Formation and first years (1990 - 1995) The Tea Party was formed in 1990 by Jeff Martin, Stuart Chatwood and Jeff Burrows after a marathon jam session at the Cherry Beach Rehearsal Studios in Toronto. Each member had previously played together during their teenage years in a number of different bands.
The Tea Party released their eponymous debut album in 1991, distributing it through their own label Eternal Discs. The album drew influences from psychedelic rock and blues and was produced by Martin; album production was something Martin would continue with for all of The Tea Party's albums, as a way of giving the band complete artistic control. In 1993 The Tea Party signed to EMI Music Canada and released their first major label recording Splendor Solis. The band employed open tuning and goblet drums to imitate Indian sounds, something they continued to employ throughout their career, while continuing in a blues influenced style. The band went on their first tour of Australia.
The Edges of Twilight and beyond (1995 - 2000) Further developing The Tea Party's sound in 1995 The Edges of Twilight was recorded with an array of Indian and Middle-eastern instrumentation. Upon returning from successful tours in Canada, Europe and Australia in 1996, The Tea Party went onto record Alhambra an Enhanced CD which features acoustic re-recordings of songs from The Edges of Twilight, followed by a brief tour around Canada known as "Alhambra acoustic and eclectic".
Transmission released in 1997 saw The Tea Party's first foray into electronica, the sound not unlike Nine Inch Nails. Triptych followed in 1999 and is The Tea Party's most commercially successful album, the first single "Heaven Coming Down" rose to #1 on Canadian radio. The Tea Party's music took on a more orchestral sound, maturing from the blues base.
Tangents and later years (2000 - 2005) After releasing Tangents a singles compilation in 2000 and Illuminations a DVD compliation of music videos which Martin remixed in Surround sound in 2001 The Tea Party released The Interzone Mantras and in 2002 joined symphony orchestras across Canada in adapting their live show.
Seven Circles the band's final album was released in 2004. Both The Interzone Mantras and Seven Circles saw the band return to their earlier sounds with greater maturity.
Breakup (October 2005) In October 2005 The Tea Party disbanded due to creative differences, with Martin abruptly announcing he was beginning a solo career. Afterward Chatwood stated on the band's forum "that Jeff Burrows and myself are sincerely sorry for the way this was handled. As far as Jeff Burrows and myself were concerned, the band was taking an extended break."
Post-breakup (2006 - present) After the breakup Martin moved to Ireland and recorded his debut solo album Exile and the Kingdom which was released in Canada and Australia in 2006 and toured parts of Europe, Canada and Australia. In November 2006, Martin released a live album recorded that September, Live in Brisbane 2006.
Chatwood continued to compose video game soundtracks including the Prince of Persia games developed by Ubisoft Montreal: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2003), Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (2004), and Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones (2005).
In 2006 Burrows joined Rush's Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, and other Canadian musicans as drummer in the one-off project the Big Dirty Band. As of January 2007 Burrows was working with Chatwood as The Art Decay.
Source: wikipedia