Photo by Adam Hajnos
FOUND A REASON - Reviews and Radio
Mad Tea Party couldn't be more pleased with the reviews we've been getting of our new CD, FOUND A REASON. I have posted some quotes and links below, check 'em out! We've also been getting lots of great radio airplay across the country. We're asking folks to help us keep the ball rolling and to request it on your local station. To see a list of stations that we know have the new CD, click here. I hope you are having a wonderful summer, we sure are! - Ami
What critics are saying about FOUND A REASON...
"If The White Stripes and Southern Culture on the Skids mated, had fraternal twins and raised them to rock out with ukulele accompaniment, we would have Asheville, NC’s Mad Tea Party. The newly-minted duo’s new release FOUND A REASON is playful old school rock that is both straightforward and wonderfully melodic. It’s B-52s meets Buddy Holly with a lot more thump; Americana with a funky fire underneath the plaintiveness of Jason Krekel’s smooth vocals and Ami Worthen’s jukebox-era delivery...FOUND A REASON shows Mad Tea Party to be a band with more to offer than retro artifices. The group takes traditional styles of playing and puts a good, fresh coat of paint on it." - Southeast Performer
"Mad Tea Party's FOUND A REASON is a delicious juke joint jaunt, with emphasis on the "uke". The duo from Asheville plays rockabilly, early punk, old time, and 1960s rock and roll (among others) with a Buddy Holly swagger and the authenticity of 1930s street performers." - PopMatters (click to read the whole review)
“A collection of infectious indie stompers and honky-tonk pop tunes that make sitting still not an option…FOUND A REASON is a jaunty, high-speed romp through the theatrical Americana made popular by groups like Southern Culture on the Skids." - Bold Life Magazine
"Hipsters rejoice...Mad Tea Party, made up of Jason Krekel and Ami Worthen, offer up good ol’ raw rock ‘n’ roll. This Ashville, North Carolina duo really hit the mark on their new album FOUND A REASON their fourth overall. Krekel has the chops on electric guitar, fiddle, bass and foot drums. Worthen’s sweet voice goes with her steady acoustic guitar and ukulele. Think classic rock/blues riffs." - On Tap Magazine
"Garage-rock radness with boy-girl vocals and thumping foot-drums." - KUCI 88.9 FM
"Their sound, filled with retro ease, is southern rockabilly meets country blues meets Ami Worthen's electric ukulele. On the album, entitled FOUND A REASON, Mad Tea Party channels the earliest genres of American music, and adds a dose of alternative fun, spirit, and spunk to them. When guitarist Jason Krekel climbs up and down the frets of his guitar, he plucks the strings with an energy Elvis would respond to, and their songwriting channels that of Chuck Berry." - Beyond Race Magazine
"From the opening rollicking opening chords of 'Blues Slip In', the album stomps and glides with a toe-tapping catchiness...The stomp is natural, unrestrained, and always on the verge of being sloppy. The gap between the backbeat and floor-walloping strut is primitive but perfect...It’s too easy to call up comparisons to other dynamic duos currently bashing it out on the scene; rather, Mad Tea Party is more like where Flat Duo Jets meets Flatt and Scruggs." - Unbound Culture (click to read more)
July 30, 2008
Back in NC - Baby Gramps on His Way!
We have landed safely back in hot and sticky North Carolina. It feels great. I am still getting my blog up to date with all of the adventures we had. We're playing a private party this Saturday (a luau, no less!) and then on Sunday we're in Aberdeen, NC as part of the Rooster's Wife Concert series.
Next Wednesday (August 6) we are playing a very special event - a show with our hero Baby Gramps on the LaZoom Tour Bus in Asheville. There is very limited seating for that one. Gramps is also playing in Pritchard Park from 5-7 next Thursday, at the Bohemian Cafe in Greenville, SC on Friday, and at Mo Daddy's in Asheville with Jason's other band the Screamingjays on Saturday. Baby Gramps is a national treasure - if you live in this area, we encourage you to catch one of these shows! You can find out more at: babygramps.com.
July 25, 2008
PopMatters Review of FOUND A REASON
Mad Tea Party´s FOUND A REASON is a delicious juke joint jaunt, with emphasis on the "uke". The duo from Asheville plays rockabilly, early punk, old time, and 1960s rock and roll (among others) with a Buddy Holly swagger and the authenticity of 1930s street performers. They call themselves "uke-abilly". Founder Ami Worthen (vocals, ukulele, acoustic guitar) and Jason Krekel (vocals, electric guitar, fiddle, bass, drums) returned to a two-piece format after playing with different lineups. The scaled-down setup works well for the mixture the two musicians have going. Both musicians combine forces as their from-another-time musical selves create familiar sounds with a vintage-hip frothiness. The two are ahead of their time, just as their "I Never Was a Cool One" suggests. "Didn´t wear name brands / I always had bad hair / I had to wear headgear", Worthen sings as she lists reason after reason for her lack of coolness growing up. However, the self-deprecating nerd-core vantage point works wonders for this duo´s appeal.
"Blue Slip In" begins the album with some uke-surf, layering electric ukulele, electric guitar, percussion and "oohs" and "bow wah wah wahs". The jaunty refrain and key change belie the song´s blue sentiments. The male and female vocal harmonies also add a front against the creeping-up blues. "Every Way" starts next, recalling punk´s early days of shout-singing and simple chord progression. Vocal processing adds texture and gristle to the already-raucous soundstage. Grunge-style garage rock proceeds to bridge the high-energy verses and chorus as Krekel employs feedback and loud double-time drumming. Each track goes on combine unlikely music pairings, like the traditional "Polly Put Your Kettle On" with old-time fiddle and Krekel´s rockabilly vocals, with the authority of two musicians seemingly plucked from the past. — Sarah Moore, PopMatters
July 9, 2008
NWSE Summer 08 Tour
Alright, we're making our lists and checking them twice, preparing to launch on an exciting (though logistically complicated) summer tour from New York to Washington to Oregon to California. We'll be celebrating our new CD, Found a Reason, which comes out in stores next Tuesday, July 15th.
You can go to our Shows page for all of the glorious details. Please tell all of your friends that live in those places about our upcoming arrival. And if you live somewhere we're headed, we can't wait to see you!
I'll be posting reports of our journey on my blog (as much as time and internet access allows), which can be found here: www.ukulelerockstar.wordpress.com.
Please cheer us on! Touring is fun, but it sure ain't easy!
Toodles, Ami
June 29, 2008
Heavy Rebel Weekender
Mad Tea Party plays Saturday, July 5th at 8:00 pm on the Main Stage of this killer festival.
June 23, 2008
Charlotte CD Release + New Blog
The next in our series of CD Release parties will be this Saturday, June 28 at the Evening Muse in Charlotte. The show will start at 10:30 pm. It should be a good one!
In other news, I have started a tour diary/blog. I have our whole California tour documented on there now, and a number of other fun events (I've included photos, too). Check it out: www.ukulelerockstar.wordpress.com.
June 16, 2008
Atlanta Area CD Release
Mad Tea Party will be celebrating the release of Found a Reason this Friday, June 20 at Karvana in Decatur, GA. We can't wait to see all of our Atlanta peeps!
We recently got a great review of Found a Reason on Unbound Culture - click here to read.
June 15, 2008
Birchmere in Alexandria TONIGHT!
We are so excited that we are opening for the Puppini Sisters at the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA tonight. Opening for a classy band at a classy venue! Happy Father's Day!
June 10, 2008
Thanks, Asheville!
We had an amazing time at our CD Release Party in Asheville last Friday. What a wonderful crowd of smart, fun people dancing and sharing their good energy with us. Thank you! And Paleface sounded great. The Asheville Citizen-Times has posted a gallery of photos from that night: Click here to view the photos. Found a Reason season has begun!
June 7, 2008
New Video!
Mad Tea Party - "Every Way" (2008) from Skizz Cyzyk on Vimeo
June 2, 2008
Asheville CD Release Party!
Whew! We are on our way home from California right now. What a wonderful trip. I'll be posting more up about our adventures and all the nice people we met soon.
However, right now our focus is our CD Release Party at the Grey Eagle in Asheville this Friday, June 6th at 9:00 pm. Paleface, a wonderful folkcore duo, will open the show. Advance tickets are available at www.thegreyeagle.com. We'll be playing on WNCW 88.7 FM at 1:00 pm that day. You can listen online at www.wncw.org.
If you're wondering what to expect, here's what one paper had to say about us in California:
"More a spectacle than a traditional two-person band, Mad Tea Party consists of vocalist and ukulele strummer Ami Worthen and guitarist, fiddler and drummer Jason Krekel. As Worthen reels out charming and quirky songs with an arch sense of humor, Krekel does double- and triple-duty, creating the illusion of a much bigger band with only two arms and two legs. It's a sight to behold...but Mad Tea Party's unique sound is just as worthy of note. A bubbly amalgam of juke-joint blues, pop, tiki exotica and rockabilly, the band has honed an approach that is unique and affecting without being too precious." - Metro Santa Cruz
May 18, 2008
California Here We Come!
That's right, we're hopping on a plane (or two) this week for our first ever California tour. We have some sweet gigs set up for the trip. Please check out our Shows page for all of the juicy details. We are playing in Sacramento, Oakland, Ojai, Los Angeles, Altadena, Alameda and Felton (near Santa Cruz). We have some co-bills with great acts out there - Tippy Canoe & the Paddlemen, Stars & Garters, Beachwood Rockers Society, and Tiki King & The Idol Pleasures. Hot dog! If you live in California, we'd love to see you, and if you know anyone on our route, please let them know about our shows. Thanks so much.
May 13, 2008
Featured Artist on Twirl Radio
Mad Tea Party is the featured artist on Twirl Radio out of Sacramento, CA for the month of May! We couldn't be more pleased. You can read the article and review of Found a Reason here. What a wonderful build up to our first California tour which starts next week!
May 12, 2008
Knoxville and Montford
This Thursday Mad Tea Party will be playing twice in Knoxville, TN - once at noon on WDVX's Blue Plate Special (you can listen online at www.wdvx.com) and then at 10 pm at the Preservation Pub, after the Sundown in the City. On Saturday, May 17th at 5:30 pm we are playing at the Montford Music & Arts Festival in Asheville, a sweet free outdoor event.
May 4, 2008
Coast to Coast NC
We had a fantastic time at the French Broad River Festival. You can read my blog about it on our MySpace page. Now we are looking ahead to yet another fun weekend. This Friday, May 9th, we are playing in Charlotte at the Neighborhood Theater with our pals Snake Oil Medicine Show. Then on Saturday May 10 we will be at the Beaufort Music Festival, performing right on the water. Jason's dad Tim Krekel is playing before us, and I'm sure Jason will play with him. After us will be Unknown Tongues and Southern Culture on the Skids. Isn't springtime grand? Until next time, Ami
April 27, 2008
First Festival of 2008
Mad Tea Party is playing our first festival of the year this weekend - the French Broad River Festival in Hot Springs, NC. The location is beautiful, the line-up is terrific, and we can't wait to crank up a dance party there on Saturday night. Bring your boogie shoes!
April 14, 2008
Spring Break
Mad Tea Party is taking a break from shows the rest of this month to prepare for the busy year we have ahead. We have lots of cool festivals and shows scheduled, and TWO trips to the West Coast planned! Our new CD, Found a Reason, is coming out this summer on Nine Mile Records. Our first CD Release Party is Friday, June 6 at the Grey Eagle in Asheville. Paleface will open that show. We look forward to seeing you out there on the road soon!
March 31, 2008
Virginia, NYC and Baltimore This Week
The Doo-Nanny was an amazing experience. A magical collection of folk artists and other creative types. We certainly got a big charge of inspiration. I'll be posting some photos soon, but maybe not until after all of the fun shows we have planned for this week. Check out our Shows page for all of the glorious details!
March 23, 2008
Doo-Nanny!
We are happily headed to the Doo-Nanny this week. This annual folk art sale and experience happens in Seale, Alabama. In years past, the sale has been held on the side of the highway, but this year the event will take place on world renowned folk artist Butch Anthony’s property. There will be folk artists from around the country (and the planet), there will be a film festival, there will be performance art, there will most certainly be the unexpected. Oh, and a number of musicians will be performing, including Mad Tea Party.
We had a memorable experience at the Doo-nanny last year, and this year is slated to be the biggest one yet.
Check out to www.thoughtbarn.com/DOONANNY.html for a downloadable guide and links.
Happy Spring!
February 17, 2008
Mad Tea Party Signs With Nine Mile Records!
We couldn't be more pleased to announce that Mad Tea Party has signed with Nine Mile Records for our upcoming release, Found a Reason. Nine Mile Records is a terrific indie label out of Massachusetts. Their roster includes such fine acts as Stephanie's Id, Patrick Sweany, and the Zydepunks. Found a Reason will hit stores this summer. Our CD Release Party in Asheville will be on Friday, June 6th at the Grey Eagle. Stay tuned for more details!In the meantime, you can post this on your blog or myspace page:
February 11, 2008
Heading North
Mad Tea Party heads north this week for shows in Virginia and Maryland. On Valentine's Day we'll be at the Iota in Arlington, VA with Jeff & Vida. Expect lots of love. Friday we are playing at Baltimore Chop in (you guessed it) Baltimore, MD. Then on Saturday we'll be playing our re-scheduled show at the Mad Hatter in Farmville, VA. So there you have it.
February 3, 2008
Rockin' the 'Villes
This Wednesday we will have a short video shown as part of the Music Video Asheville event at the Cinebarre. On Friday we head to Nashville, TN to play at the Basement with our friends Ballhog. Then on Saturday night we'll be in Louisville, KY playing a show with Jason's dad Tim at the Louisville BBQ Company (1800 Frankfort Avenue). We look forward to seeing some of our 'ville-living pals this week.
January 27, 2008
Video Screenings in U.S. and U.K.
On Wednesday, February 6 at 6:00 pm, a short Mad Tea Party video, filmed and edited by our friend J. Goldband, will be shown as part of the Music Video Asheville event at the Cinebarre. The video is silly and candid. You can find out more about the event at: www.myspace.com/musicvideoasheville
On February 23 (if everything goes according to plan) the Mad Tea Party episode of Mount Dungeon (which will be out soon) will be screened at the Ukelear Meltdown Festival at the Shadow Cinema in Necastle-Upon-Tyme in England. Mount Dungeon is an Asheville underground music television show. The Ukelear Meltdown Festival of "extreme ukulele" will celebrate lo-fi, punk rock approaches to the ukulele. Check out: http://www.ukelearmeltdown.co.uk/ and www.mountdungeon.com
January 21, 2008
Knoxville
We're glad to be heading back to Knoxville this Thursday, January 24th to play at Barley's. We hope you Knoxvillians will join us for the fun.
Speaking of fun, we had a terrific time on Sunday playing for Gwen's surprise birthday party! It was great that so many folks got on the dance floor - the congo line was a hoot. We were honored to be a part of the celebration.
January 14, 2008
Virginia is for Lovers
Mad Tea Party is playing in loveable Virginia this Saturday, January 19th at the Mad Hatter (they are kindred spirits, clearly) in Farmville. Ian Thomas will open the show - he is terrific. Yeah!
UPDATE! This show has been CANCELED due to winter weather - it has been rescheduled for February 16th!
January 1, 2008
Happy New Year!
Happy 2008! It's great to be here. We are really looking forward to the new year. We're spending the next couple of weeks organizing our lives and working on our new CD, which we plan to release later this year - stay tuned!