Mad Tea Party: The Interview!

With a sound described as “edgy-sweet retro”, Mad Tea Party is now touring the United States in support of their new album, “Big Top Soda Pop”. Lead vocalist and ukulele player Ami Worthen took a few minutes out of her busy schedule to chat by email with CrackerHammer’s own Michael Mercadante.

MM: Your website describes your music as “modernized-yet-old-school folk”. Talk about what you mean by that.

AMI WORTHEN: Mad Tea Party definitely has a retro vibe, but we don’t limit ourselves to recreating older styles of music. We have our own sound, which is based in the here and now. Our influences include early stringband music, old-time and vintage jazz. We also are into rock ‘n’ roll and psychedelic music. We take old songs and put a new twist to them, and we write songs that almost could be from and earlier time, except we’ve put a unique slant to them. A modern flavor, if you will.

MM: Where did the name Mad Tea Party come from?

AW: I relate to Alice in Wonderland. For me, jumping into being a songwriter and musician was like jumping into the rabbit hole. Everything seemed very strange and mysterious. Like Alice, as I have followed this path, sometimes I feel small and sometimes I feel giant. And the things people say don’t seem to make a lick of sense. Or do they?

MM: Ami, the world is your oyster. Why the ukulele?

AW: The ukulele is a wonderful, versatile instrument. It lends itself well to the early styles of jazz we are influenced by. It was extremely popular back in the 1920’s and ‘30’s. In fact, most sheet music from that time period includes ukulele cords. As a songwriter, I find it to be a wonderful tool. In Mad Tea Party, we use it as the rhythmic center of the band. And it’s darn fun to play.

MM: Tell me where your sense of humor comes from.

AW: You tell me where yours comes from first.

MM: When you’re chilling out at home, what music do you listen to?

AW: Skatelites, Louie Bluie, Link Ray, Chuck Berry, the Hollies, the Zombies, Beatles, Desmond Dekker, Milton Brown & His Musical Brownies, Squeeze, Mickey Baker, Black Star, XTC, Beastie Boys…

MM: Tell me how you hooked up with Jason and Valorie.

AW: I met Jason and Valorie through Asheville’s wonderful music and art scene. I am lucky to work with such talented people.

MM: Describe your songwriting process. Do you write the songs by yourself? How involved are Jason and Valorie?

AW: I write songs by myself. In fact, I pretty much have to be alone to write. And I have to wait for a song to come to me. I am not someone who “works” at writing songs. Though of course there is a refining process that I go through after I get the initial melody and lyrics. Once I’ve gotten a song together, I bring it to the band. Jason arranges most of the songs that we do in Mad Tea Party. And Valorie adds bass lines and harmonies. So in the end, my songs are shaped by the band. I really enjoy that aspect of being in Mad Tea Party.

MM: If you could play a live show anywhere and anytime (past, present, future), where and when would it be? Kind of your ultimate fantasy live show. What other bands might you play with?

AW: Oh, I have so many fantasy live shows! One would be a festival in Maine in early August with some of my favorite bands/musicians (ones that are playing out these days): Baby Gramps, Luminescent Orchestrii, the Overtakers, Michael Hurley, Wiyos, and the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Of course there would be a ton of people there, and excellent sound. Oh, and we would all be paid handsomely.

MM: What does the future hold for Mad Tea Party?

AW: More music, playing, singing, songs. In 2007, we plan on doing a lot more touring. We want to play as many festivals as possible and to hit some new markets. We also want to go back to the west coast (we’ve only been there once). In the future, I also visualize playing on Prairie Home Companion, the World Café, E-Town, etc. We are looking to play nice venues, theaters and listening rooms. And we want to tour in Europe!

Listen to “Big Top Soda Pop”