Deer Tick :: The Empty Reviews Interview

 

Deer Tick is finally coming to Denver, ladies and gentlemen, so prepare the bubbly. We were lucky enough get some answers from John McCauley about some items of the utmost concern: boners, Wikipedia, and The California Raisins. If this interview doesn’t convince you to go see these fine fellows play Larimer Lounge on October 27th, you’ll have to find some other way to douse yourself in booze on a Wednesday night.

Empty Reviews: You don't really hear of too many bands hailing from Rhode Island, especially those that are labeled "alt-country" or "country-rock." We don't know what those mean either. Anyway, was it difficult to get started in what we're assuming is a relatively small scene in The Ocean State or were you the big fish in a small...er, ocean?

John McCauley: I thought we were a rock band. Anybody who calls us otherwise probably hasn’t seen us play live. Providence has a really big and very supportive music scene so, no, it wasn’t very hard to get started at all.

ER: deertickmusic.com is one of our favorite official band websites. It's simple, yet effective. Have you ever considered giving up this whole rock star business and starting a backwards revolution on the Internets instead?

JM: That would be great. I miss the old days of email, and Ate My Balls websites. No fancy stuff.

ER: What's the story behind your sweet California Raisins tattoo?

JM: They were a big influence on me, believe it or not. I had to pay tribute to the dried fruit Motown gods.

ER: We can picture your shows being a blast in any setting, but do you have a favorite? Dingy rock club? Outdoor festival stage? Discotheque? Other?

JM: Dingy rock clubs are the best. The stinkier the better. Outdoor gigs kind of suck.
[Editor’s Note: We can’t think of a dingier, stinkier club in Denver than Larimer. Awesome.]

ER: What's your best "brush with fame" story?

JM: I met Danny DeVito and Mark Mothersbaugh while on some heavy psychedelics. And no, I didn’t just imagine this.

ER: Any crazy pre-show superstitions that we might like to know about?

JM: Nah, usually I’m just at the bar all night then I’ll look at the time and go “Oh fuck, I was supposed to be on stage 10 minutes ago!”

ER: Your latest release, The Black Dirt Sessions, is the second batch of songs that were written and recorded a couple of years ago along with those from Born On Flag Day. You've have had some changes to the band since then. Did that change the outcome of BDS as compared what was initially planned for the album?

JM: According to our Wikipedia page, that is correct. But that’s not the case. BOF was recorded in September 2008. Black Dirt began in January 2009 and the point was to just record every song we had written and see what we could make out of it. The weird thing was that Andy left the band and Ian had joined during the time we recorded it. I don’t think it did much. If anything, Ian’s contributions kind of really helped finish off the sessions, even though when he joined we kind of felt that it was done. Rob joined in March of this year, so he’s not on anything. So, by going into a studio kind of with no plan we ended up with an album and an EP.

ER: You guys are playing The Larimer Lounge in Denver on October 27th. By law, all bands that visit our fair city are required to mention how difficult it is to breathe at this altitude. How do you plan to deal with this obstacle?

JM: I’ve played in Colorado before. Not in Denver, but in Morrison, Fort Collins, and somewhere else, I’m drawing a blank. I’ve visited Denver a few times. I never noticed it difficult to breathe. I was probably drunk though. I guess I’ll get drunk.

ER: We've been told that this question is "the blight of music journalism" but we feel it's not when answered with a little imagination. So if you would be so kind, please fill in the blanks: Deer Tick... Our music is like ________ meets ________

JM: The Band meets The Replacements. This is kind of a new thing, since Ian and Rob joined. It’s really come together in this kind of jammy, groovy way, but always at full throttle with middle fingers and boners flying high and proud in the air.

ER: You say on your website that those standing near the front at your shows should be prepared for a beer (and/or confetti) shower. Should we buy you guys the beer we would like to be showered with or do you have a label you're particular to?

JM: We drink a lot of Budweiser. Cheap, tastes good, and its 5%. For this gig we might bring a couple bottles of Andre to celebrate our first gig in Denver.