Recorded late last year at Black Dirt Studios in upstate New York, The Black Dirt Sessions is a deeply personal record from Deer Tick and most especially from lead vocalist and songwriter John McCauley. It is the sound of a band coming into its own, finding its voice and pouring its collective heart out. The comparisons that have often been thrust upon McCauley by the press seem to fall away as his own voice comes through more clearly. On songs like “Goodbye, Dear Friend” and “Christ Jesus” which find McCauley alone at the piano, about as naked as you can possibly get on record. The Black Dirt version of “Christ Jesus,” which also appeared on War Elephant, manages to be even more devastating than the original.
Clearly, the band is exploring some darker material here (like death, mortality, the existence of God) than they’ve touched on in the past, and it suits them. Even as the Deer Tick live show has become legendary for its raucous, spontaneous moments, this record serves as proof of the band’s incredible musicianship, cohesive nature and most importantly gives us a chance to witness McCauley becoming a fully formed, mature songwriter right in front of our eyes (or ears).
The band also experienced a recent line-up change, with the departure of Andy Tobiassen and new member, guitarist Ian O’Neil who left his previous band Titus Andronicus to join Deer Tick full time.
Deer Tick had an incredible 2009. Early in the year the band had the unlikely support of NBC Nightly News’ Brian Williams, who has become one of the leading champions of Deer Tick via his BriTunes music site, alongside critics like David Fricke and Greil Marcus. The band was praised in just about every major music publication, with Rolling Stone going so far as to name them “the country-rock breakthrough of the year.” In their hometown of Providence, RI the band has gone beyond hometown hero status to hometown obesssion. Deer Tick also became a steady favorite for many of our men and women in uniform, performing for Pentagon TV several times. Last Halloween, the band played an entire set of Sex Pistols songs in costume, flawlessly without a single rehearsal. The band played at festivals like Austin City Limits, Newport Folk Festival, Joshua Tree Music Fest, Monolith, Philadelphia Folk Festival, played Brooklyn’s Prospect Park and toured with Neko Case, Jenny Lewis, Jason Isbell, The Felice Brothers. A documentary film about the band, City of Sin, was also completed last year and should see the light of day in 2010.
03/13 – Cincinatti, OH Fountain Square
03/15 Columbia, MO Mojo’s
03/17 – 03/20 Austin, TX SXSW
04/02 Providence, RI Jerky’s #
04/03 Providence, RI Firehouse 13 #
04/04 Portland, ME Space Gallery #
04/05 Montreal, QC Il Motore #
04/06 Toronto, ON Horseshoe Tavern #
04/07 Detroit, MI Magic Stick #
04/08 Chicago, IL Bottom Lounge #
04/09 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock Social Club #
04/10 Iowa City, IA The Mill #
04/11 Lawrence, KS Jackpot Music Hall #
04/12 Oklahoma City, OK Conservatory
04/14 Phoenix, AZ The Trunkspace
04/16 Indio, CA Coachella
04/20 Portland, OR Crystal Ballroom %
04/21 Vancouver, BC Biltmore Cabaret %
04/22 Seattle, WA Tractor Tavern %
04/24 Santa Cruz, CA Crepe Place
04/25 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall *
04/27 Los Angeles, CA Henry Fonda Theatre *
04/28 Las Vegas, NV Beauty Bar
04/29 Santa Fe, NM Sante Fe Brewing Company *
04/30 Dallas, TX The Loft *
05/01 Austin, TX Emo’s *
05/02 Houston, TX Warehouse Live Studio *
05/03 Fayetteville, AR Majestic Lounge *
05/04 Little Rock, AR Sticky Fingerz
05/05 Birmingham, AL Workplay *
05/06 Nashville, TN Cannery Ballroom *
05/07 Louisville, KY Headliners *
05/08 Cleveland, OH Beachland Tavern
05/09 Ithaca, NY Castaway’s
05/10 Albany, NY Valentines
05/11 Boston, MA Paradise *
05/12 Boston, MA Paradise *
05/13 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory *
05/14 Washington, DC 9:30 Club *
05/15 New York, NY Terminal 5 *
* = w/ Dr. Dog
# = w/ Those Darlins
% = w/ Holy Sons
dt
Deer Tick
The Black Dirt Sessions
(Partisan)
Street Date: June 8, 2010
1. Choir of Angels
2. Twenty Miles
3. Goodbye, Dear Friend
4. Piece By Piece, Frame By Frame
5. Sad Sun
6. Mange
7. When She Comes Home
8. Hand In My Hand
9. I Will Not Be Myself
10. Blood Moon
11. Christ Jesus
DEER TICK LINKS:
Deer Tick at Partisan Records: www.partisanrecords.com/deertick
Deer Tick website: www.deertickmusic.com
Deer Tick on MySpace: www.myspace.com/deertick
Deer Tick on Facebook: www.facebook.com/deertick
Deer Tick on Twitter: www.twitter.com/deertickmusic