Local NYC band gets real about the struggles of musicianship in new punk-rock, power-pop EP

Photo by: Tyler Bertram

With Tom Dambro on guitar/vox, Paolo Chioni on bass, and Anthony Imperato on drums, The Telling Time is a Brooklyn-based punk rock, power-pop band that’s about to drop their second EP on January 5, 2024 — “The Thief of Joy.” 

“How can I merge a big pop-rock sound with a storytelling element?” The Telling Time asked themselves when writing these three songs that tell a tale of self doubt, discovery, and perseverance.

To understand the first single on the record, “Maybe I Am (The First Song)” (out now), Dambro took Through the Monitor back to the three-piece’s formation in 2019.

When he started the band, Dambro didn’t think of himself as a strong singer or songwriter, but he had fun doing it.

“There was no pressure because we're just getting into a room,” Dambro said. “I was able to carry a tune okay, but I was never really working on my musicianship.”

Then he started seeing the attention other bands were getting, which left him conflicted.

“There were these two forces at war,” Dambro told TTM. “I wanted to be better than those bands, but then also there's a part of me that's shy and a little meek that thinks, ‘maybe I'm just not good enough yet.’”

Dambro said these thoughts put him in a comparative mindset. 

“How are they getting X amount of followers? How are they getting this many people to their show? What works, and what doesn't?” he often asked himself. 

“There was also the thought that I had to be true to my thing,” he added. “I felt like we were always on the outside looking in.”

According to Dambro, “Maybe I Am” is a rally cry about these opposing forces battling it out.

The second song is “VTW,” which stands for Visualize the Win. Dambro said it’s about the next phase of hardships for the trio — self discovery.

“We were struggling to write and get really tight as a band when Anthony said, ‘We're struggling because we think we're struggling, and we just keep falling into the same place,’” Dambro told TTM. 

The idea behind this song is to accept where you are and “visualize” where you’re going. 

“I feel like I've fallen far from where I thought I was, but I don't think I ever sucked, so why should I suck now?” is the sentiment of the song for Dambro.

VTW leads into the final track: A Mountain, A Plan: “a big, rockin’, open-chord song, which is the coming home of the EP,” Dambro told TMM. 

Dambro said it’s about “the journey of the mundane to the spectacular,” and finding satisfaction in your efforts. 

“Every day, we have to get up, brush our teeth, pick out an outfit, go to work, and do the work,” Dambro told TTM. “Sometimes it's nice to think, ‘I'm gonna fucking pat myself on the back for doing the things.’”

“You may not always hit the mark, but  you can keep planning it out,” he added. “You can keep trying.”
Nowadays, Dambro said he realizes that in the local music scene, you have to “give to get.” And bands should come out to shows to connect with other musicians.

“These are the people supporting each other,” he said of bands on the come-up. “And they're actually making a scene.”

So the trio makes an effort to immerse themselves in local shows and meet other bands. And Dambro said it’s helped him let go of his competitive nature.

“If you're showing up, People are also going to start to show up for you,” he said.

Especially in New York. 

“There are a lot of talented bands playing, and you can go see them for $10-$15 dollars on any night of the week,” Dambro told TTM. “That's a really cool thing.” 

The Telling Time is celebrating their EP release with a show at Arlene’s Grocery on the Lower East Side of NYC on January 6, 2024.

Painting by: Pete Maloney