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.
The Bazaar
The Tea Party Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
beneath its depths the forgotten streams
above, the city of the evening star
behind its walls, the grand bazaar
as she walks through its endless maze
cursing those who mistrust her ways
please my friend no matter what she sees
tell my lover come back to me
doorways spilling out their sombre light
casting shadows that will raid the night
along the alleys of her ruling fears
walk the visions that will cause her tears
lying still as she wills her glance
through the eyes of a charmer's trance
please my friend no matter what she sees
tell my lover come back to me
and on the walls
shadows play
twilight souls
anguished ways
lost adrift
severed seas
i await you
come to me
The Tea Party's "The Bazaar" is a song that takes place in a dream-like state, where the singer is wandering through a vast marketplace called the grand bazaar. The setting is filled with contrasts, such as the silence of the waters in the forgotten streams and the somber light that spills out of the doorways. The city of the evening star looms above in the background, casting shadows that will raid the night. Throughout her wandering, the singer is searching for her lover, hoping that no matter what she sees, her friend will tell her lover to come back to her.
The themes of mistrust and ruling fears are prevalent in the song. The singer curses those that mistrust her ways and walks through endless mazes. She sees visions that will cause her tears, and she wills her gaze through the eyes of a charmer's trance. The walls play shadows, and those lost adrift suffer in severed seas. As the song comes to a close, she awaits the return of her lover, begging for them to come to her.
Line by Line Meaning
silence swimming in a pool of dreams
A silence that pervades in the midst of dreams
beneath its depths the forgotten streams
Underneath those dreams lie forgotten memories
above, the city of the evening star
Above the dreams and memories, there's a city that relates to the evening star
behind its walls, the grand bazaar
Behind the city walls there's a grand bazaar
as she walks through its endless maze
The artist walks in the endless maze of the bazaar
cursing those who mistrust her ways
Cursing those who do not trust the singer
please my friend no matter what she sees
The singer requests their friend to help, regardless of what they see
tell my lover come back to me
Asking their lover to return
doorways spilling out their sombre light
Doorways emit a dim light, that's blue or grey
casting shadows that will raid the night
Shadows from the doorways take over the night
along the alleys of her ruling fears
The singer walks through the alleys of her fear
walk the visions that will cause her tears
Her fears become visible, and unbearable for her
lying still as she wills her glance
The singer is immobile, as she wants to see
through the eyes of a charmer's trance
She sees, through the eyes of a charmer's magic
and on the walls
On the bazaar's walls
shadows play
Shadows appear
twilight souls
Souls that relate to the shadowed part of the day
anguished ways
Sad paths
lost adrift
Lost in the void
severed seas
Divided oceans apart
i await you
The artist awaits their lover
come to me
Asking their lover to approach
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JEFFREY JOHN BURROWS, JEFFREY SCOTT MARTIN, STUART CHATWOOD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@dougalex9521
Silence swimming in a pool of dreams
Beneath its depths forgotten streams
Above, the city of the evening star
Behind its walls, the grand bazaar
As she walks through its endless maze
Cursing those who mistrust her ways
Please my friend no matter what she sees
Tell my lover come back to me
Doorways spilling out their sombre light
Casting shadows that will raid the night
Along the alley of her ruling fears
Walk the vision that will cause her tears
Lying still as she wills her glance
Though the eyes of a charmer's trance
Please my friend no matter what she sees
Tell my lover come back to me
And on the walls
Shadows play
Twilight souls
Anguished ways
Lost adrift
Severed seas
I await you
Come to me
@savage1254
From same hometown as the boys in tea party!!! Seen these bad asses when first starting to come to light, in small bars in Windsor, Ont!!! These guys kicking ass in the Coach and horses, small bar downtown Windsor, absolutely phenomenal live, never got the recognition they deserved!!!! Tea Party and Badass Bob “Probie” Probert to come out of Windsor, Ontario, Canada!!!!!
@shmenge987
This is still the greatest song I've ever heard. It's as good today as it was back then. The Tea Party have a habit of creating amazing songs that will live forever. I've turned a few people on to this band, and this is usually the song I use. If someone, for some reason, has never heard of Tea Party, this song will easily get them hooked.
@jameslong9921
Thanks for the tip was thinking of getting someone I know who would not normally listen to this style of music to check them out, this whole album is fantastic as far as im concerned.
@PhilippeDumontPicturalys
This and Sister Awake !
@jameslong9921
@Philippe Dumont Epic song.
@bent3736
Definitely worked on me when I heard this song on the radio in 95 or 96 as a kid. Had never heard anything like it and I was hooked. It was also a big moment of disillusionment as I was baffled and outraged that this band wasn't MUCH more popular. Psychopomp was actually the song that most helped me get other people into them.
@Trancifiedx
I remember I used this song as part of a English assignment by dissecting the meaning of the lyrics.
@jasonwonkawich5275
This has to be the best drum beat ever recorded. How is that even possible? I wonder if Neil Peart ever heard it, and what he'd think?
Drummer's a hero, man! Bravo!
@thinng
well you have Bonham to thank really even though Peart may be the supeerior
@Lawnchairolympian
Goddammit I miss the 90s so much. This brings back great memories. I wish I could go back.