Ten minute tea with Afternoon Tea. Spend ten minutes with Afternoon Tea. In the time it takes to boil one kettle, and let one cup of tea steep, we will have your daily art + music fix covered. Take your afternoon tea break with our Afternoon Tea curators.
Today’s tea + soundtrack + visuals curated by The Tuesday Nighters.
The Tuesday Nighters are a Canadian rock n’ roll band with a spirit found on the dance floors of downtown Toronto, and a soul in the small towns and countryside of Northern Ontario.
The song, “Eddie,” was inspired by the story of Private Eddie Namaypoke, an Indigenous soldier and residential school runaway who was killed in WWII and is buried in the Rome War Cemetery. The band wanted to honour him with this haunting retelling of Eddie‘s very sad story through the power of music.
Songwriter Taylor Prestidge visited his grave there and later met his surviving family at Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung (The Manitou Mounds) in Northwestern Ontario (near Kenora). To our knowledge, this is the only time Eddie has been visited in that cemetery. This story was chronicled by Taylor in an article published in Maclean’s Remembrance Day Issue in 2016.
The band felt that it was extremely fitting that it was recorded at Jukasa Studio, which sits on the Six Nations Land. Furthermore, 50% of all proceeds from the song will be donated to the Downie Wenjack fund.
Take a moment to listen and reflect on “Eddie” now:
‘Oh Darlin What Have I Done’ by The White Buffalo
In the film “Hi, My Name is Dicky” which I had the pleasure of directing and producing, we licensed this song which I find bends genres, much in the way our song “Eddie” does. It was a perfect fit for the scene it was scored within, where our subject is contemplating the outcomes of his actions through his struggles with substance abuse disorder.
Perhaps it’s being a child of the Tragically Hip generation, but I’m a sucker for music that tells a tale and piques curiosity to the listener. Other similar songs that come to mind are Kate McCannon by Colter Wall and Rocky Raccoon by The Beatles (ever heard of them?).
April in Algonquin Park, 1917, Tom Thomson
Living now on Georgian Bay near Thomson’s hometown of Leith, I’m absolutely fascinated by his life and plight, and how he inspired a generation of artists. The piece here, “April”, depicts the beautiful calmness and quietness that rural Ontario offers, and I feel beyond blessed to call this area home. As I previously eluded to, I’m a curious soul (and a journalist by trade), so Thomson’s demise and ultimately mysterious burial are also a major part of the lore that fascinates me so much.
Twisted Tea. I mean… my favourite cup of tea is Earl Grey black with honey in it — which is not very rock n’ roll! But sometimes when the sun is shining and the tunes are blaring, you can’t really beat a couple Twisted Teas to start the day off right! Perhaps it’s too much sugar for a cocktail, but I mean, you only live once.
Tea + Me 