Canadian rock band The Tea Party were formed twenty five years ago and have released around a dozen albums in that time. On the twentieth anniversary of their album Edges of Twilight, they have released a new master recording and are touring the album in full. John Goodridge chatted to lead singer Jeff Martin on the eve of their Canadian tour.
Hi Jeff. I believe you’re getting ready to head off overseas.
Yeah just doing all the necessary things, packing and all that. I’ll be gone for a couple of months because after the Edges of Twilight tour in Canada, I’m going to Morocco.
That looks like an interesting trip. How did that come about?
I was planning on going anyway, but people that are involved in my company, one of my friends has a tourism company and what he’s done in the past he’s had celebrity chefs and what not, where you get to travel with the chef, so I get to travel and have people coming along with me.
That’s interesting. Have you been to Morocco before?
Yes I have.
So for you it will be getting back to some roots?
Definitely. I just need that infusion again. The music, the culture, which I love, get some of that into what I do.
What does Morocco give you?
It’s almost what does Morocco not give you. It’s all encompassing and there’s a beautiful menace to Morocco, if that makes any sense and it’s something that really attracts me. I think in a lot of ways that The Tea Party’s music and the music that I’ve made, there’s that underlying sense that there’s something dangerous, but you don’t really know what it is.
Why do you think that we as humans find music so powerful?
It becomes an esoteric soundtrack to your life and some music is infused with it more so than others. It’s really quite a mystical and metaphysical question.
The Edges of Twilight album title comes from the Tom Cowen book, “Fire in the Head”, so I’m just curious as to how your music links in with the pagan beliefs.
I started my occult philosophy studies when I was pretty young, and I started to get interested in it and it ended up having a big influence on the music of The Tea Party and the poetry that goes with the music. It’s just part and parcel of it all.
So you’ve just re-released the Edges of Twilight album. What made you choose that particular album?
For The Tea Party, both for the three if us individually and as a collective, it was such a milestone in our career, it’s the album that defines The Tea Party sound. When we first came out, we were getting compared to Zeppelin and I was being compared to Jim Morrison; which is natural, a band comes out and you’re going to have comparisons; but what I’m very proud of with the Edges of Twilight is that not only did we avoid the sophomore jinx, that we made an album of such depth that to this day if any rock band tries to incorporate middle eastern sounds, they are getting compared to The Tea Party. It was that record that really defined our sound.
It must be a really good feeling that twenty years after the release that it’s still relevant and still powerful.
It’s what artists strive for, art that stands the test of time. It’s such a big part of people’s lives and it’s time to celebrate that.
I find it fascinating that vinyl has made resurgence. I’ve spoken to other artists and they describe the physical act of playing a record as adding to the theatre of listening to the music.
Absolutely, man. But it’s the sound as well. You get a great set of speakers and a really good quality vinyl and that’s the way that music should be listened to. But it is a bit of a ritual as well.
So Stuart (Chatwood) recently wrote about when the band came together in the Coach and Horses hotel. What was that feeling like?
Euphoric, definitely euphoric. There was something metaphysical about it as well, the three of us live and what we achieved on stage with the sounds and visuals, it was just something that I was just so proud to be a part of. It fascinates me to this day.
I can’t imagine what the feeling must be like listening back to the recordings and knowing that you have created something powerful.
It’s one of the best emotions that an artist can have.
How does it feel now after all those years and spending some time apart?
It’s still absolutely euphoric and it’s a pleasure. The time that we spent apart was probably good for the three of us because when we did reconnect, the respect that we had for each other was even stronger.
Do you feel a pressure to create music for the fans or is more a case of creating music for yourself and the fans follow?
Well, we hope that they follow. That’s the only way to create as an artist, with your integrity. We’ve never “looked around”. Of course we’re interested in exploring different cultures and music, but it’s always been a case of doing music for ourselves and we hope that people enjoy it and so far so good.
I understand that your last album The Ocean at the End was started at Byron Bay.
Yeah, I was living in Ocean Shores and I had a little studio there and a lot of the songs came from living there and a bit was done at 301 Studios, but the majority was done in Toronto, Canada. Who knows what the future holds, because I’m living again back in the Byron area with a home studio, so I’m hoping that sometime next year the boys from The Tea Party will come and pay me a visit so we can create some music.
Do you prefer creating music or the touring side of things, or are they equally important?
They’re equally important. I find these days I enjoy the alchemical aspect of working in my studio without the rules and everything, but I do enjoy playing for people and making people happy.
I thought it was interesting that so many people from Canada were complaining that their city missed out on this tour; it must feel good to know that you’re wanted.
It’s definitely nice to feel wanted.
Apart from Edges of the Twilight, what would you say would be a highlight of your career?
There’s just so many, I don’t know where to begin. Every record that we’ve made has been so special. You think about them as your children, so yeah too many to mention.
One thing I know is that a lot of people talked about the 2012 Australian tour, which must have been special for you.
That reunion tour was fantastic. For the band to come back incredibly strong and to sell out the Hordern Pavillion, put out the DVD and what not, it was the start of the love affair again between the three of us. Actually, you could say that Australia bought The Tea Party back together again.
I really feel that there's a connection between The Tea Party and Australia.
I think Australia has claimed us as their own. It’s claimed me, that’s for sure.
How much time do you spend in Australia?
As much time as I can. I’ll be away for a couple of months and it’s gonna be hard to be away for so long but there is a lot to look forward to.
So where did the name of the band come from? Was it from the Led Zeppelin book?
No it was not. I got that from when Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac would get together and discuss politics and revolution and things like that, they would call it having a tea party. So that’s where we got that from, because we wanted to do something different. Every band of that time, most of them were trying to sound like Teen Spirit, and we didn’t want any part of that, we wanted to change things and when Twilight came around, I think we did that.
Things get written about bands that may or may not be true. How does it feel having things out there like that?
It can’t be helped. Especially with The Tea Party there was a lot of myths, some are true and some aren’t, but it adds to the mystique.
How did the cover of the album, the photo “Angel of Grief”, come about and how did that fit in with the music?
It’s a natural series of curves that brings it forward. My role as producer is a lot to take on, so Stuart is more involved in the artwork and obviously Jeff and I have our opinions and guide him but usually the three of us are spot on. Stuart discovered that image from the San Francisco earthquake in the early 1900s. What I loved about the artwork is that some of my favorite album covers like Joy Division’s Closer this is archetypal and will stay in people’s minds.
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Universal Music Australia will release both a deluxe edition CD of the album and a 2LP 180 Gram Heavyweight Vinyl edition of the original release. The 2-CD Deluxe, Digital Deluxe & Vinyl Editions will feature newly remastered audio. Deluxe editions will also include a bonus disc consisting of alternate, live, radio sessions and bonus audio, and a booklet featuring the story of the album with new band interviews and previously unseen photos.
TOUR DATES:
Monday 9-Nov Perth
Astor Theatre
Tix on sale through Ticketek & StageTix
Thursday 12-Nov
Adelaide The Gov
Tix on sale through Ticketek and Oztix
Friday 13-Nov
Melbourne Palais Theatre
Tix on sale through Ticketmaster
Saturday 14-Nov
Sydney Enmore Theatre
Tix on sale through Ticketek
Monday 16-Nov
Brisbane The Tivoli
Tix on sale through Ticketmaster
