The Tea Party (Westernport Hotel 2019)

The Tea Party, from Canada, have been one of my favourite bands since about 1994, when A Certain Slant Of Light changed my ideas of what modern rock music could be. I've seen them more than any band I'm not in, from the Corner Hotel and Monash Uni Student Union to The Palais. I was fortunate enough to be asked to shoot the band at San Remo's Westernport Hotel. Jeff Martin commented that this may have been the smallest venue they had played in 20+ years, as they did this intimate venue tour before planning a run of large venue shows again. Guitarist and vocalist Jeff Martin; Jeff Burrows, powerhouse drummer, who has been a huge influence on my playing; and multi-instrumentalist Stuart Chatwood know how to make a 3-piece band sound massive. It was dark, loud, foggy and awesome.