The Tea Party have been an inspiring tour de force for over two decades.
Exploding on the music scene in 1990, the Canadian rock trio released their eponymous debut album in 1991 unleashing an intoxicating blend of retro-inspired rock, Indian and Middle-Eastern musical influences and philosophical lyrics.
Lead singer Jeff Martin and The Tea Party are celebrating the 20-year anniversary of their innovative third album, ‘Transmission’, with a new tour where they'll play 'Transmission' in its entirety. “Back then, being 26-years old, my eyes were still very, very wide open,” Jeff says.
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“And even though The Tea Party was known as this great rock band, and all the Led Zeppelin comparisons and whatnot, I was actually listening to a lot of electronic music like Massive Attack, Aphex Twin, all these pioneers of electronic music, which totally went against what I was known for.
"Next year we’re going to release new Tea Party music and that will probably be in March or April."
“And I just had this idea about music. 'Cause you know, Nine Inch Nails is an electronic band that has some very rock elements to it as far as the angst goes, but it’s not a traditional rock band. I wanted to see if that chemical marriage could happen with electronic music and The Tea Party was the result. I thought, 'can we put it all together? Can we make it happen?' And we tried it, we did it and it worked.”
To mark the 20th anniversary, the band have released a commemorative coffee table book that Jeff considers a beautiful piece of art. “There’s so much photographic evidence of what transpired back then. And the very unique perspectives the three of us had at that time, and our impression of the record,” he says.
“We made [the book] because we know how important the record is to Tea Party fans around the world and this is something different, as opposed to having the record on your iPhone or vinyl.”
Jeff says revisiting the album is a way for him to reconnect with the songs and Tea Party fans. “I guess the most important opinion is that of the fans, the music listeners and what they think. There’s a lot of bands doing the anniversary thing and whatnot, and they are bands that are more or less what you would call a '90s band.
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“I’m really proud to say this, because I’m one-thirds of the band, but it’s a pleasure to get on stage and for us to get back in our psyche and drum up this record.
"When you look at what’s going on right now in the United States, you know the Donald Trump situation, everything that’s going on, it’s almost like that record, even though it was written in 1996 and came out in 1997, it could come out today and it would be fresh and relevant. And that’s the reason. That is the reason we are celebrating ‘Transmission’ because it’s as relevant now as it was then.”
Not a lot of bands would perform an entire album for a live show, but The Tea Party is not like other bands. “We are a three-piece band and we don’t use backing tapes, we don’t use other musicians. What you see is what you get,” Jeff says.
“And it’s what The Tea Party has always set out to do. Me being the producer of the band, the records I’ve produced, the sound tends to be quite luscious, it’s very involved, and I’ve played with 16 people. And what The Tea Party has to do, the three of us, when it comes to playing live, is distil our own music and find the essence that can be transmuted on stage.
"So…. every song that we play off 'Transmission' is going to be different, is going to be unique and it’s going to probably change night to night.”
"I really can’t see The Tea Party touring here again in Australia until 2019."
One of the most interesting things about The Tea Party is their inspiration, often drawn from famous beatnik artists Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs. The band's name was inspired by the infamous hash sessions of the literary icons when they’d get together and discuss politics and revolution, describing their discussions as having a tea party.
This idea is evident in The Tea Party’s songs since the band’s inception, with their desire and drive to change things.
While their much-loved tunes ‘Temptation’, ‘Psychopomp’, ‘Release’ and ‘Emerald’ will be on the setlist for the tour, Jeff says the live shows will illustrate a new and improved sound, and the growth of the band members, evidence of The Tea Party’s evolution and development over time.
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However, Jeff says the live show will still retain the band’s themes and sound stemming from his beatnik literary heroes. “Because of the success of ‘The Edges Of Twilight', most probably we could have done Twilight two, three, four and they probably would have been very successful. But it wouldn’t be a challenge; it wouldn’t inspire the three of us. Because it would have been too easy.
“You’re constantly discovering, you’re constantly reinventing yourself, more or less. I find these days that I’m playing guitar more, just at home, just for the enjoyment of it more than I have in the past. And I am listening to music again. A lot of different types of music. And I know my patterns pretty well. When I get into this pattern of succinctly listening to things, I know in the near future there’s new music coming.”
With his sights set on the future, Jeff says The Tea Party can only go upwards and onwards. “I think as far as The Tea Party is concerned, next year we’re going to release new music and that will probably be in March or April.
"And as far as touring is concerned, I really can’t see The Tea Party touring here again in Australia until 2019, maybe later. But we just need to get some new music out.
“And in 2018 for me, I’ve got some solo things that I need to get out of the vaults and I also have a lot of production work here at my house that I kind of want to enjoy. Because this year with The Tea Party, there’s been a lot of touring and there’s been a lot of time away from my home.
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“So next year I really want to enjoy producing the music of others and get some solo stuff out. I’ve just finished working with a singer/ songwriter from Sydney. There might be some new Tea Party music coming out. But 2018 is my time.”
The Tea Party Shows
Fri 27 Oct - The Astor Theatre (Perth)Thu 2 Nov - Thebarton Theatre (Adelaide)
Fri 3 Nov - Odeon Theatre (Hobart)
Sat 4 Nov - The Forum (Melbourne)
Thu 9 Nov - The Tivoli Theatre (Brisbane)
Fri 10 Nov - Enmore Theatre (Sydney)
