For a moment, I thought Deer Tick was doing more with its new EP, More Fuel for the Fire, than offering a stop-gap between albums. After opener "La La La" faded out on iTunes (the only way to get the EP at the moment), a slinky guitar came in and the rhythm section sounded like something out of an early Santana track. What was this? Then came the vocals, which found John J. McCauley sounding like... Captain Beefheart? OK, so I unknowingly had the thing set on shuffle, and it was indeed Beefheart's "Low Yo Yo Stuff" cranking through the speakers.

Thing is, this didn't seem outside the realm of possibility. I guess I'll just have to give it a few years. For now, Deer Tick, while capable of more, is content to have fun and offer up bar band delights with a ragged smile. I'm willing to wait. The band's Born on Flag Day promises to show well on next week's Top CDs of 2009 list (watch for it Dec. 9), and its live show is the best thing I've seen in a long while (I'm already looking forward to an April date here in Iowa City).

So, what do we have here? Two long-time live staples in the trifle "La La La" and "Dance of Love," a slight song sung by guitarist Andrew Tobiassen. Both are fine, but nothing special. The third track is the keeper, "Axe is Forever." Sounding like an early Creedence Clearwater Revival, the band offers a swampy boogie that seems to be an homage to Axe Body Spray (JJM, correct me if I'm wrong).

The EP closes with a live version of "Straight into a Storm" from Born on Flag Day. It's a rollicking rendition, though inessential given how much live material is available from the band (including a run through that track on the band's Daytrotter session).

So, yes, this is a stop-gap with no signs of artistic growth, and that's fine. But there will come a day where McCauley and Co. will surprise listeners, as they have the ability, should they choose to embrace it, to make Beefheart seem like a peer, if not an early influence left on the side.

Labels: Deer Tick, EPs, music

In the past two months, I went from knowing Deer Tick by name only to being a fanatic for the band's music. Credit the quartet's live show, which is a raucous, fun affair. Knowing they were playing in town, I listened to a couple of songs online, and was intrigued enough to give them a shot. I left with a copy of the just-out Born on Flag Day in my hands and memories of one of the best live shows I've seen in a long time.

The band's roots are found in the person of John J. McCauley III. This Rhode Island kid began playing and recorded solo under the name Deer Tick, blending old-time country, folk and classic rock to create a stew flavored by his somewhat meek vocals. That evolved as he surrounded himself with musicians to record his proper debut, War Elephant. The eclectic disc included finger-picked gems like "Ashamed" and "Art Isn't Real (City of Sin)." McCauley's voice took on a raspy tone that seemed to signal living and experience well beyond his years. The disc was uneven, but contained plenty to like. It felt like what it was: a collection of songs from a singer-songwriter willing to try anything.

Along the way, McCauley formed a band around himself, joining with drummer Dennis Ryan and bassist Chris Ryan. With these accomplices, McCauley seemed to realize how much fun it is to really rock out. Grabbing new guitarist Andrew Tobiassen, the newly minted quartet finished a sophomore disc, Born on Flag Day, and hit the road. A lot. The new songs were much more raucous, maintaining McCauley's finger-picked guitar and wild melodies, but pushing them through the speakers with force rather than a sly subtlety. From the opening blast of guitar feedback on "Easy" it's clear this is a band, not a one-man project.

The live show drives that home. These guys are young, and it shows. Sure, there is a lack of polish that gives it away, but that's not a detriment. it's a blessing. These guys have fun, and the audience can't help but join in. More than willing to celebrate their influences, they play a big batch of covers, hitting John Prine, Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp before a rousing, set-closing run at "La Bamba." This is still clearly McCauley's band. He occasionally dismisses his bandmates from their instruments, sending them off to gather around a microphone to blanket his vocals with blissfully ragged harmonies while he picks out what is essentially a solo song or two. But despite his talents, McCauley is a stronger artist with this version of Deer Tick at his back. As good as the band's first two albums are, the truly enticing thing about the group is thinking of how good the next one will be.

TIRBD: Born on Flag Day are much rowdier than your previous work. Is that a function of having a band performing them, or were they already headed in that direction before the band got a hold of them?

JJM: I think its the band's contribution. The old songs off of War Elephant are the same way; when the band plays them they're rowdy as fuck.

You're all young guys who are of an age where most of your peers are trying to separate from their families and prove themselves on their own, yet you offer dozens of family photos on the insert of the new album and thank your families profusely. Is this embrace of family values some strange form of reverse psychology rebellion?

Born On Flag Day is a special album for us. Its the biggest thing I've ever done. Its the highest profile way we could all let our families know that we appreciate who they are and where we came from. And I think, even though we are young, we've been separated from our families and have already proved ourselves on our own. We grow up fast here in Providence.

You also, for a young band, seem very willing to wear your influences on your sleeve. You played five or six covers the night I saw you recently, and all could be pointed to very clearly as influences on your sound. Most artists try to hide such things in a bid for authenticity. Why the transparent embrace?

Its music, man! Nobody's doing anything incredibly original without sucking ass. You like Tom Petty, play a damn Petty song!

There is a real southern sound to your songs, so it's a surprise to learn that you're from Rhode Island. Where did that particular influence come from? Is there a Rhode Island sound that people might otherwise expect?

There's a Seattle sound in our music, too. People like to focus on the country thing though. Like you said, we wear our influences on our sleeve. Its not like we don't have a country radio station here in Providence.

Your voice is among the most distinctive elements of the band, and by the end of a show it sounds like you're gargling gasoline laced with broken glass. Now that you're touring more, are you able to sustain that intensity of delivery without it going out on you?

I made it almost the whole seven weeks this trip, but right at the end I caught strep throat. I had it a few years ago and was able to sing through it, but this time it was impossible. That's the thing that sucks now, when I get sick, I get sick. Sometimes Emergen-C every morning just isn't enough. I've been singing like this since I started playing in bands ten years ago, singing like this never causes me any pain.

What is it like making music in an environment where people are now really paying attention to you and coming to shows with expectations? Has the exposure of things like the Brian Williams interview had an impact on the crowds at your shows? Does that affect the way you approach performance?

I think the attention makes for a better live show. I, for one, started stage diving. Its all very exciting and the four of us are giddy as hell. And I think when you come to see us, that becomes very obvious.

Labels: Deer Tick, Monday Interview, music

I don't throw something like this around lightly, but Deer Tick may be the band to finally take up the mantle laid down by the Replacements. First things first: the two bands sound nothing alike. There have been plenty of gravel-throated pretenders to Paul Westerberg's throne who fronted grungy rock combos. What I'm talking about here is something more: an attitude mixed with talent to burn that yields a restlessness channeled through a fried microphone and a battered amp.

When drawing the line between the two bands, it probably didn't hurt that singer John Joseph McCauley III invoked the 'Mats during the band's show last night at the Mill in Iowa City. After the quartet took a quick spin through the first portion of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" (the second cover of a young set; the second song was Tom Petty's "Breakdown"), McCauley laughed and said, "We're turning into the Replacements here." The amazing thing is that McCauley, in his early 20s, probably wasn't even born yet when the definitive document of that version of the Replacements, The Shit Hits the Fans -- the cassette of a drunken Replacements tearing through a sloppy set of covers during 1984 show -- was released. That, and subsequent covers of John Prine, John Cougar Mellencamp, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Buck Owens and Richie Valens, show these musicians are old souls wrapped in young bodies. Sound like anyone else you know?

So, what does Deer Tick sound like if it doesn't sound like the 'Mats? The Rhode Island band's own web site seems puzzled: "They have been labeled things like alt-country, and freak folk, which the band finds a little weird. Are things like 'alt' and 'freak' necessary to describe Deer Tick? Deer Tick doesn't think so." At times, McCauley sounds like Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Magnum, his voice having that same timbre and rattle. But his band leans much more south and west, able to conjure a hoedown on a dime, singing sweet, full harmonies all the while. It's an intoxicating mix made all the more potent by the fact that these are clearly kids who are learning every day and getting a kick out of showing off their new chops.

The band's debut, War Elephant, showed promise, but McCauley recorded everything himself and that makes for a somewhat claustrophobic listen. Those songs live had true power, particularly when it came to the vocals. And the new material, on the forthcoming Born on Flag Day (due next week) is even better.

I'm late to the party, but was happy to catch up quickly. For more about the band, you can check out this interview with NBC's Brian Williams:

Labels: Deer Tick, music