Brothers in Music: Jeff Martin Reflects on the Legacy and Longevity of The Tea Party
The Tea Party have cultivated a loving relationship with Australian fans that has lasted close to 30 years. Over that time, the band has gone through ups and downs but remained favourites with local crowds. Ahead of The Tea Party’s upcoming Elements Tour, the band’s vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Martin spoke with The Note about the band’s longevity, performing with an orchestra and his enduring relationship with his bandmates.
Interview Tobias Handke // Image Francesca Ludikar
The Tea Party are celebrating 35 years in 2026 as a band, which is a commendable achievement when you consider how much the music industry has changed over the years. How proud are you of what the band has been able to accomplish and the longevity of The Tea Party?
I am so incredibly proud of what The Tea Party has accomplished for such a long period of time. It has been a blessing to perform with my best friends, my brothers. It’s so wonderful to see our original fans come to shows with their young adult kids, and now a new generation of young people appreciating our music is just wild!
Since the band’s beginnings, what do you think are the biggest changes to the music industry?
The biggest change, in my opinion, is that income from record sales has been compromised due to the free accessibility via certain streaming platforms. I still truly believe in the endeavour of writing and recording music for the audience. But truth be told, the only meaningful source of income these days is via live touring.
Do you have any advice for upcoming artists?
My advice to upcoming artists is to concentrate on your craft, keep the dream alive and focus on the ability to deliver in a live setting with integrity and with true authenticity.
You’ve known your bandmates for decades, with Jeff Burrows being a close friend since your childhood. How have the three of you managed to maintain your friendship over the years despite some rough patches, such as the band’s five-year hiatus?
That’s a good question and I have a great answer! My drummer, Jeff Burrows, and I have known each other since I was five years old and he was six years old. We had our first band together when I was 11 and he was 12. It was called The Suspects.
JB and I met Stuart Chatwood in my first year of high school, and the three of us were in and out of bands together until 1990, when we formed The Tea Party and decided to make a red hot go of it.
When you mention the “rough patch”, the old adage of “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” applies. In hindsight, the five-year hiatus was a blessing in disguise. It was almost like a recharge of our friendships. Once we came back together, we realised how important and unique our music was and is.
Our bond has carried us throughout – pretty much – our entire lives. We have not looked back because our respect for each other is deeply ingrained. We all feel so grateful for second chances, but having said that, I don’t really believe our coming back together was a second chance. It was just a part of a divine plan.
Now, we are hitting our strides better than we ever have. It’s humbling, and it’s beautiful. And the best is yet to come!
Although you mention not looking back over your career, what’s the biggest highlight so far?
It’s a tie between opening up for Jimmy Page and Robert Plant at the Montreal Forum in 1996 and performing at the SARS Benefit in Toronto alongside the likes of The Rolling Stones and AC DC in 2003 in front of 500,000 people.
While The Tea Party is celebrating its past, you continue to record and make music. What motivates you to keep making and performing music?
I believe if an artist becomes complacent and rests on their laurels, they become somewhat artistically stagnant, so therefore I continue to be a searcher of world music, especially from North Africa, the Middle East, Turkey and India, which is an unlimited well of inspiration.
Has your approach to writing and recording changed over the journey?
Not really, no. My creative process has always been to start with an acoustic six or 12-string guitar and build the song from there.
To still be successful after so many years, there’s obviously a connection between you and the fans. Why do you think your music resonates with people?
I believe it’s due to the integrity of the band’s music that is not stuck in a certain style or genre.
Speaking of fans, The Tea Party have always had a special relationship with Australia. You’ve spent quite a bit of your life here. What is it about the country and the people that made you first fall in love with Australia?
I believe this upcoming tour will be close to 25 individual tours so far. Australia was the first country besides Canada to thoroughly embrace The Tea Party’s music. I’ve been a proud permanent resident of Australia since 2008. I adore the Australian lust for life, and let’s face it, this is one of the most beautiful countries in the world.
Has living in Australia influenced your writing?
I wouldn’t say it has influenced my writing as such, but I am enamoured by the amount of talent here in Australia. I keep discovering new talent via listening to triple j, who were very instrumental in breaking my band here in Australia.
The band has been described in many different ways and labelled everything from alt-rock to Moroccan roll. How would you describe The Tea Party?
Powerful, sensual, exotic rock music.
This year, The Tea Party are touring Australia once again, but have announced something special. The band are performing two orchestral shows and three rock shows. What was the idea behind breaking the tour up this way?
We are playing two orchestral shows – Hamer Hall in Melbourne and The Sydney Opera House – and three stand-alone rock shows. Breaking up the tour in this way allows our fans to experience the full spectrum of the band.
This isn’t the first time The Tea Party have performed with an orchestra. What does incorporating strings and brass into your compositions bring to the music, and how much rehearsal time goes into these shows?
To see The Tea Party live as a three-piece is to experience three musicians distilling their recorded work using no backing tapes, etc. The orchestra behind us allows the full replication of the immense soundscapes that have been created on The Tea Party records. The symphonies are already in rehearsals, and the band will spend two very long days with each symphony prior to each show.
As you mentioned, one of the shows with the orchestra is at the Sydney Opera House, your first time playing there with the band. You must be stoked for this show and to perform at such a revered venue
I played at The Sydney Opera House a long while ago, which was a tribute to The Beatles concert, [but] this upcoming show with the symphony is something I have dreamed about ever since I saw it on our very first tour in Australia when I was 23 years old.
Finally, what does the future hold for The Tea Party? Can we expect a new album soon?
New music is in the making!
Catch The Tea Party performing at Hindley Street Music Hall on Sunday 15 February. Tickets on sale now via thegov.com.au.
