The Tea Party (Jeff Martin)

0:00Well, start with that. Okay. The messenger. Danny Landlal cover. The messenger. Yes. Well, that song began, at least as far as the history of the two parties is concerned, we used to, we had a song called Save Me Off as Blender Solas. And Save Me was kind of our dazed and confused live. It would go sometimes for 20 minutes, you know? And the reason why it would is because we would do all these medleys, you know, in the monks like woven in between, you know, the verses and choruses of Save Me. One of the songs we started to play, because I was a big Daniel and Waffan was the messenger. And because Daniel's solo work isn't that well known.

0:45No, unfortunately. Yes, it's very unfortunate. Because, and actually people out there, you know, you pick up Daniel's first two solo records and you will not be disappointed. But anyway, it's up being said, because it wasn't well known, people like, especially Tea Party fans, they started to assume that this was actually our song, like a new song that we were writing or something like that. And even some of the folks at EMI, believe it or not, right? And when they found out, you know, that it was a Daniel and Waff song, they asked me if I would consider it, if we would consider it, you know, to record it on Triptych. And we had not done a cover up until that point, you know, on any of our records. But the way that I produced it, I made sure that, you know, you know, like Daniel's version

1:34is very ethereal and, you know, it's a Daniel and Waff production. And mine had to sound, you know, like the Tea Party and my style of production. So I was very happy with the outcome of it. And you know, one of the greatest compliments I ever got was when I actually became friends with Daniel and the Tea Party was his backup band for One Nights in Toronto at the Film Festival, yeah. And Daniel wouldn't sing the messenger because he told me that I did a better version and also that he was seriously contemplating just writing songs for the Tea Party for now, because it made more money. And so, yeah, so, yeah, the messenger.

2:19Crazy. Heaven coming down. Heaven coming down. Heaven coming down was basically created out of boredom. And the boredom coming from, I hate video shoots. Hate them. I'm glad we got the video camera in here though. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But you know, like these long tedious rock and roll videos, right? And it's all hurry up and wait. And it was, we were shooting the video for release, okay? And I had just gotten the Rick and Barker 12 string. And so release would have been the last single on the transmission record. And I was, you know, just two hours, three hours in the trailer, right? And I got this Rick and Barker 12 string.

3:05And like I tend to do with all my guitars, I just tuned them into something totally wacky. And just to see how far I can stretch it, how far can I stretch this instrument, this guitar and get some sounds. I was always a big fan of Roger McGwin's work with the birds. Oh, you didn't say the Rick and Barker, yeah. And also from my days of classical studies and whatnot, you know, skip string picking is always something that fascinated me. You know, where the guitar starts to chime and chime. And you know, there's nothing more chimeier than a Rick and Barker 12 string. No one has ever really approached it in the way that I did with that tuning for Heaven Coming Down, which is basically it's like an open A minor tuning, right? But it's played in a major scale. It's played in the QFC.

3:52And so I came up with this riff like, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah. All this, like, you know, skip string picking on it. And I remember, like, you know, 3 hours later, and I figured out this whole pattern on the Rick and Barker 12 and I remember, like, going out to Jeff and Stewart and going and you know what boys, I think I might have just written our biggest song. What'd you say it is though, now, looking back? You know, I'd say it was probably our most successful song as far as like commercial radio is concerned, you know? But I wouldn't say having it coming down represents the Tea Party at all. What song does? I'd say the song that probably encapsulates the Tea Party would either be, it's like a cross between sister awake and temptation. To me, that's the Tea Party, you know?

4:38Well, let's do temptation, then. How about that? Temptation. Yeah. Well, you can do angels, but now that you say temptation, that's a good sound too. Okay, all right, well, you know, as far as temptation is concerned, you know, I've always been a proponent of, especially with songwriting, you know, you have to live it to be able to sing it, you know? And I led a very, very decadent dark rock star life, you know, you name it. I did it, pinched it, got the T-shirt, you know? And I went to some very dark places back then, you know? And no regrets at all. You know, I was playing with fire. And luckily, you know, I didn't get burned that bad, but when I sing about temptation in this song

5:25and, you know, driven by restrained desire, I want what I need. I'm shaking as her sex takes hold of lost all control. I mean it. So good. Thanks, Jeff. Really appreciate you coming on in, man. It's gonna be awesome. So you're gonna play us a tune a little bit here, March 12th Festival Place Sherwood Park, your in town, new band, new disc, three-piece again. Three-piece again, yeah. And you know, if I'm coming back to Canada with a three-piece, it better be a damn good three-piece, right? It's gonna be as loud as the old days. It was very loud back then. Yeah, it's gonna be loud. It's gonna be loud. It's gonna be loud. The seven seven, seven, so, these guys from Sleepy Jackson and Big Aussie Band, a lot of people up here don't know who they are. Yeah, yeah, no, but an incredible rhythm section. Like Malcolm Clark, The Drummer is, I've never seen more of a cross between John Bonham and Keith Moon in my life, you know?

6:11So he's just crazy and crazy, you know? And but very powerful. And Jay Kortz has such an amazing multi-instrumentalist, but his bass play is something for bass players to come and watch because he makes it sound like almost like a lead guitarist sometimes, you know? But while keeping it all happening. And so it's for musicians out there, this is definitely a concert that you wanna come and see. We've been talking about musical art. You seem to be very knowledgeable in the music. Obviously we've been doing it for a long time, but what led you to the Indian sounds and all this? Was it the doors? Was it George Harrison? Or what was it? I would have been George Harrison. Yeah. No, I was never, you know, I mean, I know what I look like, okay? And all that stuff. But I was never, never ever a fan of the doors because I'm not a fan of organ music. You know that?

6:56Okay. And it's like, you know, just reminds me being a kid and like, you know, terrible clowns and nightmares and stuff like that. You know, so the doors never really turned me on. But the Beatles, yeah, definitely. I was a Beatles fanatic as a young, young child. And you know, I remember eight years old, nine years old, getting my first copy of Sergeant Pepper's and hearing George Harrison's track within you, without you and the sit-start. And that for me kind of proved to me, I wouldn't have known it back then. But that was the start of me believing in past lives because there's no reason why some young kid from Windsor, Ontario, eight or nine years old could understand, you know, Indian music and have an affinity, such an affinity for it and all that.

7:43So it kind of lends itself to, you know, that whole theory of having a bit of credibility, you know. So, and then from there, it was just an exploration of anything from that part of the world, India, the Middle East or whatever, I just gravitated towards, there was something about it that was so familiar and just, you know, it's like, I just, I needed it, wanted it. And the combination of that music and rock music together, I think is like the most powerful thing, you know. The Tea Party, the name, now that I assume you to be a lefty as well. I am, yes. What do you think about the name of the Tea Party now getting a right-wing connotation the United States? I'm sorry, man. It's just, it's just embarrassing. It's horrible, you know. And like, you know, what the Tea Party even stood for

8:31in American history, you know, what these people are using it for, you know, the Sarah Palans and all that stuff. I mean, it's just, how can, how can people be so ignorant and so blind to stupidity? You know what I mean? It's just, I mean, you know, but there's a good portion of our American friends over there that they really need to get the shit together. You know, because whether we like it or not, right now, until China takes over, America is, America is, you know, like the police force of the world, you know, to a certain extent or they like to think so. And if, you know, could you imagine if these, if these nitwits, you know, actually got any type of power, you know, they're just a bunch of, you know, racist, born-again Christian, you know, it's like, oh my goodness. Guns?

9:17Yeah, guns. They're guns. And bam-o-licker, you know. That's very rock and roll too kind of a little bit, but in a bad way. Not my rock and roll. No. You're gonna play us a song going on in minute too. Brandi tuned for the new record, The Ground Cives Out. Want to tell us about it? Yeah, well, this song is, it's one of my faves on the record. And it's a new style, you know, for me. And I'd say that Jake Wertz has had a lot to do with bringing this style into the band. It's very sort of, you know, Southern American rock, you know, that type of thing, right? And, but like, you know, early 70s. And this song, it's called The Riverland Rambler. And it's about a friend of ours in Perth. This gentleman's probably in his mid 50s, bald, big white beard. Looks like he's in Hell's Angels or something, right? But the sweetheart, sweetheart of the earth.

10:03And we still can't figure it out because he has the hottest wife in the world, you know. So it's like, he's the Riverland Rambler. He's got all this wisdom, you know, and he lives with a dancer, you know? Cool man. There's something there, sure about here. Yeah.