Tea Leaf Green, not to be confused with a caffeinated beverage but rather a rock and roll hodgepodge band made up of multiple drummers, barrel house piano and shredding guitars, is set to take the stage at Headliner’s Music Hall in Louisville on Tuesday, June 5th. The San Francisco-based jam band is touring in celebration of the release of their seventh studio album, Radio Tragedy, which is hailed by critics as one of the best albums in the group’s thirteen-year career.
Tea Leaf Green’s own Trevor Garrod, who completes the five-piece quirky group on keyboard and vocals, says the band recorded Radio Tragedy last fall and is excited to be a part of a busy summer tour that includes stages in Louisville, the Wakarusa Festival in Ozark, Arkansas and many other nationwide venues across the United States. Tea Leaf Green formed in 1996 around the San Francisco State University campus, lost the group’s original bass player in 2007, reformed and over the year’s morphed into a burgeoning rock headliner, releasing multiple albums along the way. The group will be the first to admit that they have had their fair share of issues when it comes to rock and roll groups, including the loss of a player and the recent addition of a second drummer, but nonetheless they never gave up and have certainly cemented themselves as a jam band anomalous on stage.
Radio Tragedy is a powerhouse release featuring songs such as “Easy to Be Your Lover,” a swaying groove jam clinching on a sexy dance feel that even the Bee Gee’s themselves may have written. It also includes “Honey Bee,” a catchy honky-tonk track that morphs into a wild, unexpected waltz in the middle that will likely have the listener dancing around singing the hook, while “Germinating Seed,” an exciting, lively jam, features wacky dual percussion experiments, and slanging guitar.
Tea Leaf Green is truly an example of everything that is great within the experimental rock and roll jam band scene and there actually is one alive and kicking. These guys play from their inner core and embrace musicianship to its fullest all while adding a touch of humor along the way. When asked if there was anything else fans should know about the show happening this Tuesday at Headliner’s Music Hall in Louisville, Tea Leaf Green songwriter Trevor Garrod replied “Yes, they should bring a gas mask, wear a chemical suit and expect to have a great musical time!”
photo courtesy Tea Leaf Green
