Not just your regular kind either… Think the Alice In Wonderland version of a tea party kind-o-thang… And why? Well, since I don’t have an answer for you, I’ll just say: Well, why the heck not?
When I listened to What’s In It For Me?, I instantly thought of these acts: The Ting Tings and Goldfrapp… And since I like both of those acts, I thought I’d interview Astrid and her crew, and so here we are all together, having an E.T.-party and e-chat…
Hi guys, thanks for your time… So let’s do this, shall we… What did you do before you became Astrid’s Tea Party?
Astrid: Well, for me all I’ve ever really done is music. I actually started as a busker, where my Dickensian father would drop me off in distant locations and I had to earn enough for the train fare home, which isn’t so bad in the UK but can be a stretch in the Czech Republic… From there, the tried and tested route of pub bands. Then the chance meeting with Ollie, the Tea Party drummer led me astray, where I’ve never looked sideways. As for the other guys, it’s all pretty much the same stuff. Music obsession and bands. We are a new band with decades of experience…really.
Sounds like Yoda in a toddler’s body… Actually he does look like an old toddler, doesn’t he… Anyways… And how did you all meet and what made you decide to make music?
Astrid: Ollie I met through a mutual friend on a night out in Brighton; we got to talking and it all kicked on from there. Remi had a reputation as the coolest guy, (if not in Brighton then certainly in his house and we poached him from another band by essentially lying about our great prospects. By the time he discovered this, we had enough on him to ensure he stayed. Same with Cam, he’s a one-man orchestra and we were looking for a multi- instrumentalist and knew of him. I went to his house and played some death metal at 100 db and threatened not to leave unless he joined, he finally gave in and hey presto, we are a band.
And they say that blackmail is bad for you… Whoever “they” are, they will never get Cam to join their band, that’s for sure! So, amongst all of you together, what does the writing process look like? Which one of you does what during what process? (And no, I couldn’t be any more vague…)
Ollie: Well, it’s a bit of a mystery really. Whether a group effort or the brainchild of whatever goes on in Astrid’s head, the process can change from song to song. She normally arrives at the rehearsal room with another ditty or dirge depending on her mood. We then do a deconstruct and reconstruct job, adding our own parts and creativity and it goes from there, but we rarely know what the end-game is.
And where do you get your influences from?
Astrid: For me, there’s the usual roll-call of the great and good. Those who challenged the status quo (not the octogenarian three chorders… that’s a big word I just learnt) and the prevailing attitudes of the time. So, from The Velvets to Joy Division, Kraftwerk, Dylan, The Clash, Tom Waits….
Ehm, well… All I got from the first part of your answer was Status Quo which made me think of that old band that was “in the army now” back in the ’80s, and the rest was attitude and time something… Oh, speaking of time, how do you guys spend yours apart from playing? What does your daily routine look like?
Astrid: Well, it’s different for all of us but with some common themes revolving around recovering from previous nights festivities, suffering a debilitating sense of dread as unwanted images of previous conduct lodge themselves in the consciousness, swearing not to do it again, struggling through the day and convincing yourself you will stay in to stay out of trouble, then caving in at the first invite to go out promising it will only be for one and repeating the whole of the previous nights process once more… pretty standard for a lot of Brightonians.
Now that we know a pretty standard thing about Brightonians, tell us one unusual thing about yourselves…
Astrid: One unusual thing about me that can be declared without fear of ridicule or incarceration is my other life of being a qualified scuba diver.
Remi: My family inherited a collection of micro pigs.
Cam: I played football with Zinedine Zidane once in Italy. I didn’t know until after he’d gone who he was. I’m pretty ignorant when it comes to football, so I don’t really know what any footballers look like. That story usually makes most of my mates pretty angry.
Ollie: I’m actively trying to sabotage the Tea Party. Don’t tell anyone.
Wow, this is crazy! Now I have so many more questions for each one of you! However, going back to Brightonians and Brighton, how would you describe the differences between the Brighton and London music scene?
Remi: Brighton is so condensed within the musical scene so you can get some tight knit groups, the same thing happens in London but as it’s so much bigger, it gets overshadowed… but they are very similar, as there is always something going on in both cities. This is also a negative as it is an over saturation of activities.
What would you say has been the most memorable moment in your musical career so far?
Ollie: We’ve been fortunate to play some pretty cool venues so far; we played a sold out 100 Club a couple weeks ago… A lot of inspiring folks and some real trailblazers have played there. It’s always nice to plant your feet on the ground that giants have walked on, rather than just standing on their shoulders all the time.
And what has been the most difficult experience?
Astrid: Well, in my cover band days I once played a gig when there was not one single person watching…literally an empty room- I was that good. Surprisingly, rejection (although not great) isn’t the most difficult thing. I believe the most is avoiding the easy option of following the crowd and chasing the rainbow. It takes a lot of confidence to follow your own ideas if everybody else is doing something different to you and at that point in time are more successful.
Well, it seems like you’ve got your path figured out for yourselves and I wish you all the best… One final question… So what’s next in store for Astrid’s Tea Party?
Astrid: Holed up in a secret location somewhere in Prague recording our first EP for release in 2015, together with some videos and a couple other tricks up our sleeves… that’s if we can survive the party season. This, and playing gigs we’ve got lined up this January, you can check our site for more info.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
FACEBOOK PAGE
Well, you have waited long enough, fellow readers… Please press play in 3…2…1…
Astrid: Well, for me all I’ve ever really done is music. I actually started as a busker, where my Dickensian father would drop me off in distant locations and I had to earn enough for the train fare home, which isn’t so bad in the UK but can be a stretch in the Czech Republic… From there, the tried and tested route of pub bands. Then the chance meeting with Ollie, the Tea Party drummer led me astray, where I’ve never looked sideways. As for the other guys, it’s all pretty much the same stuff. Music obsession and bands. We are a new band with decades of experience…really.
Sounds like Yoda in a toddler’s body… Actually he does look like an old toddler, doesn’t he… Anyways… And how did you all meet and what made you decide to make music?
Astrid: Ollie I met through a mutual friend on a night out in Brighton; we got to talking and it all kicked on from there. Remi had a reputation as the coolest guy, (if not in Brighton then certainly in his house and we poached him from another band by essentially lying about our great prospects. By the time he discovered this, we had enough on him to ensure he stayed. Same with Cam, he’s a one-man orchestra and we were looking for a multi- instrumentalist and knew of him. I went to his house and played some death metal at 100 db and threatened not to leave unless he joined, he finally gave in and hey presto, we are a band.
And they say that blackmail is bad for you… Whoever “they” are, they will never get Cam to join their band, that’s for sure! So, amongst all of you together, what does the writing process look like? Which one of you does what during what process? (And no, I couldn’t be any more vague…)
Ollie: Well, it’s a bit of a mystery really. Whether a group effort or the brainchild of whatever goes on in Astrid’s head, the process can change from song to song. She normally arrives at the rehearsal room with another ditty or dirge depending on her mood. We then do a deconstruct and reconstruct job, adding our own parts and creativity and it goes from there, but we rarely know what the end-game is.
And where do you get your influences from?
Astrid: For me, there’s the usual roll-call of the great and good. Those who challenged the status quo (not the octogenarian three chorders… that’s a big word I just learnt) and the prevailing attitudes of the time. So, from The Velvets to Joy Division, Kraftwerk, Dylan, The Clash, Tom Waits….
Ehm, well… All I got from the first part of your answer was Status Quo which made me think of that old band that was “in the army now” back in the ’80s, and the rest was attitude and time something… Oh, speaking of time, how do you guys spend yours apart from playing? What does your daily routine look like?
Astrid: Well, it’s different for all of us but with some common themes revolving around recovering from previous nights festivities, suffering a debilitating sense of dread as unwanted images of previous conduct lodge themselves in the consciousness, swearing not to do it again, struggling through the day and convincing yourself you will stay in to stay out of trouble, then caving in at the first invite to go out promising it will only be for one and repeating the whole of the previous nights process once more… pretty standard for a lot of Brightonians.
Now that we know a pretty standard thing about Brightonians, tell us one unusual thing about yourselves…
Astrid: One unusual thing about me that can be declared without fear of ridicule or incarceration is my other life of being a qualified scuba diver.
Remi: My family inherited a collection of micro pigs.
Cam: I played football with Zinedine Zidane once in Italy. I didn’t know until after he’d gone who he was. I’m pretty ignorant when it comes to football, so I don’t really know what any footballers look like. That story usually makes most of my mates pretty angry.
Ollie: I’m actively trying to sabotage the Tea Party. Don’t tell anyone.
Wow, this is crazy! Now I have so many more questions for each one of you! However, going back to Brightonians and Brighton, how would you describe the differences between the Brighton and London music scene?
Remi: Brighton is so condensed within the musical scene so you can get some tight knit groups, the same thing happens in London but as it’s so much bigger, it gets overshadowed… but they are very similar, as there is always something going on in both cities. This is also a negative as it is an over saturation of activities.
What would you say has been the most memorable moment in your musical career so far?
Ollie: We’ve been fortunate to play some pretty cool venues so far; we played a sold out 100 Club a couple weeks ago… A lot of inspiring folks and some real trailblazers have played there. It’s always nice to plant your feet on the ground that giants have walked on, rather than just standing on their shoulders all the time.
And what has been the most difficult experience?
Astrid: Well, in my cover band days I once played a gig when there was not one single person watching…literally an empty room- I was that good. Surprisingly, rejection (although not great) isn’t the most difficult thing. I believe the most is avoiding the easy option of following the crowd and chasing the rainbow. It takes a lot of confidence to follow your own ideas if everybody else is doing something different to you and at that point in time are more successful.
Well, it seems like you’ve got your path figured out for yourselves and I wish you all the best… One final question… So what’s next in store for Astrid’s Tea Party?
Astrid: Holed up in a secret location somewhere in Prague recording our first EP for release in 2015, together with some videos and a couple other tricks up our sleeves… that’s if we can survive the party season. This, and playing gigs we’ve got lined up this January, you can check our site for more info.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
FACEBOOK PAGE
Well, you have waited long enough, fellow readers… Please press play in 3…2…1…
