The Tea Party?

Question

I would really like this answered, please.
We are so far behind in a lot of things in Australia.
Is it true that The Tea Party split up? (I also heard that Jeff Martin is living here in Australia.)
If so, when did it happen and was Seven Circles their final album?

no need for sarcasm or abuse about being "lazy"
I'm just soing what everyone else does and asking questions about something I want answers to!!!!

Answer 1

Tragically, yes--they did split up. :(

This article has tons of info on the split and Jeff's reasons for quitting the band. http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/2005/10/21/1272987-ca.html

Singer-guitarist Jeff Martin quit his rock band The Tea Party because he felt its "artistic destiny had been fulfilled" after 15 years together. He is now living in "self-imposed exile" in Ireland with his wife and young son, making plans to record a solo album, tentatively titled "Exile And The Kingdom."

"One thing I don't want this interview to become about is the internal politics of the band," says Martin on his cell phone from southwest Cork. "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."

When the press release announcing Martin's departure went out on Oct. 18 as a favour to the frontman from Beth Waldman, an old friend of The Tea Party's and former publicist at the band's label, EMI Music Canada, bassist/keyboardist Stuart Chatwood and drummer Jeff Burrows said they did not know the band was finished. They would not go on record about the split, but both posted their feelings on their web site.

"As far as Jeff Burrows and myself were concerned, the band was taking an extended break," Chatwood wrote in part.

"Just so you know for a FACT; this announcement is a shock to both me and Stuart," said Burrows.

The full posts can be read on www.teaparty-online.com.

Some of the details about the break-up are personal and do not belong in a public forum or the media, but the ones that do, Martin is more than happy to discuss.

Almost two years ago, his manager and great friend Steve Hoffman passed away from cancer, which was an extraordinarily difficult time. "The message of Steve's strength in his passing was 'Enjoy what you're doing, but make damn sure that what you're doing is what you want to be doing,'" says Martin when asked if his death affected his life-changing decision?

This reporter has known The Tea Party since we were both starting out in our respective careers. The childhood friends made an independent CD in 1991, which I reviewed for the now defunct CMJ Canada. Liking what I had to say, I got a call from the trio's management (at that time Michael White) asking me to write the band's bio.

I saw them play a few times and loving the Middle Eastern-tinged rock (yes, Zeppelin meets the Doors, but like nothing a Canadian act had produced before), I gave the CD to Jody Mitchell, then A&R at EMI Music Canada, who signed the band. The Tea Party remains on the label to this day -- from 1993's double-platinum "Splendor Solis" to the latest gold-selling "Seven Circles," released in 2004.

"You remember back in the day when you sat cross-legged on the floor to see us play? Even back then, I was a man with a vision and I believe that I kept true to it, and that was that I had a vision of an artistic destiny for that band and I believe, in my heart of hearts, that, with "Seven Circles," everything came to proper end," Martin explains.

"The three of us were discussing another record, but I just found myself not being inspired to write another one for that vehicle. Something about it wasn't making sense to me and once I had a chance to just get away and to think about it, the realization was that, yes, the artistic destiny had been fulfilled.

"A lot of bands, when they start off, their aspirations are maybe more towards commercial success, but with my band it was always about movements, pushing the envelope."

Four days before he officially announced he was leaving The Tea Party, Martin says he sat down with his wife, and listened to a few of the band's earlier albums and was particularly impressed with 1995's "The Edges Of Twilight." "I just turned to Nicole and said, 'Did we do that?'" he recounts, proudly.

"It's been an amazing output of work, but, at the same time, I just felt that it came time for a change, a different lifestyle. I wanted time to spend much more time with my new family, my little one, and also I felt confident that everything was said with The Tea Party, and what needed to be said now, as far as my artistry was concerned, is I really needed to distill my vision into something that was more personal."

One of Martin's solo songs, "Angel Dust," says it all.

The lyric goes: "I looked inside myself/And I glimpsed my fragile state/I then said goodbye to all those friends and I walked away/Because you my love have always understood my soul/So let's go/Marching on towards light."

That said, Martin has been marching towards this light the past two years, writing solo material and stashing it away. "Some of it I didn't feel was suitable for the direction of The Tea Party at the time, and some of it I selfishly withheld," he says, laughing. "Whether songs are completed or not completed, right now it's very subjective because I just need to get back to work and record them, but I could say that half the record is completed."

He says he will record it at his "holiday house" in Ireland and at folk legend Roy Harper's studio, about a half-hour away. Martin has been friends with Harper since the early '90s. The 64-year-old, who is immortalized in the Led Zeppelin song "Hats Off To (Roy) Harper" on Led Zeppelin III, is a big reason Martin and his family relocated to Ireland.

"I've had some very strong friendships, but the one that I've cherished, that's been nurtured, is with him," says Martin. "Roy's seen it, done it, got the t-shirt. Rock 'n' roll is nothing new for him. Roy does not judge. He takes someone at face value, and, yes, casts judgments aside.

"And for me, especially, with the pressures of being a quote-unquote rock star and all that stuff, it's just very refreshing to come back over here and visit him and sit down with him and let him give me his version of my life (laughs) and his version of my life sounded a hell of a lot better than the version that I had. So Roy's been not only one of my best friends, but he's a guru of sorts for me."

Martin then adds that he has just spoken with Harper, who gave him a quote to pass on. "If you want to use a quote from Roy Harper, instead of me, if you wanted to know what (the solo songs) sound like, Roy Harper gave me permission to tell you that it sounds like the acoustic side of Led Zeppelin III meets a Jeff Buckley, Nick Drake."

Martin says he will play a multitude of stringed instruments on the solo album and will bring over Ritesh Das of the Toronto Tabla Ensemble to add percussion. "Ninety per cent of it will be solo," he says.

The projected release date is mid-winter, sometime around February. The tentative title, "Exile And The Kingdom," is taken from a 1958 Albert Camus book, which contains six stories about a revelation or liberation of some kind. "Makes sense with what I'm doing with my life right now," explains Martin.

The Tea Party played its last show Aug. 28 in Victoria, BC, a one-off headlining gig following its opening slot for Def Leppard. Martin then took off to Ireland with little contact with the band or anyone in his business camp. Why the disappearing act?

"That was just protection," he says. "Any time you make a drastic move like this -- and it is drastic -- when things are almost sterile for so many years, I needed to make this shift, but in order to make this shift I had to do it on my own terms. So, yeah, some feathers get ruffled, but by no means whatsoever do I mean any malice or anything towards any of those situations because I love them all. They were just great friends."

But what The Tea Party fans all want to know -- is this really the end of the band, as far as he is concerned?

"There's a lot of things that would have to change before The Tea Party get back together, but I'm not ruling out the possibility of those changes," Martin says. "These days, I like to think about things positively especially with my son. The dark side of Jeff Martin, it exists. It's still there, but I can access it anytime I want, but I don't want it to manifest itself in my day to day existence."

He says Buffalo, NY attorney Michael Lee Jackson, who he met through producer and friend Nick Blagona, will likely manage his solo career. "He's going to be handling my day to day affairs. It will probably venture into a management situation as well," says Martin.

Toronto's SRO Management, which is helmed by Ray Danniels, Rush's long-time manager, has been handling The Tea Party's career for about a decade. "If there is ever a day in the future that the band gets back together, SRO will manage the band," says Martin. "I believe in loyalty and I love what Ray Danniels has done for the band and I respect his wisdom and the friendship he's shared with me over the years and obviously his ties with Steve, everything. But with my solo career, my family, my wife and my parents included, we just decided that for this venture, it's very important to do something different right now."

As for shopping the solo album to other labels or remaining with EMI Music Canada, Martin, understandably, says it's too early, and will make those decisions later with Jackson.

"This is all very brand new to me," says Martin. "As far as the record labels are concerned, I haven't even tried yet to see what it's going to bring. It will be interesting because from all accounts, from people who have heard stuff that I've done, they claim that it's more accessible than any of The Tea Party's music, so that might make it a helluva lot more enticing, but at the same time I'm very cognizant, I really want to maintain control over all of this."

Answer 2

Your racism and lack of expertise are exhibiting. Tea bagger is a gay term. Michael Steele is a black guy, no longer a "meant" black guy. He does not desire he grew to become into white, and he's a patriotic American, no longer an uncle Tom. recover from the racism and picture approximately what's suitable for the rustic. Be embarrassed for your self.

Answer 3

a bunch of guys got mad about a tax..threw a bunch of tea in the river blamed it on the indians..end of story..read an american history book..you australians kill me...lol..dont freak out its a joke...never heard of them..i thought it was a band..shows what i know

Answer 4

who the hell is The Tea Party

Answer 5

idk who that is. look it up on the web. it would be on the bands web page.