Progressive rock

I Mother Earth back, but for how long?

Entertainment / Music Top Canadian rock band a decade ago returns for two shows at Sound Academy — and something beyond.    Jag Tanna, left, and the rest of I Mother Earth in 1999. The band’s then-new singer Brian Byrne, second from left, Nick Krewen Special to the Star Published on Wed Mar 21 2012 For the first time in eight years, Canadian alternative rock band I Mother Earth has returned. The…


Tea Party’s reunion steeped in worry

Tea Party’s reunion steeped in worry | Toronto Star Hugely popular ’90s rockers buried the hatchet … eventually … and now play the Sound Academy.        Nick Krewen  Special to the Star, Published on Wed Jul 20 2011 A year ago, the prospect of a Tea Party reunion seemed laughable. When the hugely popular Canadian heavy rock band — seller of a million albums in this country in…


Plundering the past with Phil Collins

Plundering the past with Phil Collins | Toronto Star A mature pop titan becomes a covers act for the first time.  Nick Krewen Special to the Star Published on Fri Oct 08 2010 “I just bought a second cannon.” Not exactly the words you expect to hear flowing from the mouth of Phil Collins. But the 59-year-old’s chief passion these days is no longer music, but collecting 1820-1840 era Texas…


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,…


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…