Award Winners

Still exotic after all these years

Nick Krewen For The KW Record September 21, 1999   It’s an ode with an oud. The Tea Party has accumulated an interesting collection of exotic instruments over the years, but singer, songwriter and guitarist Jeff Martin admits that their latest addition came out of the blue. A four-stringed instrument called the oud makes its debut on “Samsara,” a cut from the Windsor trio’s latest album Triptych. According to Martin,…


Fit as a fiddle…in the classic sense

Mark O’Connor leaves Nashville to concentrate on his talent as a classical music composer     Nick Krewen For The Record June 3, 1999     Pssst. Wanna buy a house? It’s a nice one, located in a private Nashville cul-de-sac about 10 minutes from Music Row. An artist retreat, this 4100 sq. ft. cedar home contains three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a great room with a 26-foot ceiling, inset shelving,…


Endgame in Sight for The Tea Party?

  Nick Krewen For The  KW Record May 20, 1999     The clock is ticking for The Tea Party. Jeff Martin warns that the fat lady could be singing for his Windsor-born trio sooner than later. “Every record we do is getting closer to our vision,” said Martin last week, in Toronto to master his band’s latest opus Triptych, due in stores June 15. “But once we get there…


Country’s Singing the Blues

Nashville In A Tizzy Over Sluggish Album Sales And Radio Airplay By Nick Krewen Special To The Star Saturday, April 17, 1999   NASHVILLE:   Music Row is in turmoil. As the heart of the country music business, this eight-block community of record companies, radio stations, music publishers, recording studios and management offices, located in central Nashville, Tennessee, is on the verge of panic. After enjoying a decade of unprecedented…


Diane Warren, Hitmaker

      California Dynamo Writes The Songs That Sell Millions   Nick Krewen Toronto Star Special to the Star December 28, 1998   Wynonna Judd, Mark Chesnutt and a gaggle of country and non-country music celebrities paid $125 U.S. a head a few weeks ago to stuff themselves into Nashville’s renowned Bluebird Cafe and witness a historic event:the first ever full-length concert by Diane Warren. Diane who? Unless you peruse the Billboard…