The Tea Party serves up eccentricity

(July 6, 1995)

In Seattle, The Tea Party isn't a social gathering, it's an event.

The pan-cultural rock trio from Windsor, Ontario, is on the brink of a national breakthrough with its second Chrysalis/EMI album, "The Edges of Twilight," an eclectic mix of influences that virtually defies categorization. If their burgeoning popularity can be traced to any one place, oddly enough, it's the seaport hometown of grunge rock.

"The first time we showed up there, there were 600 people at our show," bassist-keyboardist Stuart Chatwood said recently. "Then we came back a few months later and played to 1,300 people at the Moore Theater. Now they've offered to fly us back from a tour in Europe to play the Paramount, which seats about 3,200."

Radio stations in Seattle played tracks off the new album, primarily the first single "Fire in the Head" and the epic "Sister Awake," weeks before it was released. Fans have been buying import copies at $20 apiece.

Chatwood can't explain Seattle's affinity for The Tea Party's seminal rock sound, but he thinks part of the attraction might be their fearless eccentricity. Chatwood, singer-guitarist Jeff Martin and drummer Jeff Burrows thrive on blowing caution to the wind.

"We're not afraid to do things that maybe disturb some people or maybe people wouldn't feel comfortable with," said Chatwood, who bristles at any comparisons to Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull.

"What we're trying to do is move music forward. We're sort on the cusp of something that's new and challenging. What we're trying to do is incorporate as many elements of world music and put them into a hard rock, intense setting. I almost don't enjoy calling it rock anymore. I'd rather just call it intense music."

On "The Edges of Twilight" and when the band goes on tour, there are upward to 30 instruments at their disposal: mandolin, harmonium, sitar, hurdy gurdy, harp guitar, tabla, djemba. You name it.

It's a diversity similar to Dead Can Dance, a group Chatwood acknowledges is an inspiration. "They also share the no-fear factor," he said. "Having fear is total misery. You've got to be willing to take chances, and Dead Can Dance has that sort of same attitude. They approach instruments that maybe are sacred to certain cultures and they throw out some of the conventions and re-interpret them."

Chatwood, Martin and Burrows attended the same high school in Windsor but were in different bands. Fed up with the politics of their respective groups, the three merged to form "a band that would play music for music's sake," Chatwood said.

"That's what was missing from all the other bands we were in," he said. "We knew we had to go for this and make it happen. Fatalistically, the other bands - through none of our guidance - split up within 48 hours of our first rehearsal."

With its 1993 debut LP, "Splendor Solis," The Tea Party reached platinum status in Canada but failed to make an impression in the United States.

"We're just trying to let people know about us now," Chatwood said. "We don't want to get lost in the shuffle again."

BWF (before we forget): The Tea Party later landed on Atlantic Records, which released the group's third album, "Transmission," on Aug. 19, 1997. ... Join The Tea Party on the Web @ www.teaparty.com/tp or send e-mail to teaparty@teaparty.com.

Texas travels down 'Ricks Road'

(April 7, 1994)

For a blues-based rock band from Glasgow, Scotland, a trip to Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, N.Y., is like a journey to mecca.

"It's a great place," says Texas singer-guitarist Sharleen Spiteri. "There's so much history there. So many great albums have been made there, and just about everybody hung out in Woodstock at some point and there's a few of them still living there. It's an artistic community, so you're in a creative environment."

That setting, plus the general isolation from the music hubs, was just what Texas needed for its third Mercury album, "Ricks Road," named for the unmarked dirt path leading to the Bearsville facility.

Spiteri feels Texas - with Eddie Campbell (keyboards), Richard Hynd (drums), Johnny McElhone (bass) and Ally McErlaine (guitar) - has come a long way since its debut LP, "Southside," sold over 2 million copies worldwide in 1989. They were young, energetic and naive at that point, she says, and the followup effort, "Mothers Heaven" ('91), was a difficult period for them.

"We had been on the road for two years before 'Mothers Heaven,' " Spiteri says, "and suddenly we were off the road and had to write a new record. We were confused about which direction we were going in. There was the whole Manchester scene going in Britain and not being any part of that at all. So, the last place we wanted to be was in a studio."

Spiteri, now 26, says they have grown up and adjusted, which is reflected in the tracks on "Ricks Road."

"We came to grips with things," she says, "and we got back to what we do best: writing songs."

BWF (before we forget): Texas continued to conquer the world, except the United States, with its 1997 follow-up album, "White On Blonde," which sold more than 1 million in Great Britain alone. ... The Texas album discography - "Southside" (1989); "Mothers Heaven" (1991); "Ricks Road" (1993); "White On Blonde" (1997).

Therapy? has the perfect remedy

(Jan. 27, 1994)

Andy Cairns' parents thought he had it made. He was charting himself a well-plotted life, as promising as it gets in his native Belfast.

Such a good lad.

The short-haired, bespectacled teenager was working the assembly-line routine at a Michelin Tires plant. The job itself was monotonous, but because of the odd hours, the pay was decent.

"I had quite a bit of money and a nice apartment and a car, just the sort of things mothers and fathers like to see their sons have," Cairns said.

Then, like the standard rock 'n' roll story, Cairns fell in love with his guitar, grew his hair long and joined a punk rock band.

Oh, the horror.

"My mom's like, 'He's flipped. What kind of drugs is he on?' " Cairns said, laughing back at his rock 'n' roll crossroads.

He can snicker now because the singer-guitarist's sonic-booming band, Therapy?, is chewing up rock conformity and spitting it out with its second A&M album, "Troublegum," due Feb. 8.

Shrugging off its initial industrial past, leaving behind the sampling and constant chord changes, Therapy? creates even more powerful guitar noise - could it get any louder?! - and draws upon its many influences, from Big Black to Bob Mould.

"It's more of a rock 'n' roll record," Cairns said from a London hotel room amid a promotional tour. "The songs are all about three minutes long. It's all very direct. It's not clinical and distant."

In the process, Therapy? - with bassist Michael McKeegan and drummer Fyfe Ewing - continues to twist the Irish rock scene in its own biting, black-humor way. There's no confusing them with U2, the Hothouse Flowers or Van Morrison. They have cornered their homeland's post-punk market.

"We're not the first ones," Cairns said, citing an ear-splitting wave in the '70s with Stiff Little Fingers and Thin Lizzy. "When we started out, though, everyone thought we were American. Our role models were Black Flag, Husker Du and Big Black. Even so more now than then, we sounded very American.

"When we started the band (in '89), no one was really interested in hard-core music as such. Many of the punk bands in Ireland were more influenced by English bands like the U.K. Subs. We were more into American punk bands, partly because it was more inventive and a bit more tuneful as well."

What makes Therapy? stand above some of its ice-cold, droning counterparts?

"I think we're more human," Cairns said. "We tend to have feelings of anger, love, happiness, joy, despair, whereas some of the industrial bands sound like robots, very emotionless."

It's a family affair for the King brothers in Thermadore and Dakota Motor Co.

(May 23, 1996)

As hard as he tried, David King could never push around his younger brother, Peter. But that didn't stop Peter from following in David's footsteps.

After four albums as a member of Mary's Danish and two more for Rob Rule, David King assembled Thermadore, an unencumbered side project that has bloomed into a full-time gig.

Thermadore, featuring ex-Mary's Danish bassist Chris Wagner and Rob Rule vocalist-guitarist Robbie Allen, was a meeting of rock minds last year. They phoned some friends and told them to meet at a studio in Hollywood, Calif. Among those who showed up were Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and backup singer Rain Phoenix and former Mary's Danish vocalist Julie Ritter.

Their Holiday/Atlantic album, "Monkey on Rico," was issued in March and is poised for another big label push with the release of the second single, "Three Days."

Meanwhile, world-class surfer Peter King - host of MTV's "Sandblast" - was forging ahead with his underground punk-rock band Dakota Motor Co. Their first two independent albums sold more than 120,000 copies.

Their Holiday/Atlantic debut LP, "Railroad," was released May 14.

Which brings us back to the King family. What was it like in their San Diego household? "If you looked in our kitchen, it seemed like we had no food, but if you dug behind mom's liquor cabinet, there were the Cheerios and the Lucky Charms," David King said recently. "And if you went deeper into another section, you'd find the peanut butter. It was survival of the fittest."

Joking aside, David King said the King home was always filled with music. His interest in the guitar was handed down from his older brother, John, and he passed it on to Peter.

"My older brother always had me running," David King said. "He'd say, 'David, go get me a glass of milk,' and I jumped. I had the fear of god in John. I tried to use that on Peter, but it never worked. He'd always say, 'Go away. Buzz off.' "

But when Peter King wasn't surfing and appearing in TV commercials, he was dreaming of doing what David did.

"When David was in Mary's Danish," Peter King said, "he said if I could get a band together and make some songs, that we could open for them, so I thought there would be nothing funner than getting up there on stage, and we've been doing it for five years now."

Weaned on Bad Religion and the Ramones, Peter King had a simple vision for Dakoda Motor Co.: Get that live sound down pat.

"I'm so sick of bands who don't sound like their albums when you hear them live," he said, "especially bands who fake it and use tracks and crud like that. We wanted to sound very real, gutsy and raw. Once we found Melissa Brewer, a singer who was really in line with where we wanted to go, I knew we had it made."

Peter King said he and bandmates Brewer, bassist Derik Toy, guitar Elliot Chenault and drummer Chuck Cummings aren't afraid of success and welcome it with open arms.

"We're not going to be upset if we make money," he said, laughing. "You won't see us brooding and doing drugs and being upset with our success. Nor do we really think that's going to happen, but it won't stop us from playing for people."

Thermadore, power pop mixed in with Americana, is the best thing that happened to David King. He said he has never had more fun in a band.

"We're having a really good time live, and it seems to come through," he said. "At the risk of being egotistical at all, we seem to win every night. Be it 30 people or 700 people, we come off stage and people respond. It's really sincere what we're doing. I know it sounds so cliche, but it really is.

"There were no expectations for this band. We were making this record when every one of us was signed to record labels and making records. We had nothing to gain. It wasn't like we were looking for a deal. We were there to actually make music, try to make some really good songs and have a good time doing it."

David King sees some striking similarities between Mary's Danish and Dakoda Motor Co., but he said Thermadore is a whole different beast.

"People are really surprised when they hear us," he said. "They're like, 'Hey, Stone Gossard played on the record. Hey, Chad Smith played on the record.' Then they pick it up and they go, 'What? It sounds like a country album.' Well, believe it or not, that's how we sound."

Thermadore has a full slate of dates ahead of them, opening for the Chili Peppers, Dishwalla and Seven Mary Three throughout the country.

"I don't care where they put us," David King said, "we're just going to do our thing."

Todd Thibaud isn't wasting any time

(April 12, 1998)

Todd Thibaud saw the handwriting on the wall, even after his roots-rock group, the Courage Brothers, landed a deal with Relativity Records in 1995.

First off, one of the group's co-founders quit shortly before the deal was signed. Then, just when Thibaud (pronounced Tee-bo) was beginning preproduction work with producer Matt Wallace, Relativity pulled the plug, adopted an all-rap roster and dropped its rock acts or moved them to other Sony labels.

The Courage Brothers were no more.

"I think we all felt at the time we got the Relativity situation, the Courage Brothers even then was at the tail end of its cycle, psychologically for us," Thibaud said recently. "Everyone felt it had run its course. It was a great opportunity (at Relativity) and I was really looking forward to working with all those guys, but on the corporate side of things, it was a very corporate decision. Those decisions happen on a regular basis, so I basically got to the point where I was like 'I can't imagine my life without doing this.' That was the bottom line. Doing music was more important to me than whether or not Sony wants me to do it for them."

The Haverhill, Mass., native made the great leap on his own and teamed with former Dumptruck frontman-producer Kevin Salem and mixer Jim Scott (Tom Petty, James Iha) to record his absorbing debut Doolittle Records album, "Favorite Waste of Time" (released in February).

"We made the record, we made it on our own, with no label support, and kind of rolled the dice hoping we could get somebody to pick it up," Thibaud said. "It took a while, but at least I feel like we're back on the upswing, heading in the right direction again."

Thibaud, who has opened for Dar Williams and Pete Droge in the past few months, felt his first post-Courage Brothers project should take two routes.

"Courage Brothers music was a little lighter and we focused more on our keyboard player, really letting him step out a lot," he said. "I was feeling the need to get back more to a basic sound, more of a guitar-driven sound. I definitely wanted it to be a rock record, as opposed to folk.

"The songs themselves also were a lot more personal. It wasn't a conscious decision. It just happened."

Most of the album, particularly "Johanna's Dreams" and "Sweet Destiny," addresses controlling one's fate. Thibaud handled his by maintaining a positive attitude.

"It took a little bit of getting used to, being on my own," he said. "I freaked out for a while just because there wasn't a phone call I could make to go 'What do you think we should do about this? How about this song, where do you think it should go?' Those decisions, obviously, were back on me. But in a lot of ways, it made me better at what I did. You really have to step up and do it or not do it. In that way, it was one of the best things that ever happened to me."

BWF (before we forget): Waste all the time you want with Todd Thibaud on the Web @ www.doolittle.com.

Third World throws a 'Reggae Party'

(April 18, 1999)

Few genres ride the popularity roller coaster quite like reggae. One year, a smash hit brings it to the mainstream; the next, it's tossed aside.

One thing that has remained constant is the Jamaican reggae fusion band Third World, an offshoot of Inner Circle in the early 1970s. The group won international acclaim in 1978 with the hit, "Now That We Found Love," has had eight chart albums in the United States, including the Stevie Wonder-produced "You've Got the Power" (Columbia, 1982) and has won the U.N. Peace Medal.

In 1999, reggae again has taken the back seat. It's too bad, because the group's Gator Records debut album, "Generation Coming" (released March 9), contains one of the more radio-friendly tracks in recent reggae memory: the first single, "Reggae Party," featuring Shaggy and Bounty Killer. It's likely to go unheard outside the band's loyal fans, and that dismays longtime member Richard "Bassheart" Daley.

"I'd like to see it get played," the bassist said recently, "but what can you do to go beyond how to make reggae popular? We've exhausted our options over there. Some of our greatest songs, they weren't interested in them. Who decides who is worthy today? Is it the people who listen or the people who decides what plays? It's a business now. But we feel pretty good about it and just try to remain true artists."

Third World has never been about getting played on the radio, Daley said.

"I reflect back to 1978 when we bumped into our first hit record, 'Now That We Found Love,' " he said. "We didn't go into the studio and say, 'We're going to make a hit,' nor did we care to have a hit. We're just a band that plays for what feels good at the time. We didn't know we'd have a record that would end up on the charts. We didn't think we were good enough. We hoped that one day that we would be popular, but we didn't know about the criteria, that when Billboard has you in the Top 20 it signifies you are a happening band, that you've arrived. When we were doing a tour down in Guyana, I mean, what kind of band goes to Guyana? The only thing we knew about Guyana at the time was the Jonestown Massacre; anyway, when we were there, we heard we were climbing up the Billboard chart. We jumped up and down and screamed, but then we said, 'What does that mean?'

"Then afterwards, we ended up coming to Los Angeles and meeting Stevie Wonder and recording. Then you'd see band members subscribing to Billboard and for most it became part of the whole ritual. We decided, 'Let's make our music regardless what is happening on the periphery,' but we got more chart-oriented, we let it dictate what we do and what we shouldn't do. We got caught up in that whole thing."

Before recording "Generation Coming," the group went through a jolt. K. Michael "Ibo" Cooper (keyboards) and William "Root" Stewart (drums) left, leaving Daley, singer-guitarist William "Bunny Ruggs" Clark and guitarist Stephen "Cat" Coore as the only remaining original members. Tony "Tuption" Williams took over on drums, and Rupert "Gypsy" Bent Jr. is the new keyboardist.

"You've known these guys since you were a kid from school days," Daley said of his former band mates. "We've been all over the world with them, doing all kinds of things. We shared the same dream when we were like 15 or 16, and one day they said, 'I don't want to do this anymore.' It does hurt a bit, they're like family, but it's not like they died. We're still friends. It lives on.

"Since we have two longstanding members who have left us, we decided to do something else. We went into the studio and said, 'Let's record what we feel like, about love and what we know about,' so this album is all about that."

Third World has lasted 26 years, Daley said, because it was built around a concept.

"We write songs about love, we were doing the Mandela message in our music from way back in the early '70s before it was in vogue," he said. "We believe in that concept; that kept the band together more than anything. It wasn't about the members in the band, it wasn't about me, it wasn't about the lead singer; it was about what we believed in."

BWF (before we forget): For more on Third World on the Web, visit www.bigmouthrecords.com.

3 Doors Down's living 'The Better Life'

(April 30, 2000)

It doesn't get any better than this for four guys from little Escatawpa, Miss.:

A local radio station champions the rock group, taking a liking to a track off its demo CD and giving it a spin. Listeners love it so much, they make it the station's most-requested song ever. An observant record company is impressed with the airplay numbers and the sellout shows and signs them.

Within months, they record their major-label debut album. Powered by massive mainstream-rock airplay for the first single, the album debuts at No. 104 and quickly marches up Billboard's chart. The song, meanwhile, tops Billboard's mainstream rock tracks chart, fending off the likes of Red Hot Chili Peppers, AC/DC and Creed.

The song not only appeals to traditional rock fans, it cracks the Top 10 on the modern-rock tracks chart and begins making headway on Billboard's pop Hot 100. All the while, the four local boys tour the country, visiting places they never imagined seeing in their lifetimes.

Pinch me when it's over, says lead singer-drummer Brad Arnold.

"The way I'm feeling right now, it's indescribable," he said during a recent tour stop in Dallas. "I was talking to my girlfriend yesterday, and I was telling her it was kind of like I skipped the hard part. Know what I mean? That's really how I'm feeling.

"I honestly couldn't ask for it to go any better than it's going. We have a great team behind us. We've got In De Goot Management and Universal Records behind us. And the song's doing great. It's a dream come true.

"I'm not taking it for granted. I thank God for it every day."

Arnold and his band mates - guitarists Matt Roberts and Chris Henderson and bassist Todd Harrell - have a lot to be thankful for: "The Better Life" (Republic/Universal), fast approaching gold (for sales of more than 500,000), is at No. 29 and climbing on the Billboard 200, and the single, "Kryptonite," has been the No. 1 mainstream rock track for the past three weeks and is at No. 68 on the pop chart.

"I believe that everything happens for a reason, and that timing is everything," Arnold said. "But it's a good song, and people are just wanting something a little different, and I think 'Kryptonite' delivers that for them. It's straight-up rock 'n' roll."

Arnold, who wrote all 11 of the album's cuts, says "Kryptonite" - with its imminently catchy melody and solid lyrics - came to him in an unlikely moment.

"I wrote it when I was in my high school algebra class," he said. "I was never really into the algebra too much, and I know that's probably not a good example to set for kids, but that's where it happened. There was something about that class; I wrote a lot of songs in that class. I could just sit there and think.

" 'Kryptonite's' about living up to people's expectations and about when people are held up by other people. It asks the question, basically, 'If I fall down, will you still be there for me?' That's something everyone can identify with."

Fortunately for them, they didn't have to worry about stumbling: "Kryptonite" caught on faster than a speeding bullet in the Bixoli/Gulfport, Miss., area, thanks to WCPR program director Kenny Vest.

"We recorded an indie CD back in '97," Arnold said. "It was just a $1,500 recording or whatever; it had 10 original songs and 'Kryptonite' was the first song on there. We sold it around at clubs after our shows. Then our local radio station (WCPR) has this thing called 'The Home-Grown Show,' which is an hour every other Sunday and they play an hour of local music. They always have a guest band on there, and we were on a few times. One day, the program director heard 'Kryptonite' and he just decided to play it the next morning and the response was pretty much right off the bat. It ended up being the most requested song ever on the station.

"Republic, I suppose, saw what was going on, but they had to go through a lot to find us. On our CD, we actually forgot to put our address on it. It's nowhere to be found. But they went down the thank-you list, calling everyone until they found us. Thank God they found us."

Republic suggested a major change for 3 Doors Down: Arnold, who played drums on the album, should be center stage, not in the background.

"It was a welcome change," Arnold said. "I played on the album, because going into the studio allows that. We hired Richard Lyles to come play on the road with us. I like being out front and get out there and interact with the crowd and get them riled up while Richard's back there taking care of the drumming.

"Singing and drumming at the same time was almost like second-nature to me. When I was younger, I always found myself mumbling the words in my head as I drummed anyway, so the biggest thing for me was actually trying to find a place to breathe and having a microphone in my way while I was drumming. Now I don't have to worry about that and can concentrate on singing and songwriting."

Rock history is littered with bands that made it big with a hit song or two and then vanished. Arnold says they're in it for the long haul.

"One day at a time is about all we can handle, actually, but yeah we're looking ahead to the future," he said. "We see a lot of growth in the future. It's not going to be a one-song thing, and we're not going anywhere any time soon.

"And that's where the living up to expectations falls into play. I just think you can't put a lot of pressure on yourself. Trust your instincts. Your instincts got you to where you're at. Use them. Forget about what people expect from you and do what you feel, because we're doing that right now and if we changed it, then it wouldn't be us.

"And you know what? If it ended right now, I've had so much fun the past two months. I'm happy. I'm very happy. I wouldn't complain for a second."

THE FIRST RECORD I EVER BOUGHT: "I believe it was a White Lion album. I forgot the name of it; it has a white cover with the silhouette of a lion. I think it was called 'Big Game.' I was into hair bands back then, but I wasn't into the hair. I'm only 21, so that was what was getting played a lot. I used to love Def Leppard, Poison, White Lion and Warrant."

THE FIRST CONCERT I EVER WENT TO: "It was a country concert, but my first rock 'n' roll concert was Brother Cane. They're from Alabama, so I think they're pretty awesome."

THE LAST CD I BOUGHT: "Bush's 'The Science of Things.' We have a collection of CDs on the bus that boggles the mind. We actually have a show coming up with them out at Red Rocks, with Bush, Godsmack, us and Kittie. I'm telling you, there's nothing else on this planet that I'd rather be doing right now than this."

BWF (before we forget): Fans can find 3 Doors Down on the Web @ www.3doorsdown.com.

Throwing Muses learn from 'University'

(Feb. 9, 1995)

Here's something you don't hear every day from pop stars.

"I wouldn't mind making records all day - and touring, too," Throwing Muses leader Kristin Hersh said recently. "This, the interviewing, is the hard part."

Dealing with the press hasn't swayed her away from pumping up the band's new self-produced "University" album (Sire/Reprise). In fact, nothing can keep her away from what she knows best: music.

"I really get off on music," she said. "I know that sounds goofy, but it hit my spine hard like 20 years ago and I haven't really matched it with another high. I like writing songs, too ... that's a good high.

"And being on the road isn't so bad. It's not a hard thing to do in life. As far as hard things in your life go, touring just is not one of them. We're lucky to play to a lot of people every night, and that's what the definition of a band is, really.

"We don't have to sleep on floors anymore, and I can afford a nanny, so I actually sleep on the road. What more can you ask for?"

The 28-year-old mother of two said she likes the Muses' status as the quintessential underground band and "just making records and record companies ignoring us. Talk about low-pressure jobs." And the pressure, thankfully, was off when recording "University," which features the band's alternative-pop hit "Bright Yellow Gun."

"We wanted to re-create the impression or impact of a live thing," she said. "You can't play live in the studio or you'll sound like a band in a gym. We actually had to isolate sounds just exploding in the room and watch all the meters go crazy. ... We couldn't have a producer there because he would've told us not to do it.

"Once we got the sound treatment, it didn't change from song to song. On 'University,' the songs are so delicate without being fragile that they need and can stand a great deal of production. They needed their character to come out in the overdubs and the mix.

"We got absolutely self-indulgent, playing a chandelier and kitchen utensils and inventing instruments and robbing the necks of guitars and putting them on other ones and soldering pedals together.

"We needed to do that. We can't be slick, we just don't have it in us. This is extremely produced but in an organic way, and in that, it released a lot of pressure and allowed for our focus to be generally on the production side."