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He was our dream pick. We didn't audition at all. We'd been watching Reed play for years and were huge fans. -Trevor Garrod on Reed Mathis replacing original bassist Ben Chambers |
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Photo of Tea Leaf Green by C. Taylor Crothers
Mathis takes the spot of Ben Chambers, a founding member of Tea Leaf Green. Affectionately referred to by a variety of nicknames - Ben C., Franz Hanzerbeak, Dechron-c - Chambers often provided comic relief to the band's performances, and the fun and goofy rap of his "Planet of Green Love" was a concert staple. More importantly perhaps, he was an integral part of the close-knit brethren that forged the band.
 Ben Chambers by J. Miller |
"It's kind of sad and I miss him and I miss the fact that we were all in it together from the beginning and there was this kind of blood-pact between us," says Garrod. "Now that's gone. There is that loss of brotherhood. Reed is still kind of the outsider and will always be to a certain extent because he wasn't there from the beginning. He missed out on the first ten years."
In his statement on the band's website, Chambers cites life on the road as a key factor of his decision.
"After ten great years on the road as a touring musician, I have come to the realization that this life is not for me. As a result, I have decided to leave Tea Leaf Green to pursue some of my life's other passions."
Big life changes, marriage and impending fatherhood, have followed his departure. But the band took it in stride.
"I don't blame him," says Garrod. "I'm not confused at all. I understand where he was coming from. If it doesn't bring you joy to be out here [on the road], it'll only bring you misery. There's not a lot of in between."
High School Portraits
 Old Tea Leaf Green Press Shot |
Another thing that sets Raise Up The Tent apart from its predecessors is that it marks the band's first release on San Diego-based Surf Dog Records, a move that was simply the result of "people in suits shaking hands," says Garrod. Though a look at the label's roster - Brian Setzer, Dave Stewart, Gibby Haynes - indicates an alignment of strange bedfellows, the label seems committed to the group, evidenced by the release of a three-disc box set entitled Seeds and a re-release of Taught To Be Proud that includes three bonus tracks - "Incandescent Devil," "Hanging From A Tree" and "Dragonfly." Both of them were released as a build up to Raise Up The Tent.
This back catalog provides new initiates an easy primer for the band's entire studio output. The Seeds collection is comprised of each of Tea Leaf's first three self-produced albums (their self-titled debut, 2001's Midnight On The Reservoir and 2004's Living In Between). Re-releasing these albums, some of which were out of print, is "like showing people your high school senior portrait," says Garrod. But, in seeing what this band has become, it's useful to see how they got here and how far they've come. From the beginning, you can see the band attempting to strike the balance between their improvisational leanings and their simple song structures. Early lyrics dealt with sophomoric exaltations of mind-altering substances, and their tone and style blatantly betrayed some of their most obvious influences. The debut finds the band playing tentatively without much hint of their live exploratory prowess. Midnight contains what were to become concert staples in "Sex in the '70s" and "Panspermic De-Evolution." Living In Between was the first peek at the fully formed Tea Leaf, a well-balanced representation of both their songcraft and their instrumental skills.
The Vocal Minority
 Tea Leaf Green by Kark |
A key aspect of the band's ascendance has been a close connection with their fanbase. They've always embraced the live taping community and been closely involved with their fervent fans. Their website includes an active message board and they've offered many official live downloads via livedownloads.com. The fans have created their own communities and tributes, too. One such endeavor is the Annotated TLG Songbook, which collects fans' transcriptions of every lyric in the Tea Leaf catalog. In addition to lyrics, fans submit nuggets of information about references in the lyrics and analysis that sometimes borders on the academic. Though it's tempting to join in the discussion, Garrod acknowledges he tries to let those efforts exist in their own world.
"I kind of prefer to watch it from a distance and see what happens" says Garrod. "I have all of the lyrics on my computer and I've been tempted to give them the real ones because there are a lot of errors. But a lot of times people come up with stuff that's better! I just like the fact that it's a fan site, and I love the fact that someone else is doing it and I get to sit back and watch what other people create."
Another reason to stay out of the fray is an effort to not be too influenced by what Garrod calls the "vocal minority." However, he does cop to listening to fan feedback, "perhaps to our detriment."
"The big fans are always clamoring for the rare song that we never play or diversifying our setlist to a ridiculous degree. But most people are quiet and don't care - they want to hear us play 'Taught To Be Proud' every night," offers Garrod. "I've always been trying to reach the balance. You want to throw in a couple of songs for people that only listen to the record, then throw in a couple for people who listen to every show."
Balance. You can't raise a tent without it.
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