THE RIDER: Tea Eater's Top 10
Tarra Thiessen on waffle spots, flip-phone flashbacks and the Driggs debut of the band's signature slice
BRING ON THE BUTTER BABY (!!!!!!) because this edition of THE RIDER is comin’ at ya courtesy of BK’s favorite bizarro art-punk outfit Tea Eater, whose sophomore album I Don’t Believe in Bad Luck is OUT NOW!
Tea Eater describes I Don’t Believe in Bad Luck as “the story of a hotline psychic who’s sick of everyone—including herself.” And where Tea Eater’s debut record Obsession featured tracks about Jack Nicholson and evil twins (plus a one-minute-six-second ~fuck you~ dedicated to the DMV), this record has the band continuing their celebration of the hyper-specific with songs about little white dogs and being a bug in the basement.
While the psychic story offers a structure, the album also “delves into the shadow side of self-reflection.” So as Tea Eater continues to steer clear of cliché (there are no lovvvve songs, at least in the literal sense), they’re simultaneously proving that funny doesn’t mean mean frivolous—the silly can be sacred. Peek below the surface of the songs, and Tea Eater is sneakin’ in some serious universal truths, making for music that’s as meaningful as it is deliciously manic. Which feels right. After all, life is mostly pretty strange. And maybe all the secrets of the world are, in fact, written on a waffle.
A perfect illustration of this phenomenon — a big idea wrapped in the wild embrace of the weird — is the heavyweight championship taking place in album’s fifth track, “ET VS Jesus.”
“‘ET VS Jesus’ is your free manifestation guide to reality tunnel creation,” Tea Eater frontwoman Tarra Thiessen says of the song. “I like to think of the universe as a server at a diner. If you are only considering all the things you don’t want on the menu, the server will bring that to the table. The lyrics of the track encourage you to train your attention to mostly focus on the things you do want, because similar to your algorithm, if you keep clicking on the photos of weird frogs, your reality will keep showing you the weird frogs.”
Be careful what you click for.
Check out the music video for that song, featuring what else but a butter battle between Bushwick Jesus and a spaced-out, wig-wearin’ Gumby…
Then PRESS PLAY and READ ON for Tea Eater’s Top 10 — a list crafted by Tarra that features flip phones, tarot and Transcendental Meditation.
Go forth and have a really nice weekend!!! And please remember to manifest the best <3
TEA EATER’S TOP 10
1. Tarot Cards
I have a travel Alister Crowley Toth deck I bring on tour, and I am currently creating the Tea Eater Tarot Deck! I have a substack documenting the tarot journey and it'll be available for pre-order soon.
2. Death By Audio pedals
We love DBA!! I use their Interstellar Overdrive pedal & Fuzz War. Vram uses their Ty Segall Sunshine Reverb & the Echo Dream.
3. Driggs Pizza Parlor
Drigg Pizza Parlor (formerly Two Boots Williamsburg) is doing a band slice of the month and Tea Eater had the honor of being the first one! It’s called the Cecelia Slice and it is as saucy as the music video star herself with vodka sauce, caramelized onions, mozzarella, ricotta cheese and basil. We had an epic slice party a week before our record was released! The Gustaf slice will be coming soon!!
4. Espresso
We drink espresso from the time we wake up till we go to bed! It’s a good day on tour when there’s a bonus non-dairy latte.
5. Waffles
My favorite places to eat waffles in NYC are The Sunset Diner & Kellogg’s Diner. Kellogg's is fancy now, but reasonably priced!
6. Journal / sketchbook
Journaling at home & on the road keeps me sane! I've had a journal since I was 12, and I did The Artist’s Way back in 2019 which inspired me to write 3 morning pages consistently. These days I write 2 pages and do a little drawing that has something to do with that day/dreams/tarot card pulls.
7. Meditation
I learned Transcendental Meditation in 2009 after reading David Lynch’s book Catching the Big Fish. I don’t always get 2 meditations in a day, but I use the app Insight Timer to meditate after I drink my espresso and write. I also discovered The Gateway Tapes in 2021 thanks to a declassified CIA document on them that went viral on Tiktok. The Gateway Tapes will change your life and possibly introduce you to some non-physical friends!
8. Flip phone
When I'm not on tour, I bring a flip phone when I leave the house and leave my smartphone at home. I basically treat my smartphone as my "work phone," but I have a text forwarding app, so I can still get my texts when I'm out. Texting on a flip phone is annoying though so I call people (and sometimes even get lost) like it's the 2000s.
9. ScreenZen app
NOT TO BE A BUMMER but most musicians struggle with social media addiction since it’s a necessary evil for our careers. In order to have an adult relationship with Instagram & Tiktok I use the app ScreenZen! I have it set so I only go on either of those apps a max 5 times per day for 10 minutes each time (which is still a lot). It really helps!!
10. Butter
I LOVE BUTTER
Top 10 written + submitted by Tea Eater. Follow Tea Eater at @teaeatertv, buy music on Bandcamp and add the songs to your Spotify playlists!
Feature image provided by the band.