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The Tea Party, officially formed in 1990 after a marathon jam session at the Cherry Beach Rehearsal Studios on Toronto's waterfront. Drummer Jeff Burrows and Guitarist & Vocalist Jeff Martin were childhood friends, while Martin met Bassist & Keyboardist Stuart Chatwood, in highschool in Windsor.
In June of 1991 their first album was released independently and mainly distributed throughout Ontario. The album drew influences from psychedelic rock and blues from the 1960s and 1970s.
The Tea Party, toured the Ontario Club Circuit in 1992. During this time the band turned down several offers of recording contracts from major record labels, demanding complete artistic control over their records. While most companies refused to give the control they wanted, EMI Music Canada, offered them that assurance.
In 1993 The Tea Party's first major label recording titled Splendor Solis was released. The album was described by the band as "having a very earthy feel to the music and the very sound of the record." Overseas territories such as Australia and Europe, embrace The Tea Party, and successful tours follow. Splendor Solis is The Tea Party's first Gold release in Australia. In March 1994, the band are the first Canadian artist, the first EMI artist and among the world's first half dozen artists to perform a live Internet only concert.
Using over 30 different exotic and acoustic instruments (including a rare 1916 Gibson harp guitar as a template, 1995's The Edges of Twilight, harmoniously blended North African, Middle Eastern and Indian exotics with heavy rock sounds and dark mystical lyrics. The Tea Party complete an extensive U.S. tour, earn 3 Juno Nominations and win the MuchMusic Video Award for Favourite Music Video for "The Bazaar".
The 1996 EP Alhambra, was used as a bridge between The Edges of Twilight and the band's next release. It feautures 4 beautifully intricate re-worked acoustic songs from The Edges of Twilight and 2 others - the first a song titled Time, with Roy Harper on vocals, the second a remix of Sister Awake, by Rhys Fulber. Alhambra, also feautured a multimedia CD-ROM component that the band used as a way to explain themselves, inviting fans to explore the details of exotic instruments, song meanings and video & audio clips. A brief touring stint around Canada known as Alhambra Acoustic And Eclectic, followed the EP's release,
In 1997 The Tea Party's exciting evolution from 'blues-rock', to 'eastern-rock', to its current hybrid of 'industrial-acoustic-soul', was sealed with the release of Transmission. With aggressive vocals and brooding poetry, the band successfully fused sounds used in the past releases with electronica. The artwork for Transmission, a painting by Chatwood titled The Earth We Inherit, once again conveyed the mood and feeling of the period.
In June 1998 Jeff Martin hosts and performs at the first ever White Ribbon Campaign concert. In March, The Tea Party release a limited edition four-track sampler featuring their Top 5 single, "Release", donating all profits to the White Ribbon Campaign.
In 1999 Triptych is released. A 'set of three artistic works hinged or tied together' is one meaning behind the album's title. The first single from Triptych, "Heaven Coming Down" goes to ..1 at radio - a first for the band.
In 2000 The Tea Party, celebrated ten years of musical exploration with the release of Tangents - The Tea Party Collection. A fifteen-song compilation of new, hit, rare and remixed tracks.
In 2001 The Tea Party are the first Canadian artist to offer 5.1 mixes of all of their videos along with other exciting elements on their debut DVD, Illuminations. The Tea Party then go back to the beginning with The Interzone Mantras. The album is recorded in 20 days at Le Studio in Morin Heights, Quebec.
The Tea Party embark on a 7 city Canadian tour opening for Ozzy Osbourne in 2002. A headline tour of Canada follows later that year and the band adapt their live show to include members from the local symphony orchestras in each city and share the stage with cellist - Sheila Hannigan, Canadian born Kathak dancer - Joanna Das and operatic sensation - Christine Williams.
In September/October, 2003, the band head to Hawaii to work with Bob Rock and record 3 tracks for their new record then in 2004 the band team up with Juno Award winning producer, Gavin Brown to record Seven Circles. The Tea Party perform at The White Ribbon Concert, once again hosted by Jeff Martin and honour the band's late manager, Steve Hoffman.
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."
[Courtesy of Wikipedia]
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