Jeff Martin

Jeff Martin is best known as the frontman for ’90s rock outfit, The Tea Party and he is about to head out on the road once again before focussing on his upcoming record label commitments. Chatting from WA, Martin is filled with excitement as we begin to talk about his upcoming Geelong performance at the Workers Club on April 11. Having been open for just a few weeks, Martin can’t wait to get up on stage in Geelong’s newest venue to play a variety of tracks from his esteemed back catalogue.
As a playful smile and little laugh spreads across his face Martin assures me that he will “definitely put the venue through its paces” with his solo acoustic show. However, no one should be fooled by the basic instrumentation of the show. Although it’s Martin with a guitar and vocals, it’s the highly energetic performance that Martin puts in night after night that keeps people coming back.
“I’ve heard some very good things about The Workers Club and I can’t wait to take to the stage man. The PA will be rocking because you’ve seen my shows you know that my acoustic shows are hardly that. I rock harder than most rock bands when I take to the stage – it’ll be fun. I’ve always had a good time in Geelong stretching back to the days of the National Hotel,” he says.
This tour is going to be very raw and intimate and will showcase songs off the latest Tea Party record The Ocean At The End in acoustic mode, which will be something very unique and memorable. “After this tour, it’s going to be quite some time before I can play in Australia again – because I am starting up a record and I have two albums; one is called The Black Diamond Express and another one is Revelator, and that is going to be taking up my time for the next little while. I encourage everyone to get out and see me on this tour, because I don’t know when it will be happening again. No one has ever heard this album done acoustically, so it’s going to be quite a spectacle for the audience,” Jeff says.
The latest record The Ocean At The End is the most recent release for The Tea Party and is a stunning listen from start to finish. The production and players on the album are second to none and the album even features the legendary Ian Anderson on the title track. Speaking about having rock royalty play on the record, it was quite a pinch yourself moment.
“I met Ian many years ago when The Tea Party toured England and he was one of our first ever fans over there. I can’t recall how he had heard of us, but he came out to a lot of our shows. When it came time to record this new record, we thought it’d be cool to get some flute. It was a no brainer who we should get and he recorded it in London and then emailed us his parts. It was quite a moment to get him to play on our record,” he says.
In terms of a new Tea Party record, we can expect that some time in 2016 and Martin has divulged that Jimmy Page might be involved within the project. For all the upcoming news keep your eyes peeled to their social media and head out to the Workers on the 11th, because who knows when Jeff Martin will be back in town again.
Where & When: The Espy, Melbourne – April 9, Karova Lounge, Ballarat – April 10 & The Workers Club, Geelong – April 11
Written by Tex Miller, Photo by Jade Martin