Masquerade of Shadows: A Conversation with Tea & Mickey Fingers

Masquerade of Shadows: A Conversation with Tea & Mickey Fingers

When you listen to Masquerade of Shadows, it doesn’t just sound like an album; it feels like stepping into a diary that sings back. To understand how this world came together, I sat down with Tea and her longtime collaborator, Mickey Fingers, to talk about journals, fairytales, and how fragments became a full dark cabaret musical.

Q: How did you actually begin pulling songs out of Tea’s journals?

Mickey Fingers: (laughs) Honestly, I treated her like she was in some kind of secret songwriting boot camp. Every time she opened up in our Artist’s Way group, I’d turn it into a writing prompt. Then I’d go through what she sent me, sometimes just voice-to-text from her journals, and circle things. “Develop this. Push on that image. There’s a lyric here.”

Tea: And I’d have to remind him — “I’m not quiet because I’m done. I’m quiet because I’m still writing what you gave me last week!” (laughs)

Mickey Fingers: (smiles) But that’s how the fairytale threads stretched into songs. It was never pressure, it was permission. Permission to treat fragments like seeds that could grow into music.

Q: Tea, do you remember when Mickey first told you your dark fairytale was actually a concept album?

Tea: (laughs softly) Oh, yes. He looked at me so seriously and said, “This is a concept album. The symbolism here, it’s your inner child screaming to be heard. But it’s also bigger than you. It’s relatable.” I just stared at him like, “What are you even talking about?”

Mickey Fingers: She didn’t have to believe it at first. I could see it. The story already had scaffolding: archetypes, shadows, mirrors. All I had to do was convince her that the diary scrawls weren’t just private; they were songs in disguise.

Tea: And that’s where I had to trust him. To me, it was just my journal, my messy insides. But he saw the cabaret stage.

Q: You and Mickey go back decades. Tell us about those early days.

Tea: We first met at a record store. I was almost 18, and he was finishing college. He was the first person who ever made me feel… interesting. He saw my first journal before it was destroyed. Back then, he told me it was “gold.” I didn’t believe him, but he pushed me to share a song. When he said it reminded him of The Chameleons’ lyrics, I was floored.

Q: And decades later you reconnected?

Tea: Yes, through a mutual friend just before COVID. When lockdowns hit, Mickey invited me into his Artist’s Way group. By then he knew my first book of lyrics and art had been destroyed. He told me, “You would’ve been famous by now.” I thought he was joking, but he meant it.

Mickey Fingers: Even then, I saw what she carried. It wasn’t just words; it was mythology. Archetypes. Shadows. That’s why Gala Violet was inevitable.

Q: So Gala Violet really began as a safe space?

Tea: Absolutely. Gifts from the Sirens was Mickey bringing me back in, reminding me I could write again. Gala Violet became scaffolding for all of us. Chronic illness, trauma, industry scars, everyone brought something heavy. Music became survival.

Mickey Fingers: Exactly. Velvet Umbrella Records was born as a safe haven. A place where “too weird” was celebrated, where brokenness could bloom into art.

Q: And now you’re weaving it all into Masquerade of Shadows?

Tea: Yes. It’s not just an album. It’s the story, the musical, the art, the symbolism. It’s prelude and epilogue. Character journals. Even extras like our Gala Violet Oblique Strategies cards (All coming soon. Mickey and I are just remastering the tracks, editing the book, and creating art.)

Mickey Fingers: Gala Violet was never about charts. It was about creating a world big enough to hold us and anyone else who needs to hear: “You’re not broken. You’re just unfinished.”

About Gala Violet

Gala Violet is more than a band; it’s a diary that sings back. Formed during lockdown by a circle of misfits, dreamers, and survivors, Gala Violet weaves dark cabaret, post-punk shadows, dream-pop haze, and theatrical storytelling into something wholly its own.

At the heart of the project is Masquerade of Shadows - part album, part stage play for headphones. Now in its final remastering, with the first draft of the companion book and artwork nearly complete, Masquerade of Shadows is slated for release in Fall 2025 under Velvet Umbrella Records.

What began as writing prompts in an Artist’s Way group has bloomed into a world of songs, story, and art — a reminder that every fragment can bloom, every shadow can sing.

✨ About Mickey Fingers

Mickey Fingers is the co-creator of Velvet Umbrella Records and Gala Violet. A multi-instrumentalist and engineer-producer, he moves between drums, guitar, bass, piano, and synth with ridiculous ease, building worlds in Ableton Live. Equal parts mystery and mischief, he’s a steady hand in the chaos and a spark in the shadows.