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John McCauley formed Deer Tick some 12 years ago in Providence, R.I., and the band quickly gained a reputation for their raucous, free-spirited live sets and McCauley’s sharp songwriting. The band is also known for embracing their influences — they’ve covered entire albums by Elvis Costello, NRBQ, and, most famously, Nirvana. In fact, McCauley was one of the few singers chosen to front Nirvana for one night only, following their induction into the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. Their approach is expansive; they borrow from punk, blues, country, soul, and dozens of genres, but the sum of their sound is singular.
Since the release of their most recent album, “Negativity,” in 2013, the band’s been touring relentlessly. Their next stop is 3S Artspace in Portsmouth on March 15, part of Deer Tick’s spring “acoustic” tour. The Sound caught up with McCauley about Deer Tick’s early shows in Portsmouth, barbecue, and the meaning of rock ’n’ roll.
Deer Tick is embarking on an “acoustic” tour. Why the quotation marks?
It won’t be entirely acoustic. First of all, (keyboard player) Rob (Crowell) has an organ, which is a red flag right off the bat. (Bassist) Chris (Ryan) will be switching between electric and upright bass, and while I’d like (guitarist) Ian (O’Neil) to play mostly acoustic guitar, he may end up surprising us. I’m playing acoustic guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, a real piano … a bunch of stuff no one’s ever seen me play before.
Did you ever see that Springsteen “MTV Unplugged” show where he plays one song on the acoustic guitar, then the band comes out and plays a full electric set?
While I haven’t seen the Boss unplugged, I can say we’re probably not going to do anything that un-acoustic.
Are there any plans for an acoustic Deer Tick album? Two years have gone by since your last album. What have you got in the works?
We’re still coming up with ideas for the next album, or albums. We’ve got a good amount of material that spans quite a few genres, so we are deciding on how to split them up, either by mood or instrumentation.
What are your memories of your early days playing in Portsmouth in the early 2000s?
I used to love coming up to Portsmouth to play. I still do, I just don’t get up there as often. I used to play solo at The Red Door a lot. Nat Baldwin and I are old friends, so we’d often play together. Hi Nat! I used to play drums in this grunge band called Engine Knock. Besides one show in Warwick, R.I., Portsmouth was the only time we ever played outside of Providence. We played a show in somebody’s basement. As soon as we hit the first note an office chair flew across the room and a topless woman wielding a machete started running though the crowd. It was intense.
Paper cut illustration of John McCauley, by Dylan Metrano
You live in Nashville; does it feel like home now? What’s the best part about living there?
I’d say so. My producer friend Adam Landry runs my favorite studio in the world here (Playground Sound), which is a nice perk of living here.
Where’s the best barbecue?
Nashville’s not known for its barbecue the same way Memphis is, so I don’t eat a whole lot of it. If you wanted barbecue, though, I’d recommend Martin’s. The local specialty is hot chicken. The best place for hot chicken is the original spot: Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack. This is nothing like buffalo chicken.
Deer Tick has done many covers, and you even got to front Nirvana for a moment. Whose voice would you most like to hear sing one of your songs?
I used to joke about Adele singing one of my songs. Then I wrote a new song called “Only Love” and was like, “Oh shit, Adele really could sing this song.”
What is your songwriting process like? Have you considered getting into the Nashville songwriting business?
Nah. I can’t write as an assignment. I write to purge myself emotionally. I can’t write with dollar figures in my head. I would like to write for video games, or more movies — I did one documentary called “Oxyana.” I don’t seem to hit the same roadblocks when writing instrumental pieces; for some reason it’s different than writing a song about trucks and Bud Light for a million dollars.
Do you see Deer Tick as a lifelong pursuit? Can you picture yourself as an old man fronting this band?
I’m not sure. I think a big part of this “acoustic” tour for us was to see if we’ve still “got it.” I imagine as I get older, I’ll probably do more and more stuff away from the band, but as long as the band is working, I see no reason to quit.
I’d like to hear you do an album of songs like “What Kind of Fool Am I?” Might there ever be a “John McCauley Sings the Great American Songbook,” or should we just go to a karaoke bar?
I would love to do that, but I’d have to do it with a really fantastic jazz band. In the meantime, I’m planning on doing a solo record of all covers of a friend of mine. I’m not going to work on it until after Deer Tick finishes the next record, but I’ve already assembled a really great group of players for it.
What does rock ’n’ roll mean to you?
Freedom, I guess.
Deer Tick performs Tuesday, March 15 at 8 p.m. at 3S Artspace, 319 Vaughan St., Portsmouth, with Mutual Benefit. Tickets are $25, available at 3sarts.org.