Deer Tick
Encyclopedia
Deer Tick is an American indie folk
band from Providence, Rhode Island
led by guitarist
and singer-songwriter
John McCauley. Deer Tick's music has been described as a combination of folk
, blues
, and country
.
s in this time period, and the project eventually evolved into what is now known as Deer Tick. After almost one year of continuous touring McCauley returned to Providence
with a newfound confidence and a number of songs including "Dirty Dishes", "Art Isn't Real (City Of Sin)" and "Ashamed". Deer Tick would soon earn comparisons to pioneering indie
and alt-country
acts such as Bright Eyes, Modest Mouse
, and Uncle Tupelo
.
in the spring of 2007, and shortly after he and drummer Dennis Ryan became official members of Deer Tick. Lead guitarist Andrew Grant Tobiassen joined the band in August 2008, and guitarist Ian O'Neil joined the band in August 2009 after playing with New Jersey
-based act Titus Andronicus
. Tobiassen left the band in early 2010, and Rob B. Crowell (Keyboards/Saxophone) joined the band in the spring of 2010.
Other musicians who have performed live as part of Deer Tick or who have played onstage with the band on several occasions, include Chris Paddock, Liz Izenberg, Diego Perez, and Jonny Corndawg.
was released on September 4, 2007 on Feow! Records
. While Deer Tick continued to tour, the label and the band had disputes over royalty payments. Soon after, Partisan Records
signed Deer Tick and re-released War Elephant on November 11, 2008.
In May 2009, due in large part to his love of the song "Dirty Dishes" (from "War Elephant"), NBC Nightly News
anchor Brian Williams
featured Deer Tick as the first band profiled on his BriTunes web-based
music interview program.
titled Born on Flag Day, released on June 23, 2009. It received wide critical acclaim, including Rolling Stone
proclaiming it the "Country-Rock break-through of the Year". The band continued to tour the US extensively, and eventually toured Europe
and shared the stage with the likes of Neko Case
., Dawes
, and Jenny Lewis
with producer
Jason Meagher to add some additional overdubs
and mix the remainder of the songs from their 2008 recording session that had already resulted in their earlier album "Born on Flag Day". These songs would become their third album The Black Dirt Sessions
. Between the original recording of these songs and the album's release, guitarist Ian O'neill had joined the band so he added rhythm guitar parts to a couple of the songs, and then a few months later (also before the album was released) lead guitarist Andrew Tobiassen left the band. On June 8, 2010, the album was released on Partisan Records
. During the period between recording the album and its release, the band also added another new official member, Rob Crowell (keyboard and saxophone) to their line up.
On June 16, 2010, Deer Tick made their network television debut on the Late Show with David Letterman
. Although the appearance came only a week after the new album was released, Deer Tick didn't perform anything from The Black Dirt Sessions, and instead chose to play a song from their very first album: "Baltimore Blues No. 1". Renowned British
music journalist and editor Allan Jones
wrote in UNCUT Magazine
that "Deer Tick noisily essayed the kind of rock 'n' roll you don’t hear these days as often as you’d maybe like, the sort that lights up everything around it like a burning house, and feel inclined therefore to cheer until you’re hoarse when you do". The band signed a deal with Fargo Records to have all three of their albums distributed throughout the United Kingdom
.
near Bloomington, IN. McCauley found a deer tick
on his scalp later that evening, which caught the singer off guard. McCauley stated that he had never come in contact with a tick, even though as a child he frequently went camping and fishing. He was thus inspired to name his band after the parasite, stating that it sounded cool. McCauley also stated that he was unaware of the bands Deerhoof
and Deerhunter
until after he had named his band, but apologized for the similarities.
and Born on Flag Day each contain cover songs; "What Kind of Fool am I?" (Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley) and "These Old Shoes" (Chris Paddock) appear on War Elephant and "Goodnight, Irene
" (Lead Belly) is included as an uncredited bonus track on Born on Flag Day. The More Fuel for the Fire
EP contains the non-McCauley composition "Dance of Love" (Andrew Grant Tobiassen).
On a handful of occasions, Deer Tick has performed entire sets as Deervana, a Nirvana
tribute band.
Indie folk
Indie folk is a music genre that arose in the 1990s from singer/songwriters in the indie rock community showing heavy influences from folk music scenes of the 50s, 60s and early 70s, country music, and indie rock. A few early artists included Lou Barlow, Beck, Jeff Buckley and Elliott Smith...
band from Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
led by guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
John McCauley. Deer Tick's music has been described as a combination of folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, and country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
.
History
Deer Tick originated as a John McCauley solo project in December 2004. Beginning his touring career with the help of Brendon Massei (Viking Moses), McCauley had toured extensively across the United States by the age of 19. In DIY fashion, he released three cassettes and numerous CD-RCD-R
A CD-R is a variation of the Compact Disc invented by Philips and Sony. CD-R is a Write Once Read Many optical medium, though the whole disk does not have to be entirely written in the same session....
s in this time period, and the project eventually evolved into what is now known as Deer Tick. After almost one year of continuous touring McCauley returned to Providence
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
with a newfound confidence and a number of songs including "Dirty Dishes", "Art Isn't Real (City Of Sin)" and "Ashamed". Deer Tick would soon earn comparisons to pioneering indie
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
and alt-country
Alternative country
Alternative country is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music...
acts such as Bright Eyes, Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse is an American indie rock band formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington, by singer/lyricist/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. They are based in Portland, Oregon. Since their 1996 debut album, This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think...
, and Uncle Tupelo
Uncle Tupelo
Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend college. The trio recorded three albums for Rockville...
.
Personnel
Since its beginning Deer Tick has varied in size from one show to another, and only had one official member (John McCauley) from its inception in 2004 through mid-2007. Paul Marandola often drummed for Deer Tick between 2005 and 2007 and keyboardist James Falzone played with the band off and on from 2006 to 2007. Current Deer Tick bassist Christopher Dale Ryan graduated from Providence CollegeProvidence College
Providence College is a private, coeducational, Catholic university located about two miles west of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, United States, the state's capital city. With a 2010–2011 enrollment of 3,850 undergraduate students and 735 graduate students, the College specializes in academic...
in the spring of 2007, and shortly after he and drummer Dennis Ryan became official members of Deer Tick. Lead guitarist Andrew Grant Tobiassen joined the band in August 2008, and guitarist Ian O'Neil joined the band in August 2009 after playing with New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
-based act Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus (band)
Titus Andronicus is a punk/indie rock band from Glen Rock, New Jersey, USA, formed in 2005. The group takes its name from the Shakespeare play Titus Andronicus, and has cited musical and stylistic influences as diverse as Neutral Milk Hotel and Pulp...
. Tobiassen left the band in early 2010, and Rob B. Crowell (Keyboards/Saxophone) joined the band in the spring of 2010.
Other musicians who have performed live as part of Deer Tick or who have played onstage with the band on several occasions, include Chris Paddock, Liz Izenberg, Diego Perez, and Jonny Corndawg.
"War Elephant"
The group's debut studio album War ElephantWar elephant (album)
War Elephant is the debut album by Deer Tick. It was originally released September 4, 2007 on FEOW! Records. After selling out by January of the following year, Deer Tick continued touring without a repress of the album they were supporting, a situation that "was an embarrassment."Partisan Records...
was released on September 4, 2007 on Feow! Records
Feow! Records
Feow! Records is an independent record label based in Houston, Texas. The label was launched by folk singer Jana Hunter and fellow musicians Matthew Brownlie of Bring Back The Guns and Arthur Bates of Houston band Wicked Poseur. Also on the label is the Rhode Island-based Deer Tick...
. While Deer Tick continued to tour, the label and the band had disputes over royalty payments. Soon after, Partisan Records
Partisan Records
Partisan Records is an American independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York. It was started in 2007 by Ian Wheeler and Tim Putnam. Their first releases were an expanded version of Holy Sons Decline of the West and The Standard's fifth studio album Swimmer...
signed Deer Tick and re-released War Elephant on November 11, 2008.
In May 2009, due in large part to his love of the song "Dirty Dishes" (from "War Elephant"), NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News is the flagship daily evening television news program for NBC News and broadcasts. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is located in the center...
anchor Brian Williams
Brian Williams
Brian Douglas Williams is the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, the evening news program of the NBC television network, a position he assumed in 2004...
featured Deer Tick as the first band profiled on his BriTunes web-based
Web application
A web application is an application that is accessed over a network such as the Internet or an intranet. The term may also mean a computer software application that is coded in a browser-supported language and reliant on a common web browser to render the application executable.Web applications are...
music interview program.
"Born On Flag Day"
The band spent 20 days late in 2008 in a marathon recording session that resulted in enough material for their next two albums. The first album to be released containing material from this recording session was their second album for Partisan RecordsPartisan Records
Partisan Records is an American independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York. It was started in 2007 by Ian Wheeler and Tim Putnam. Their first releases were an expanded version of Holy Sons Decline of the West and The Standard's fifth studio album Swimmer...
titled Born on Flag Day, released on June 23, 2009. It received wide critical acclaim, including Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
proclaiming it the "Country-Rock break-through of the Year". The band continued to tour the US extensively, and eventually toured Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and shared the stage with the likes of Neko Case
Neko Case
Neko Case is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her solo career and her contributions as a member of the Canadian indie rock group The New Pornographers....
., Dawes
Dawes (band)
Dawes is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, composed of brothers Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith, along with Wylie Gelber and Tay Strathairn...
, and Jenny Lewis
Jenny Lewis
Jennifer Diane Lewis , is an American singer-songwriter musician and actress. She was the primary vocalist of the indie rock band Rilo Kiley, and has released two solo albums. She currently performs as part of the duo Jenny & Johnny with boyfriend Johnathan Rice...
"The Black Dirt Sessions"
The band entered Black Dirt Studios in upstate New YorkUpstate New York
Upstate New York is the region of the U.S. state of New York that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area.-Definition:There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York...
with producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Jason Meagher to add some additional overdubs
Overdubbing
Overdubbing is a technique used by recording studios to add a supplementary recorded sound to a previously recorded performance....
and mix the remainder of the songs from their 2008 recording session that had already resulted in their earlier album "Born on Flag Day". These songs would become their third album The Black Dirt Sessions
The Black Dirt Sessions
-External links:# # #...
. Between the original recording of these songs and the album's release, guitarist Ian O'neill had joined the band so he added rhythm guitar parts to a couple of the songs, and then a few months later (also before the album was released) lead guitarist Andrew Tobiassen left the band. On June 8, 2010, the album was released on Partisan Records
Partisan Records
Partisan Records is an American independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York. It was started in 2007 by Ian Wheeler and Tim Putnam. Their first releases were an expanded version of Holy Sons Decline of the West and The Standard's fifth studio album Swimmer...
. During the period between recording the album and its release, the band also added another new official member, Rob Crowell (keyboard and saxophone) to their line up.
On June 16, 2010, Deer Tick made their network television debut on the Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
. Although the appearance came only a week after the new album was released, Deer Tick didn't perform anything from The Black Dirt Sessions, and instead chose to play a song from their very first album: "Baltimore Blues No. 1". Renowned British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
music journalist and editor Allan Jones
Allan Jones (editor)
Allan Jones is a British music journalist and editor.Following graduation, Jones took a job in the stock room of Hatchards on Piccadilly. While there he applied for a writing opening at the rock weekly Melody Maker with a letter that concluded, "Melody Maker needs a bullet up its arse. I’m the gun...
wrote in UNCUT Magazine
UNCUT (magazine)
Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...
that "Deer Tick noisily essayed the kind of rock 'n' roll you don’t hear these days as often as you’d maybe like, the sort that lights up everything around it like a burning house, and feel inclined therefore to cheer until you’re hoarse when you do". The band signed a deal with Fargo Records to have all three of their albums distributed throughout the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Band name
McCauley explained that inspiration for the name Deer Tick came while he and Brendon Massei, also known as Viking Moses, were hiking in the Morgan-Monroe State ForestMorgan-Monroe State Forest
Morgan-Monroe State Forest is a state forest in Morgan County and Monroe County of Indiana, and is the second largest state forest in Indiana. The comprising this deciduous forest were abandoned farmland, as the previous residents realized that the land's rocky soil was very poor for agricultural...
near Bloomington, IN. McCauley found a deer tick
Ixodes scapularis
Ixodes scapularis is commonly known as the deer tick or blacklegged tick , and in some parts of the USA as the bear tick. It is a hard-bodied tick of the eastern and northern Midwestern United States...
on his scalp later that evening, which caught the singer off guard. McCauley stated that he had never come in contact with a tick, even though as a child he frequently went camping and fishing. He was thus inspired to name his band after the parasite, stating that it sounded cool. McCauley also stated that he was unaware of the bands Deerhoof
Deerhoof
Deerhoof is a musical group consisting of Satomi Matsuzaki, John Dieterich, Ed Rodriguez and Greg Saunier.-Origins:In 1992, Greg Saunier, having recently graduated with a degree in music composition from Oberlin Conservatory of Music, joined a short-lived San Francisco quartet called Nitre Pit, on...
and Deerhunter
Deerhunter
Deerhunter is an American four-piece indie rock group originating from Atlanta, Georgia. The band, consisting of Bradford Cox, Moses Archuleta, Josh Fauver, and Lockett Pundt, have described themselves as "ambient punk," though they incorporate a wide range of genres, including noise rock, art...
until after he had named his band, but apologized for the similarities.
Repertoire
While Deer Tick perform an eclectic mix of covers and original songs in their live shows, their recorded discography is almost exclusively made up of compositions by McCauley. War ElephantWar elephant
A war elephant was an elephant trained and guided by humans for combat. Their main use was to charge the enemy, trampling them and breaking their ranks. A division of war elephants is known as elephantry....
and Born on Flag Day each contain cover songs; "What Kind of Fool am I?" (Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley) and "These Old Shoes" (Chris Paddock) appear on War Elephant and "Goodnight, Irene
Goodnight, Irene
"Goodnight, Irene" or "Irene, Goodnight," is a 20th century American folk standard, written in 3/4 time, first recorded by American blues musician Huddie 'Lead Belly' Ledbetter in 1932....
" (Lead Belly) is included as an uncredited bonus track on Born on Flag Day. The More Fuel for the Fire
More Fuel For the Fire (EP)
-External links:# # #...
EP contains the non-McCauley composition "Dance of Love" (Andrew Grant Tobiassen).
On a handful of occasions, Deer Tick has performed entire sets as Deervana, a Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
tribute band.
Albums
- War ElephantWar elephant (album)War Elephant is the debut album by Deer Tick. It was originally released September 4, 2007 on FEOW! Records. After selling out by January of the following year, Deer Tick continued touring without a repress of the album they were supporting, a situation that "was an embarrassment."Partisan Records...
(2007, Partisan RecordsPartisan RecordsPartisan Records is an American independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York. It was started in 2007 by Ian Wheeler and Tim Putnam. Their first releases were an expanded version of Holy Sons Decline of the West and The Standard's fifth studio album Swimmer...
) - Born on Flag Day (2009, Partisan RecordsPartisan RecordsPartisan Records is an American independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York. It was started in 2007 by Ian Wheeler and Tim Putnam. Their first releases were an expanded version of Holy Sons Decline of the West and The Standard's fifth studio album Swimmer...
) - The Black Dirt SessionsThe Black Dirt Sessions-External links:# # #...
(2010, Partisan RecordsPartisan RecordsPartisan Records is an American independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York. It was started in 2007 by Ian Wheeler and Tim Putnam. Their first releases were an expanded version of Holy Sons Decline of the West and The Standard's fifth studio album Swimmer...
) - Divine Providence, 2011, Partisan RecordsPartisan RecordsPartisan Records is an American independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York. It was started in 2007 by Ian Wheeler and Tim Putnam. Their first releases were an expanded version of Holy Sons Decline of the West and The Standard's fifth studio album Swimmer...
(release date: October 25, 2011)
EPs
- Deer Tick/The Shivers Split (EP) (2009, Natrix RecordsNatrixNatrix is a genus of colubrid snakes. There are three or four species in the genus. They are collectively called grass snakes and water snakes...
) - Nat Baldwin/Deer Tick Split (EP) (2006, Tabel Tapes)
- More Fuel For the Fire (EP)More Fuel For the Fire (EP)-External links:# # #...
(2010, Partisan RecordsPartisan RecordsPartisan Records is an American independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York. It was started in 2007 by Ian Wheeler and Tim Putnam. Their first releases were an expanded version of Holy Sons Decline of the West and The Standard's fifth studio album Swimmer...
) - More Fuel for the Fire (EP) - iTunes Exclusive (1 Dec 2009, Partisan/iTunesITunesiTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
exclusive)