost our drummer, and he was a drummer without a band,” adds Damien. “We learned afterwards that he’d been playing his drums for years on his own in the rehearsal room and that he had never been in a band. We liked that. A quiet starter.”

The Timelord Smith trio settled in for a year-and-a-half, refining their alternative rock sound. Says Christine,“Timelord used to play fast - really fast. Rob’s style of playing forced us to slow down the tempo, and the songs are better for it. And with the addition of Damien’s backing vocals, the sound really started to mature.”

Explains founding member Christine, “I didn’t start out trying to be a shoegaze band. I was very influenced by iconic songwriters, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie,

Our Story:

Neil Young. I always wanted to write a
song that would be sort of an anthem, but I am too shy and reserved to want to expose my feelings to an audience. I started trying to make little stories in my songs. I would use characters from books and movies as models for the characters in my stories.” Sometime in 2009 after departure of Timelord’s 2nd lead guitarist Zach Seeley, Christine decided to take on that additional role. “As a lead guitarist I had no experience and no chops”, Christine laughs. “I started experimenting with distortion and delay pedals to cover up the weaknesses in my playing.”

For Christine in fact, it’s been quite a long time coming. She pursued a professional career in engineering and business with engineering degrees from MIT, and an MBA before easing into the metro NY music scene ten years ago, quietly and on her own playing with acoustic guitar at open mics. “ I wanted to form a band, but I didn’t know any musicians.” In 2005, Christine discovered an open mic at a place called Charlie’s Den in Edgewater, NJ. She became a regular there, and ultimately founded the punk band Timelord in 2006 with members Wooyong Shim (bassist), Jin Seok An(guitarist), and Peter Orozco(drummer). “I have been very lucky from very early on to play with really talented musicians and all around good smart people”, says Christine.

After a year of gigging in the New York City area, recording an EP “Secret Life of Machines” and performing for the Fox5 TV music showcase Fearless Music TV, Shim and An left the band. Determined not to give up, Christine posted an ad for a bass player in Craigslist. “The ‘Timelord’ ad caught my eye. “I’m a big

sci-fi fan and I liked the Dr. Who connection. The first two songs I listened to were Timelord and Pay No Attention. I said to myself: ‘Female led band with intriguing lyrics, and that melodies that leave a lot of room for creative expression on the bass.’ I was immediately a Fan!” Damien showed up at the audition with a pair of beat up Doc Martins his cousin had given him for luck. “Later I learned that Christine liked the boots and they were a big reason I got the second audition!“

“I liked the fact that he was a physicist. I think that made him seem very familiar to me. He seemed to fit in right away.”

The next few years were rocky with a few band reorganizations. Timelord continued gigging in and around New York City and managed to record the EP “You’re Trying To Kill Me”. But one more reorganization was in their future. After 4 years with Timelord, Orozco departed leaving the vacancy for Rob. “It was like it was meant to be. Peter had just that week told us he was leaving the band when for the first time Damien and I happened upon Rob in the practice room.”

Timelord is a power-trio in the shoegaze and dream pop tradition. Over the past year and a half, Timelord has written several new songs, recorded a three song EP, and carved a place for themselves in the Hoboken Art and Music scene. They will be playing and promoting themselves heavily in the New York area this year, adding their distinctive sound to the burgeoning shoegaze music scene.