Let's tea party : Can we have a party with tea? Is it possible? Let's Tea Party is a new group, which comes from Bristol England. When you hear the name of this city, your mind goes to Portishead , Massive Attack and Tricky. Nevertheless, the LTP is a classic British pop band. The trio has released a single with 2 songs ( " Hot chip ", " Emanuella ") on June 8 and is preparing its debut album, as you can read in the exclusive interview given to Mix Grill . Let's Tea Party will be in Glastonbury Festival today, tomorrow and the day after and on the 1st of July they will be on the stage of Coca Cola Soundwave Vol. 3. Yesterday, we spoke with Jonny Allen (drummer), who gave us a foretaste of what to expect from them in the future.
MG : First of all, it is our understanding that in your shows you have a tea party with cakes and "hot chips". What is Emmanuella's role in such a tea party? :)
Johnny Allen : She's in the basement, mixing up the medicine.
MG : We've seen in your myspace blog that you've been recently reading Xenofon's Fall of Athens. How did you like it and what's your take on the whole Peloponnesian War issue?
Johnny Allen : We're big
fans of all historical literature, and the fact you can find loads of
random stuff at the bottom of Myspace blog
options.MG : Let's say that after your Athens gig, you somehow get mysteriously "lost" on a Greek island.Thankfully, you have a bag full of your favourite CDs with you, to keep you company in your ordeal. If we take a look inside that bag of CDs, what are we gonna find?
Johnny Allen : Haha, that really depends on which member of Let's Tea Party you ask..Sam would most likely have the Simon and Garfunkel back catalogue, Rich a selection of pyschedelic 70's stuff and I would definitely have everything by The Beach Boys. Have you got any suggestions where we might get "lost"?
MG : Is the fact that you play with Primal Scream and Bloc Party in Coca Cola Soundwave Vol. 3 a dream come true for you? Could you tell us which other band(s) you'd love to share a stage with?
Johnny Allen : It's definitely a dream, but it's going to be a night we'll never forget. We've all seen both bands before and they were on that list, but not any more! I think we'd love to share a stage with someone really fun, like the Flaming Lips, and have a massive party in lobster suits.
MG : How do you feel about playing Glastonbury for the first time?
Johnny Allen : It's ace, we're all really excited and got some surprises up our sleeves, it's that kind of festival where anything could happen. We're playing alongside lots of great acts like Mumford and Sons and Laura Marling on our stage so is the perfect run up to Athens.
MG : When do you expect to release your debut album? Can you give us its title?
Johnny Allen : A debut album seems a long way
off, we're in no rush..then again things change really quickly in the
music industry so we wouldn't write it off any time soon.
Maybe we'll hideout in Greece for a few months after the gig to write
it. I'm a big fan of eponymous debut album titles, it seems
traditional maybe? As a band, each of us really know what we
like and so there will no doubt be *long*
discussions..MG : Thanks to the Internet, now it is easier than ever for a new band to become known quickly (and even give interviews to websites from Greece!) but at the same time record sales, according to record companies, are suffering because of illegal downloading. What is your opinion on the file-sharing debate?
Johnny Allen : It's a bit like being in a sweet shop, you can probably steal a few treats on the sly to try something out, but if you like it you should pay for it. We're obviously big fans of online mechanisms that allow a greater profit to go directly into our pockets, but on the whole nothing is more satisfying than selling your own CD, yourself, at your own gig.
MG : What can we expect to see and hear from you in Coca Cola Soundwave Vol. 3?
Johnny Allen : A lot more than you probably will have bargained for.. We're pulling out all the stops, ping pong, show and tell, stamps and a bedtime story.
MG : Except from the release of your debut album, do you have any other future plans you’d like to share with us?
Johnny Allen : We hope to become the biggest band in Greece, starting on July 1st.
Listen to LTP here .