Deer in headlights: The boys travel by school bus these days.
Near and Deer
John McCauley on Deer Tick’s latest album
I think Bri love you
In addition to being heralded as SXSW’s breakout band by David Fricke of Rolling Stone, Deer Tick was personally chosen by Brian Williams as the debut band for his new indie music web series, BriTunes. The NBC Nightly News anchor, who has made comedic turns on “30 Rock” and “Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” isn’t pulling a Larry King either.
“The guy is legitimately a big music fan,” says McCauley. “Every Monday night at midnight he goes onto iTunes and downloads every single new album that is coming out that week.”
It’s 12:30 in the afternoon and John McCauley sounds like someone who has been gargling sand. “You sound like you’re in bed,” we offer.
McCauley fronts the Providence-based alt-country band Deer Tick and with their first tour wheels secured, The Flagship, a 22-seater school bus packing 96,000 miles, needs official papers and a thick coat of white paint.
McCauley and his bandmates — guitarist Andy Tobiassen, bassist Chris Ryan and his half-brother, drummer Dennis Ryan — are readying for a 40-plus-date tour behind their new disc, “Born on Flag Day,” out June 23.
The band’s sophomore disc builds on the sepia-toned and pedal steel-tangled debut, “War Elephant.” Sonically, their latest is in keeping with the backyard fiesta soundtrack - a little Calexico, a little Felice Brothers, a little Alejandro Escovedo.
Where McCauley played all the instruments on “Elephant,” “Flag Day” called for more collaboration, he says: “I’m a lousy drummer, basically. And I can’t shred like Andy.”
“There is no downside to working with these guys,” he continues. “It sounds so much better, and exactly how I always wanted it to. I’m working with three musicians who I don’t even have to write parts for. They play it exactly how I want it to sound.”
But there is one drawback, he says. “Now we actually have to have band practice.”
As a teen, McCauley listened to punk, metal and, of course, Providence’s mainstay, noise rock, before finding Hank Williams. But it was Kurt Cobain who taught him to sing.
“I’ve always tried to sing like this, to sing raspy, I always thought it sounded cool,” he says of his roughly hewn warble. “When I was 14 and had my first band, I tried to sing raspy and then it got past the point of no return.”
And what was it about the Nirvana singer’s voice that drew the affinity?
“It’s not,” he laughs, and still sleepy, he pauses for a second, “that good. But it has a lot of character.”
PHILLY 6/8 Jenny Lewis
With Deer Tick
Tonight, 8
Trocadero Balcony
1003 Arch St., Philadelphia.
$21, 215-922-LIVE www.thetroc.com
NYC 6/9
Jenny Lewis
With Deer Tick
Music Hall Of Williamsburg
66 North Sixth St., Brooklyn
SOLD OUT www.musichallofwilliamsburg.com
Deer Tick
With Jenny Lewis and Farmer Dave
Wednesday, 8 p.m.
House of Blues
15 Lansdowne St., Boston
MBTA: Green Line to Kenmore
$20, all ages, 888-693-BLUE www.hob.com/boston
