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.

Underground
The Tea Party Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

i don't need your redemption
i don't want you to deceive me
and I don't need your forgiveness
i only want you to believe me

do you see me here
i'm standing naked
do you see me here on my knees

now all my life i've been wandering
looking for teachers with the keys
nothing found still searching
for sound...
underground

now let me tell you about a story
it's about a man consumed with vice
theosophical in nature
and hedonistic in disguise

and all my life he's been wandering
searchign for teachers with the keys

nothing found still searching for sound
underground...

Overall Meaning

The Tea Party's song Underground is a powerful message that talks about self-awareness, self-belief, and the quest for knowledge. The opening of the song with the lyrics, "i don't need your redemption, i don't want you to deceive me, and I don't need your forgiveness, i only want you to believe me" sets the tone of the song. The singer is speaking directly to the listener, stating that they don't care for other people's opinions or judgments, but they want to be heard and understood.

The lyrics convey the message of someone who has always been searching for something, but has never quite found it. This theme continues into the second verse where the singer talks about a man consumed with vice who is searching for teachers with the keys. Through these lyrics and structure, the song conveys a sense of struggle and searching, and a strong desire to understand and connect with the world.

Furthermore, the singer talks about being naked and on their knees, which symbolizes vulnerability and humility. The overall message of the song reflects a yearning for greater knowledge and a deeper understanding of the world, regardless of the struggles and obstacles that come with that quest.

Line by Line Meaning

i don't need your redemption
I don't require you to save me from sin

i don't want you to deceive me
I don't wish for you to lie or mislead me

and I don't need your forgiveness
I don't need you to pardon me for my wrongdoings

i only want you to believe me
Only acceptance of my words is what I desire

do you see me here
Can you perceive my existence

i'm standing naked
I am bare and exposed

do you see me here on my knees
Can you acknowledge my vulnerable position

now all my life i've been wandering
Throughout my life, I have been aimlessly traveling

looking for teachers with the keys
Searching for mentors with access to hidden knowledge

nothing found still searching
Yet to discover what I seek, I persist in my quest

for sound...
For music to inspire me