Liverpool-based The Tea Street Band have recently released their debut EP.
The band describe their genre as ‘alternative, electro, dance, house, guitar-pop’ – if you can work that mix out!
We caught up with them to find out more about their debut EP release, Liverpool’s music scene and their plans for the future.
How did the band come up with the name ‘The Tea Street Band’?
The name ‘The Tea Street Band’ came from James’ mind. I always liked it as it rolled off the tongue and Bruce Springsteen always came to mind, but it’s nothing like the E street so its a bit tongue in cheek in my opinion. It was either The Tea Street Band or it was going to be Utembe Bros. The latter was too insane we thought. The Tea Street Band is a boss name!
What is your favourite kind of tea?
My favourite kind is probably PG tips, but I’m not a tea prude. If I go to one of the lads or me Mums and Dads I’d never ask ‘what tea bags have you used here?’ Nothing like a good Chuggins though.
You recently supported Tom Vek, how did the show go for you?
The Tom Vek gig was brilliant. He allegedly picked us for the gig in Liverpool, which was sound. He was a dead nice man too. We’ve always been fans of Tom Vek, I always remember doing a tour in 2006 and Lee had his album on his iPod it was really good, so if we wouldn’t have played the gig we probably would’ve all went as fans. The crowd loved us that night; we had loads of great feedback which is always nice.
Your debut EP was released on April 16th for those who have yet to discover it, how would you describe it?
Well I’d say you’ll be able to put it on and think that you’ve never heard anything like The Tea Street band before. For us music is escapism. The tracks take us from North End Liverpool to thinking about standing on a beach in Ibiza drinking cocktails. Playing my guitar is something I love; playing with my best mates for over a decade is worth more than anything. We are family. We want everyone who comes down to a gig of ours to feel this too. We’re all one big happy family having a good time together.
Do you have any favourite tracks in particular?
Not very many to choose from so 50% Fiesta / 50% Summer Dreaming… The videos that have been made for both tracks blow my head off each time I watch them, Dom Foster has done an incredible job. So my favourite thing is the whole package… It all looks class!
Why did you title the EP ‘Fiesta’?
It’s a beautiful word that when you read it you think of parties – probably in Spain; a far cry from the reality of going to work. The word is Spanish for Party really. It spells out a good time in my opinion, so that is message we want to pass on with our music. We are here to party and dance in a pair of dead tight Speedo Ballies….also Lee who came up with the idea of the song used to have a Fiesta car!
How would you describe the music scene in Liverpool at the moment?
If I were in a nasty mood I’d pose the question ‘what music scene?’, but I am in a really positive thinking time of me life so you’ll be getting none of that today. I think there will always be great songwriters and musicians in Liverpool but a lot of the venues are having a hard time and shutting. In the last few months the Masque, the Static Gallery, the Jac have all closed due to the economic climate and therefore there are becoming less places to play so its harder for young bands with no experience to get a gig. It’s hard enough to get by as a musician never mind when there’s hardly nowhere to play. Well there is but suppose got to get up and find them!
What inspired you to start organising a series of warehouse raves?
The warehouse rave was something that we had spoken about with the lads from BOSSMAG ages ago but it was left alone. Then we started working with Dave Pichilingi and it was the Rave culture was something he knew loads about and was around it all when it was happening in the North West. We had played gigs on ‘promoted band nights’ and they weren’t really putting the band in the right ‘scene’ so between us all we came up with the idea of creating our own scene and the first one we done on 10th December was brilliant. We had DJ Andy Carroll and DJ James Rand on. People were just all going for it until 4am. It was amazing so we all want to do more!!!
Do you have any 2012 festival plans?
Allegedly, we’re playing a few this summer. We are a festival band. We are there solely to bring the good vibes to a wider audience and we believe that festivals are the place to be doing that, so keep an eye out for us and come see us.
What can we expect from the band in the future?
The main thing is to do an album as soon as possible we have it all wrote and up to scratch. Just honing in on sounds now that will stay with us for the next 18 months. I reckon the songs are strong enough to get us out on tour and hopefully out of the country and we can go and see the places we may not have been fortunate enough to see if we didn’t play an instrument. With hard work and a bit of good luck I will get a picture with the lads on top of the Empire State building. So I am expecting a lot!
Find out more about band below links:
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You can watch the band’s video for ‘Summer Dreaming’ below:
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