FAST FORWARD BLOG...

Meet the Band 

Jeff DowdJEFF DOWD, DRUMMER

Jeff has been playing drums with TIME MACHINE for more than 10 years. He has played with many of the band members in different bands throughout the decades. Jeff starting playing in 4th grade and continued into college getting his degree in music from KSU.

Jeff has two cd's under his name and his music can be found on all popular streaming service including Spotify and Apple Music. (Jeff Dowd & Barely Breathing). 

Trivia for Jeff:  

  • Most notable musician he has ever jammed with: Thomas Dolby 
  • Biggest star he has ever watched the Super Bowl with: Phil Everly (Everly Brothers) 
  • Iconic drummer to ever play Jeff's drums: Rich Redmond (Jason Aldean)

 

Meet the Band  

Mark PolankaMARK POLANKA, GUITARIST & VOCALS

The bald guy in the band is Mark Polanka, but with a body like his, who needs hair! Polanka began playing the guitar in 1967 at the tender age of fourteen and has been playing it ever since. In his mid 20’s, he realized he would never have much of a career in rock and roll (not enough hair or talent!), but still wanted a to work in the field of music. He decided to go to Kent State University and major in music theory and composition and to become a music teacher in some 
form or another.

He currently teaches in the School of Music at the University of Akron. Mark has played a variety of music over the years beginning with 60’s rock and pop. In his 20’s and 30’s he tried blues, light jazz, fusion, and progressive rock, but always seemed to come back to good old rock and roll and rhythm and blues music.

Mark has played in way too many unsuccessful bands to mention here. Luckily for him, Time Machine is not one of those bands!

Meet the Band  

STEVE LEAFGREN, GUITARIST & VOCALS

The following contains classified information...

I was born with a guitar in my hand and a banjo on my knee. After surgery to remove these cumbersome appendages I enjoyed a normal childhood being raised by howling wolves. 

I did a 30 year stint where I reached 2nd chair basso profundo in the Vienna Boys Choir honing my vocal skills toward rendering tones so low that they're inaudible to the human ear. 

During the time that I was flaming out at the University o' Billabong, Australia (yes, many a shrimp was placed on various barbies) where I majored in Thermonuclear Guitar Shredding achieving a grade point average that barely registered on the grading scale, I was voted Most Likely to Suck at C's due to my (still ongoing) inability to clearly articulate C notes on the fretboard. 

I once broke a B string whilst performing "Little Black Egg" for Burundi royalty-a capital offense in that country. I'm still on the Burundi Most Wanted list. 

A point of interest outside the sphere of music; I was the one who strategically deployed banana peels at the ill-fated 1986 Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain 

Currently I am reveling in the honor of creating sonic waves with my highly accomplished pals who constitute the Time Machine musical aggregate all of whom I've had the great fortune to music-make with for decades. Respect! 

Apart from the last statement, trust nothing that I say.

Time Machine is now booking for 2024 

TIME MACHINE...Time Machine Band of Kent, Ohio is now booking events for 2024.  Whether it is a local club in Summit, Stark, Portage, or Cuyahoga County, or your private event, we are ready to rock the house with classic rock tunes.  We can even customize a set list for your event - just ask!  Contact us for more information.