The Tea Party is a Canadian rock band from Windsor, Ontario, with blues, pr… Read Full Bio ↴The Tea Party is a Canadian rock band from Windsor, Ontario, with blues, progressive rock and Middle Eastern influences who formed in 1990 and disbanded in October 2005. They reformed in 2011 to play some shows in Canada. They have released seven albums commercially during their time together. Guitarist and vocalist Jeff Martin, who has perfect pitch, was also producer for almost all of their albums. All three members played a range of instruments and they took up to 37 on tour with them at times in their career. They were very successful in Canada and Australia, and to a lesser extent in Europe, but never managed to crack the American market.

The band received some media criticism for Jeff Martin's Jim Morisson-like stage persona in some of its videos and their Led Zeppelin-esq riffs, although he seemed determined to be striving to create his own image and sound. His looks certainly do draw some comparison, however, to The Doors' late front man.

Their sound is hard to categorize as each album possessed different themes and influences. Splendor Solis (1993) was a more acoustic, blues-based record, while Edges of Twilight (1995) was much darker with strong Middle Eastern influences on several tracks. Transmission (1997) saw a dramatic change to a darker, more industrial-tinged sound, and it was distributed in the USA by Atlantic Records. The last three albums by the band featured various efforts to attract a wider commercial audience, with the single "Heaven Coming Down" reaching No.1 on the Canadian mainstream charts in 1999.

In 2000, Capitol Records finally released a retrospective compilation in the USA of their Canadian singles entitled Tangents after only releasing their first two albums south of the border.

The Tea Party released The Interzone Mantras in 2001, but it did not possess the singles of its predecessors.

In October 2005, a year after their final album Seven Circles was released, Jeff Martin left the band and embarked on a solo career, releasing an album in early 2006. Jeff Burrows (drummer) and Stuart Chatwood (bass/synthesiser) have also had post-Tea Party successes, the former in several projects and the latter in soundtrack composition. Burrows and Chatwood worked together on a new project called The Art Decay before Burrows joined Crash Karma in 2008.

On April 12th 2011, an official Facebook page was launched with a biography section that closed with "The band is scheduled to play a select number of dates in 2011. No other info was available at this time." The following day, the local radio station K106.3 announced the Sarnia Bayfest lineup including The Tea Party, which was later confirmed by drummer Jeff Burrows on his radio show on April 13th. Burrows further stated that a Canadian tour was also in the works.

The Tea Party performed at the Cisco Systems Bluesfest in Ottawa, Ontario on July 14th, 2011, and the band will be playing a Canadian tour commencing on November 15th, 2011 in Vancouver. The band's website and tour is called "THE TEA PARTY - No Politics... Just Rock and Roll". In September 2011, the band was reportedly approached to sell its website URL for over a million dollars by the extremely popular American political movement bearing the same name: www.teaparty.com.

Chimera
The Tea Party Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

you say it's all about intention
a chimera in disguise
its about your life, the greed
the loneliness it needs now
just to say you've claimed the prize
of letting go...

you say it's all about your virtue

but like a harlequin of shame
you look around and hear the sound
of intention gone a ground now
because it's all about the fame

and now your letting go
but it's a little late
there's little time to show

so tell me now...
would you do it all again...
could you do it all again...

you say it's all about
forgiveness now...
well you can grovel if you'd like
but turn around,
do you hear that sound

that's integrity gone a'ground now
in the name of sacrifice

Overall Meaning

In "Chimera," The Tea Party explores the notion that people often deceive themselves into thinking they are pursuing worthy goals, such as success or virtue, when in reality their true motivations are greed and a desire for fame. The opening lines of the song establish this idea as the singer addresses someone who insists their actions are motivated purely by intention. The term "chimera" refers to a mythical creature composed of various animals, and the reference here suggests that whatever the singer's interlocutor may believe they are pursuing is actually a hodgepodge of self-centered desires masquerading as nobler intentions.

The second verse repeats this theme, emphasizing the gap between the singer's interlocutor's self-image as virtuous and the reality of their situation. Here, the focus shifts to the pursuit of fame, which the singer says has led to the "intention gone aground now." The idea is that in seeking acclaim, the singer's interlocutor has lost sight of their original goals, creating a confused and shameful situation.

The song's chorus returns to the notion that letting go of these harmful pursuits may be too little, too late. The sense of regret is palpable when the singer asks if their interlocutor would do it all again, recognizing the damage that has been done. The final verse explores the idea that even a professed desire for forgiveness is another form of deception - the singer implies that sacrifice in the name of integrity has been abandoned in favor of "groveling," further reinforcing the idea that the pursuit of worthy goals has devolved into something much less admirable.

Overall, "Chimera" takes a skeptical view of the motives behind human behavior, pointing out that even the most noble-sounding goals can be tainted by selfish impulses. The song's imagery and word choice emphasize the flimsiness of these excuses, highlighting the danger of self-delusion.

Line by Line Meaning

you say it's all about intention
You claim that everything is about what you meant to do

a chimera in disguise
But it's really a fabrication, a myth disguised as truth

its about your life, the greed
The truth is it's all about your life and your insatiable greed

the loneliness it needs now
Your need for attention and validation leaves you feeling alone

just to say you've claimed the prize of letting go...
You think you've achieved something by letting go, but it's just a false sense of accomplishment

you say you're all about your virtue
You claim to be all about your moral goodness

but it's a harlequin of shame
But really it's a facade, a costume hiding shame

you look around confused by the sound of intention gone aground now
You're bewildered by the consequences of your failed intentions

because it's all about the fame
Because in reality, it's all about getting attention and recognition

and now you're letting go
Now you're finally relinquishing control

but it's a little late
But it's too little, too late

there's little time to show
You don't have much time left to prove yourself

so tell me now...
So, I ask you now...

would you do it all again...
Would you make the same choices again?

could you do it all again...
Do you have the ability to make those choices again?

you say it's all about forgiveness now...
You claim that now it's all about forgiveness

well you can grovel if you'd like
You can beg and plead all you want