They have come a long way since the first chords of their eponymous 1991 debut album out. And with a new album on the way, the first in 10years, the Tea Party's Jeff Martin is feeling decidedly upbeat. Called The Ocean at the End, for fans old and new, "It's exactly what every one wants," Martin says. "It's the best of our abilities and all the different styles that make up that Tea Party sound. So it's all there."
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A labourof love, for The Ocean at the End the band took their time to make sure that everything was right. If the Tea Party was going to put out a new album it had to be one that could stand alongside or surpass their previous releases. "And the three of us feel in our heart of hearts that that is exactly what we've accomplished," Martin says.
Saying the album and upcoming tour is very much a re-birth, the Tea Party are not trying to rehash the past. "We're going to stand right up there with the Foo Fighters and the Queens of the Stone age and all that. And I have all the respect in the world for those bands, but I do believe that rock and roll needs a band like the Tea Party now," Martin says. "We're not reliving past glories. The Tea Party is not a '90s band. It just is not. It is now. And that's what we're going to do."
This album also sees a return to lead-guitar-god status for Martin, who admits he let that aspect of his onstage persona take a back seat in recent years.
"I kind of put the whole lead guitarist, nouveau Jimmy Page thing on the back-burner for quite some time because I was concentrating on the compositional aspect more than being the balls-out lead guitarist," he says. Wanting to set the standard for hard rock bands in today's market place, "It was something that I had to take on again. And I tell you what, I'm just having a blast doing it. It is fun to play electric guitar. I'm loving it."
Discussing tapping into that special magic that made the Tea Party such a mammoth experience to listen to and, better still, experience live, "It just flows, you know," Martin says. "The beautiful thing about this band is that it's organic. It's not pieced together in the studio and everything else, or a Pro Tools situation. It's a very organic rock 'n' roll thing, which rock 'n' roll should be. Period. Discussion over. That's the way rock 'n' roll should be."
Sounding positive about being able to now go out into the world to tour and celebrate that accomplishment, Martin says he is keen to turn people on to some "serious rock 'n'roll."
And he is in a good place to enjoy it.
"Mentally, physically, spiritually, I couldn't be in a better place if I tried with everything that's happening right now," he says. "It's a good life."
At least some of that positivity can be put down to how satisfied he is with living right here in Australia.
"I just love the lifestyle here, and especially what rock 'n' roll is … the life of a quote un-quote rock star and everything, the houses that I've set up here now really bring a very needed serenity when you come off that rollercoaster."
The Tea Party
When: 8pm Friday,October 17
Where: ANU Bar, Acton
Tickets: From $81.46 available from ticketek.com.au
