Joining Glyn Wilton‘s weekly ‘Mixed Music Bag’ once again.
Thanks for the opportunity, Glyn!

Mixed Music Bag 2024 – week 42 – So simple minded

For October, we are asked to highlight music from artists whose names start with “S” or “T” My selection today is a Canadian band, whose name had a different meaning in the U.S.*, namely, The Tea Party.

* In September 2011, political groups associated with the American Tea Party were trying to purchase the band’s domain name: teaparty.com, for over a million dollars. The band added the phrase “No politics… Just Rock and Roll” to their site in order to distance themselves from the political movement, and announced in February 2012 that they had not sold the domain.

HAVE YOU HEARD OF MOROCCAN ROLL?

The Tea Party was formed in 1990 by Jeff Martin, Stuart Chatwood and Jeff Burrows after a marathon jam session in Toronto. They had previously played together as teenagers in their hometown of Windsor, Ontario. They named their new band The Tea Party, after the infamous hash sessions of famous Beat generation poets Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs.

Regarded as a progressive rock band, The Tea Party’s style fuses “blues, industrial rock, and psychedelic–progressive rock with Middle Eastern influences. The band has described their style as “Moroccan Roll“. Tuonela magazine called it “emotive alternative rock, with hints of grunge and touches of oriental music”.

In October 2005, The Tea Party disbanded due to creative differences, with Martin abruptly announcing he was beginning a solo career. However, they reunited in 2011 for a concert tour. In December of that year, during a show in Montreal, the band announced they would hopefully record a new album in 2012 and that the break-up was over. Martin confirmed earlier implications by stating that “The Tea Party is back for good”.

“Walking Wounded” was first released in November 2000, as a Canadian promotional single, with a video filmed in Havana, Cuba. It is a complex composition, using 72 tracks and featuring a choral and string quartet. Jeff Martin claimed it was about a time in his life he’s glad is over.

“Walking Wounded” is the 8th track from The Tea Party’s sixth album, “The Interzone Mantras” (October 2001). It was named after William S. Burroughs’ book of short stories, “Interzone”, and the band’s interest in eastern mysticism and philosophies.

The Interzone Mantras sold 17,300 copies in Canada in its first week. Although not as commercially successful as previous albums, it is The Tea Party’s highest charting album in Australia (debuting at #6 on the ARIA chart) and certified Gold in Canada. It was also nominated for “Rock Album of the Year” at the 2003 Juno Awards.

A TEA PARTY SAMPLER:

The Tea Party has released eight albums with EMI Music Canada, selling over three million records worldwide, including four double-platinum awards, one platinum and four gold albums in Canada.

Thanks for stopping by!
I’d love to know what you think of this band.

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