The Tea Party (band)
The Tea Party | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Windsor, Canada |
| Years active | 1990–2005 |
| Members | Jeff Martin Stuart Chatwood Jeff Burrows |
| Website | http://www.teaparty.com |
- This is an article about a Canadian rock band. For other uses, see Tea party (disambiguation).
The Tea Party was a Canadian rock band with blues, progressive rock and Middle Eastern influences. The band called its brew of styles "Moroccan Roll". A well-known band with a succession of hit songs and music videos in Canada, they have stated that they were either loved or hated. The band continually missed mainstream American recognition, but did develop a large following in Australia.
History and Music
The power trio formed in Windsor, Ontario in 1990. Its members later relocated to Montreal, then spread out to other cities in Canada.
Initially playing indie rock and blues-based music, they developed a dedicated following while experimenting with musical style, incorporating diverse instruments. They have toured with a symphony orchestra, and it was estimated that they used more than 30 different instruments to record their album The Edges of Twilight. These include the dombek and darabukka, djembe, and tabla, all percussion instruments, and the esraj, harp guitar, harmonium, hurdy-gurdy (a.k.a Vielle), oud, santoor, sarod, saz, sitar, and tamboura, all string instruments. Also Martin was known to have several times used a bow to play his guitar like a violin or cello.
Of special note is the rare Gibson harp guitar owned by Jeff Martin. It is reputedly from 1916, and one of only 6 remaining units. There is some discrepancy as to Orville Gibson's personal involvement. Some suggest that the guitars were hand made by Orville Gibson, founder of Gibson. Some recollection indicates Orville Gibson may have over-seen their production, but not taken part in the construction process. Other sources suggest he had no connection with the company at this time.
The band experienced great success in their homeland, being nominated for an unprecedented 22 MuchMusic Video Awards, with six in 1998 alone. Between 1994 and 1995, they were awarded three People's Choice Awards for Favourite Music Video, two for Floria Sigismondi's "The River", and one for George Vale's "The Bazaar". Curtis Wehfritz received a nomination at the 1996 Juno Awards for Best Director for "Sister Awake", but failed to win the award. However, Ulf Buddensieck received won a Best Cinematography Award at the 1998 Juno's for "Release". They toured Australia numerous times between 1994 and 2004, and Jeff Martin lived in Perth, Western Australia for a period of time.
In 2005, Martin announced that he was leaving the band to concentrate on a solo career. He has however left the door open to a possible return: "Like any situation, it is time for this one to come to an end, at least for now. Many thanks for being there for us, and I’ll look forward to catching up with as many of you as possible in the near future when I’m back out on the road with my new project, and hopefully further down the road when and if the Tea Party ship sets sail again."
There is some confusion as to whether Martin made his departure known beforehand to Burrows and Chatwood, and that has led to a bit of sniping in the press:
"As far as Jeff Burrows and myself were concerned, the band was taking an extended break..." - Stuart Chatwood
"Just so you know for a FACT; this announcement is a shock to both me and Stuart." - Jeff Burrows
"This situation has been known for a while and my contemplation of this decision has been known for a while and so, if you're getting anything else from anyone else, well, they're just playing dumb." - Jeff Martin
Members
- Jeff Martin -- Lead vocals, guitars, dulcimer, sitar, other ethnic instruments.
- Stuart Chatwood -- Bass guitar, keyboards, mandolin, sequencing.
- Jeff Burrows -- Drums and percussion
Discography
- The Tea Party (1991) (self-titled debut album)
- Splendor Solis (1993)
- The Edges of Twilight (1995)
- Alhambra (1996) (Enhanced CD)
- Transmission (1997)
- Triptych (1999)
- Tangents: The Tea Party Collection (2000) (compilation)
- The Interzone Mantras (2001)
- Seven Circles (2004)
Videography
- Illuminations (2001) (DVD)