McCauley talks to Clarkin about Negativity album

Deer Tick has been high rolling big time these past few months, buoyed by the positive reviews of their lasted release, Negativity (Partisan Records). In the past few months the boys have had another appearance on national television on “The Conan O’Brian Show,” recently completed a successful European tour, and singer/guitarist John McCauley somehow found time to get married by Stevie Nicks to singer/songwriter Vanessa Carlton. As the saying goes, there is no rest for the wicked, and Deer Tick is poised to take their wicked live show back on the road for another US run including a stint supporting The Hold Steady. Before starting the tour with The Hold Steady, Deer Tick will do a hometown show on the big stage in town at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel on March 14. I caught up with John McCauley over the phone a while back to talk about Negativity and the ongoing rock ‘n’ roll circus that is Deer Tick.

Marc Clarkin: Your last record, Divine Providence (Partisan Records), was your rock ’n’ roll debauchery party record. Personally, I loved it, but I hear it wasn’t popular with some fans?

John McCauley: That’s not exactly true. I think there were a lot of fans who wanted a folkier record and it threw a number of them off. As far as hatred for the record, I don’t think anyone really hated it. People kind of forget that the second half of the record is pretty chill, you know. It really starts with a such a bang that it sets the tone in a way that makes the more Deer Ticky songs like “Miss K” sound louder and more abrasive than they really are.

MC: With Negativity, was there a conscious move to go in another direction from Divine Providence?

JM: No, it’s just the songs that came out. If they happen to sound like Divine Providence or be more in that vein, we would have done it again. I don’t know. I don’t really go for anything with my writing process. I don’t come up with a goal of what type of song I want to write. It’s kind of just whatever happens, happens, you know?

MC: When you are writing songs, do you start on guitar or piano, or do you just have a lyric?

JM: Lately I’ve been writing a lot on piano. I wrote a lot of the songs on Negativity starting with piano. Typically it starts with a couple of lines or a melody. I don’t know because they all start differently. I don’t really have a formula or a method.

MC: On the piano parts, a lot of the middle parts of Negativity remind me of Warren Zevon, who I know you love, or a Jackson Browne/late ’70s singer/songwriter type of stuff. Were you listening to more of that stuff when you were writing this record?

JM: I think on the piano, I’m kind of a rhythmic piano player. I’m a guitar player piano player. The chords I know and the way I find myself around the piano kind of just lends itself to that style of music better than something else more jazzy, classic rock ‘n’ roll or whatever.

MC: Now Negativity… I don’t know how you ever came up with that title with a collection of songs about broken engagements, drugs and your dad’s incarceration. You even got poor Ian (O’Neil) depressed with his song being titled “The Dream’s in The Ditch.”

JM: I definitely came up with the title of the record way before all the songs were written. I just thought it was a funny tongue-in-cheek title. I thought it sounded very ’90s. I guess it was kind of a joke and then literally kind of matches up with the album that we made. So we just decided to go for it. We didn’t want people to get the idea that we were making this total bummer of a record. That is why we did the artwork for the record that we did. We wanted to make it look like a bright blue sky with an airplane towing a banner that says Negativity across a clear blue sky. It looks great!  Then with some of the production we knew we wanted it to be a little poppier. We wanted hooks to be important parts of the songs and use some cheerful sounding tones. We had two years between Divine Providence and this one. It was nice to give Deer Tick a little break.

MC: That’s noticeable with some of the piano parts and on “The Dream’s in The Ditch” if you take out the words.

JM: Yeah, it sounds like a pretty popular song.

MC: Also you hear that with horns kicking in on “The Rock.” It brightens the entire vibe of the song.

JM: And that trick is not new. You know, like Nirvana’s Nevermind is a pop album.

MC: You had Steve Berlin from Los Lobos produce it. I know you are in a band with him so it’s probably not weird, but Los Lobos was the first concert you ever went to. Is it kind of weird working with him after covering “La Bamba” for, like, 20 years?

JM: I definitely felt a little weird around him at first. I just idolized him and the band that he’s in for so long. I was definitely awkward around him when we first started hanging out and did the Diamond Rugs record, but now I feel like his friend. Well, we are friends now (laughter) and peers. So it all seems pretty normal to me. But at first I was pretty giddy just to be around him.

MC: Was he the one you did mushrooms with at the Park Theatre a couple of years ago?

JM: I gave mushrooms to David (Hidalgo) in Los Lobos, but he didn’t take them. He said he was gonna take them the next day or something. I can’t confirm whether he took them, threw them out or gave them to somebody else. We were at McCormicks & Schmick’s and I asked the busboy to rinse out an oyster shell. I filled the oyster shell with mushrooms and slid it down the bar at David and yelled, “Have you tried the oysters here?” That was a funny state of mind to be in when I first met Steve, but he kind of asked to join Diamond Rugs because he had heard of Deer Tick and really liked the Middle Brother record. We happened to be playing with Diamond Rugs in the same studio he was at and he was also a Black Lips fan, so all those things together and resulted in him just asking, “Can I come? Can I be in the band?”

MC: I heard you completed a second Diamond Rugs record? That must be the hardest band to coordinate with something like five other bands to work around.

JM: It’s definitely a band that wants to be active. It’s really difficult to balance. Everyone else plays in a busy band and has a life so it’s tricky. We were all able to get together for one week in Nashville. It’s like the same thing getting together after finishing the Deer Tick record, just two years later for me.

MC: On Negativity, the one song that sounds optimistic is called “Trash.” With the chorus about hitting the open road, it has a redemption quality after going through all the turmoil.

JM: There is definitely a yearning to it. I guess that song is about leaving the mess behind and establishing roots somewhere else to start over. I was pretty sure I was ripping something off, but I couldn’t figure it out so I just went with it. I still haven’t figured it out.

MC: “Pot of Gold” has got kind of a Nirvana In Utero type of feel to it.

JM:   That one came out of a jam session I did with Scott Lucas from Local H. We recorded a pretty rough demo version of it that is about eight minutes long. Maybe that will see the light of day sometime. We were just jamming on that riff and before we got too into it, I just scribbled out some lyrics. Then we took that riff and cut it down to be a more manageable version for the record.

MC: Of all the places you’ve been, do you have a favorite place or experience on the road?

JM: My favorite clubs that I’ve played at are probably the 9:30 in DC, the Higher Grounds in Burlington, Vermont, and Paradiso in Amsterdam. Guns ‘N’ Roses played their first European show there. Probably one of my favorite times in my travels was eating acid in the Kalahari Desert in the country Namibia, which is in Africa. I’m not going to forget that anytime soon. I did some horseback riding at a ranch in Tucson and baked like a lizard in the sun. A lot of my great stories are pretty foggy. I’m just lucky to be able to do what I do.  I’m definitely not losing any momentum.

Deer Tick, You Won’t, and King Sickabilly and His Full Moon Boys will rock Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel on March 14.

Ants in the Cellar – Fork In The Road EP

It may seem like only yesterday, but Ants in the Cellar were formed nearly 20 years ago. In that time there have been extended hiatuses and lineup changes, but one thing that hasn’t changed is the band’s ability to crush it with a combination of straight ahead barroom rock ‘n’ roll. Ants are set to release their second EP since re-forming in recent years titled, Fork InThe Road. The six-song EP mines alternative rock, blues and straight ahead barroom jams. “Awakening” reminds me of something out of ’80s college radio with a funky kind of verse and a big chorus. “Sleep” has an early REM feel on the verse with a breakdown style chorus. “Look in The Mirror” rides the wave on the verse, but I just want the chorus to take me somewhere else. Maybe it’s too simplistic, but the tune is kind of infectious with the bridge. Ants in the Cellar live have the vibes of early REM with better harmonies. Nothing too heavy, nothing too soft, just enjoyable music for people who like straight ahead rock ’n’ roll.

Ants in the Cellar celebrate the release of Fork In The Road with Viking Jesus, Resistor, and The Nymphidels at Dusk on March 7. The doors are 8pm and the show starts at 9pm. All for the bargain basement low price of $5!

TEAZER

The Gods of ’80s metal revival movement, TEAZER, return to drop the rapture on the masses. TEAZER had one of the most successful debuts this town has ever seen late last year. TEAZER takes their cue from the likes of Motley Crue and W.A.S.P. with an aim to kill all the Americana bullshit and set it ablaze with debauchery. The teenage punk rock version of me never thought the day would come when I found hair metal so refreshing. Party Pigs are a two piece, fuzz stompin’, straight-out-of-the-garage good time. Get there early to see Jezebel because they share a name with my cat so they must be good!

TEAZER, Party Pigs, and Jezebel bring the thunder to Dusk on March 8.

The Viennagram

The Viennagram headline what promises to be an eclectic bill spanning a few genres of rock ‘n’ roll. As always, bet The Viennagram has some surprises cooked up to go along with their cabaret take on Tom Waits. The event will also celebrate the launching of Eric Baylies’s (Baylies Band and Bad Motherfucker) book, Heroin’s Rainbow, which is being put out by 75orLess Records. Bands from Japan, a super group with members of Mission of Burma and Alec K. Redfearn, The Viennagram… I don’t know what more fans of pushing the envelope in rock ‘n’ roll could want out of a Saturday night!

The Viennagram, Minibeast (members of Mission of Burma,6 Finger Satellite, and Alec K. Redfearn of The Eyesores), Baylies Band, Gezan (from Japan), and Cave Bears will rock The Parlour on March 8. The event will celebrate the launch of Eric Baylies new novel, Heroin’s Rainbow on 75orLess Records.

Rough Francis

Hailing from Burlington, Vermont, Rough Francis are literally the sons of Death. The band, that is. Rough Francis more than live up to the family legacy on their new record called Maximum Soul Power. Rough Francis take their cues from late ’60s/early ’70s Motor City rock ‘n’ roll. Think MC5, The Stooges, and of course Death. Rough Francis channels all that raw power without sounding like a throwback. Rough Francis was my favorite new band to discover at a show in 2013. Cuts off Maximum Soul Party like “Ruffians,” I-90 East,” and “Not A Nice Guy” harness the aggression of punk with a combination of psychedelic soul. Get there early for one of my favorite local bands, Ravi Shavi!

Rough Francis and Ravi Shavi will rock the Columbus Theatre on March 22.

Email music news to mclarkin33@gmail.com.