Tea Leaf Green

Originating in San Francisco, the jam band Tea Leaf Green emerged from the longstanding connection between guitarist Josh Clark and drummer Scott Rager, who had performed together in a high-school group in Arcadia, CA. Following graduation, Rager attended San Francisco State College and there encountered bassist Ben Chambers. Once Clark relocated to the city, the three musicians formed a trio and began performing. Their initial paid engagement drew the attention of Trevor Garrod, a singer/songwriter and keyboard player who had arrived in San Francisco in search of collaborators. Garrod connected with the others, and the lineup soon expanded into a quartet.

The group cultivated a regional audience across Northern California while issuing independent albums including Tea Leaf Green, Midnight on the Reservoir (2001), Friday June 6, 2003: Live at Slim's, San Francisco CA (September 17, 2003), Living in Between (February 7, 2004), and Live at the Independent (2004). They later broadened their reach with national touring that included a 2005 appearance at the Bonnaroo Festival.

Under an agreement with Reincarnate Music, the band delivered its first nationally distributed album, Taught to Be Proud, on November 15, 2005, while supporting Gov't Mule and Trey Anastasio. On May 19, 2006, a performance at the Fox Theater in Boulder, CO, was recorded for a concert film that SCI Fidelity Records released on October 31, 2006, as the CD and DVD set Rock 'n' Roll Band. Subsequent road work placed Tea Leaf Green in support of Dave Matthews Band and Bruce Hornsby, alongside their own headline dates. Chambers departed in November 2007, with Reed Mathis, formerly of Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, stepping in on bass.

In 2008 the band moved to Surfdog Records, which compiled the first three studio albums—Tea Leaf Green, Midnight on the Reservoir, and Living in Between—into the triple-CD set Seeds, issued April 22, 2008. Surfdog also reissued Taught to Be Proud with additional tracks on June 3, 2008, and unveiled the new studio album Raise Up the Tent on July 22, 2008.