Simon's Stereo

There really are no rules in rock 'n' roll beyond the ones you impose on yourself.

If you've decided to take a break after putting in a great deal of touring and recording mileage there's no law that says your band has to call it quits. Especially when said band is Edmonton's Idyl Tea, who always saw their relationship as predicated as much on friendship as the business of music. The idea of friendship in rock 'n' roll is a romantic one that often doesn't bear scrutiny, but these groups do exist, and Idyl Tea's hiatus after a fruitful collaboration between 1984 and 1995 wasn't seen as the end of that friendship, much less their time in the music business.

From their beginnings as a respected band playing the Edmonton scene alongside such legendary acts as Jr. Gone Wild and SNFU to the later years signed to Attic Records, Idyl Tea accomplished a great deal. Three cross-country (and countless regional) tours as an indie act, two EPs (when releasing an indie EP was a big deal) and even a cassette single, one major label album plus the patronage of MuchMusic, who gave the fledging group support when they most needed it. That they called a halt due to the sort of life changes expected of three men who started playing together in their late teens and were now knocking on thirty shouldn't come as a surprise.

All three continued, after all. There were solo projects, side projects, new bands, new families and new residences across the country for Hank Engel (bass, guitar, vocals), Everett LaRoi (guitars, vocals) and Craig Metcalfe (drums, percussion), but the band itself never actually officially broke up. Now, over fifteen years after they abandoned the full length followup to their Attic Records debut, they've joined together again for a two-in-one CD that covers rare and unreleased songs (The Unthology) and newer offerings from songwriters LaRoi and Engel (Song That's Not Finished Yet.) With it are a scattering of dates in Alberta that may or may not herald more; after all, it's the friendship that matters here, not the business.

Press Release by Tom Murray, July 16, 2011