by Kylie Cox for thedwarf.com.au

The first time I ever saw Jeff Martin play, it was a few years back, with a little outfit called The Tea Party fresh out of Ontario, Canada. Jeff mesmerized and intrigued his fans then, with his astounding collection of unusual instruments and a heavy influence of Indian and Middle Eastern music. Jeff continues to astound us today with his musical expertise and we are lucky enough for this talented man to now call Australia home.

A love for this country, and family commitments mean that in between tours and travels, Jeff divides his time between Australia’s east and west coast, his eldest son living in Perth and his latest addition, a new son born in June this year in the Byron region.

Jeff is just finishing up a tour with his current project, Whole Lotta Love, a celebration of all things Zeppelin, an amazing musical collaboration with Steve Balbi, Simon Meli and Natasha Stuart.

“They were the easiest gigs, great arrangements, and playing with such great musicians of such integrity’, Jeff stated.

Once that wraps up, Jeff will be hitting the road for a solo tour of our vast country, taking in shows in such far flung places as Rottnest Island, Darwin and making his way down to the fair shores of Tasmania.

Jeff plays The Country Club in Launceston on October 19th, and the following night at Wrestpoint in Hobart.

“I love it down there, I wish I had the chance to see more of Tasmania, It’s beautiful,” Jeff shared.

With his vast assortment of instruments and his constant travels and tours, even when travelling light, Jeff is now on very good terms with the airlines.

“I’ll try to keep it a little economical this time,” Jeff said. “But there’ll still be a minimum of 5 acoustic guitars.”

Then its back off to Canada for a few shows with the band that started it all, The Tea Party.
“We’ve only gotten back together for the one tour so far, but it seems the Tea Party is bigger now than it ever was. There’s this myth surrounding the band.” Jeff revealed. “And now amongst the old fans, there are 20 year olds down the front at the gigs. It’s a true testament to the music, it’s timeless rock’n'roll.”

The there’s a very good chance of The Tea Party touring our shores in April or May -and another album in the works. Jeff is building his own studio in Byron, it would be a shame to see it go to waste.

“I’m based in Australia now, so we’d have to do it over here,” Jeff stated.

Jeff has an amazing stage presence and needs to be seen live for you to fully appreciate this mans’ talent. Get yourself to one of his shows and you’ll understand…

For a man that never seems to stop, what does the future hold now for Jeff Martin?
“I have the freedom now, to go anywhere I want. All my career I’ve wanted to make a dark, sexy blues record, so that’s on the cards now,” Jeff revealed.

We can’t wait Mr Martin, we can’t wait.