WERS 88.9 fm - Artist Interview: Deer Tick's John McCauley

November 17, 2009

Fame hasn't phased Deer Tick frontman John McCauley III who still has no problem giving out his cellphone number to reporters. But that doesn't mean the front man of Providence based Deer Tick has a ton of free time. Deer Tick has been on tour with the rest of the band since the beginning of the summer and their schedule has them touring all over the USA through November before they head overseas to Europe in December. Deer Tick has been touring to support their latest Album, Born on Flag Day, which hit records stores in July of this year.

It's obvious that McCauley is distracted by the raucous atmosphere behind him, it sounds like he's stepped only a few feet away as the rest of the band yells and jokes around without him. But even with all he's got on his plate and the raucous atmosphere behind him, McCauley talks into his cell phone with a carefree drawl.  Speaking with John McCauley means you shouldn't expect long winded answers, because even though he's happy to return your texts and calls, his answers are blunt. "There's no goal with this tour" McCauley explains, "there's just a lot of festivals we need to play, and that's how a lot of people first discovered us." Deer Tick has a third album completed that McCauley says will hopefully be released in March. He explained that the sound is a lot darker "and not really folk-y or country at all", though he wouldn't really elaborate on why the band has shifted between these two sounds.

This drift from the alt-country sounds of War Elephant and Born on Flag Day have caught the attention of some as a sign of Deer Tick riding the hipster, ironic wave; McCauley only had a few words to say to those who would call his music ironic: "Fuck you." He later added:  "I don't like it when people accuse me of being ironic. But I could really give a shit what people write about me."

This is the only time that McCauley breaks with his usual soft spoken, simply worded  ways; but anyone who's seen him on stage knows the sweat is bound to drip from his curly, blond mop as he rocks out.  Yet there's a simple explanation for this: Budweiser. "Yeah, I usually get pretty toasted before I go on stage," and John J. McCauley III admits to thriving off the energy of the crowd. But not even an unappreciative crowd fazes Deer Tick: "yeah, [we] just turn our amps up and try to make them like us even less."

It's unlikely that McCauley and the gang will have to resort to turning their amps up to eleven this Saturday when they make an appearance at Harper's Ferry in Allston. A hometown reception is likely for these New England Homeboys who were only just at the House of Blues opening for Jenny Lewis last June.

-By Kassandra Sundt