Growing Up Trivia Quiz

Answer: Providence RI

Deer Tick started out in 2004 as My Other Face. This was guitarist John McCauley and his best mate and drummer Paul Marandola. The creative force in this duo was McCauley and between them they made some tapes and played a few local gigs while they searched for a bass player. Not long later McCauley met Brendan "Viking Moses" Massei, who encouraged him to tour. He parted ways with Marandola and started travelling across country. At the same time he ditched the name, because it sounded stupid, and sought another, though not one that would suit him as a solo artist but one that would work well as a band. The inspiration came while an inebriated McCauley was on a camping trip just outside of Bloomington in Indiana in 2005, and found a tick in his head. Initially McCauley freaked out, but managed to calm down when he realized it wasn't that big a deal. The incident, however, had left an impression and, from there, the band's name was formed.

For the record; Providence was founded in 1636 by Reformed Baptist Roger Williams, Las Vegas was settled in 1905, Fort Worth was established as an army outpost in 1849 and San Jose was officially founded as California's first civilian settlement in 1777.

Answer: Alternative

If we wanted to narrow the sound down even further, we could, loosely, call it alt-country. However, there is also a strong sense of grunge and other rock influences that seep through their songs. The initial influence on founding member, John McCauley, was the dissonant rock and roll scene that he was raised in. That was until he heard a song by Hank Williams and he soon gathered as much material on the man and his music as he could. Nowadays, whilst the country influence is still evident in their sound, the band tends to rail against the notion that that is what they are.

In an interview with Performer Magazine, McCauley rebelled "We're proud not to sing with a twang".

Answer: War Elephant

"War Elephant" was released in September of 2007 carrying fourteen tracks. Two of these were covers, Chris Paddock's "These Old Shoes" and Anthony Newley's "What Kind of Fool Am I", and the rest were John McCauley originals. The album provides an amalgam of influences ranging from rock, blues, country and pop which John McCauley manages to marry folk style melodies and a set of world weary lyrics.

He tells tales of lost love and heartache in lines that sometimes seem to be beyond his years. To this he adds a voice that he endows with a deep emotional quality that adds depth to the lyrics.

Whilst, overall, there is a lack of cheerfulness on this disc the album does have its brighter moments and, when they do appear, they shine.

Answer: True

When Deer Tick completed the debut album in 2007 the band was still imaginary, it was still a concept in John McCauley's mind. In his early travels across America, McCauley felt that his recording future lay with a band. He'd formed the concept and even came up with a name, he just hadn't put together the band by the time he'd come round to recording the album. Essentially, on "War Elephant" John McCauley is Deer Tick and he ends up playing most of the instruments.

He did receive some help though and this came in the form of Brian McOmber and Nat Baldwin, the drummer and bass player for Dirty Projectors, as well as jazz musician James Falzone.

Answer: Easy

As well as being the album's single it was also the opening track. It started the disc with its own indulgence allowing each member to, individually, showcase themselves in a minute long introduction. Chris Ryan unrolls his bass guitar as his brother Dennis starts to belt on the bass drum as if he's using a battering ram. Andrew Tobiassen and John McCauley then kick in with a set of ascending eight note riffs that make you feel like you're tearing down an empty stretch of highway with the devil on your tail. It is a perfect opener to a record that breathes toughness and displays, not so much maturity, but a development in McCauley. At this point the jury is saying it's too early to call it maturity. Whilst McCauley is at home spitting out stories of drunken escapades and tortured souls, there are moments on this album in which he displays a profoundness that wasn't entirely evident on the debut disc. Witness, for example, the thought put forward on "Song About a Man"... "how can a man feel anything when all he's ever got was sympathy". For fans, this alone was enough to anticipate what would come next.

(Note) The incorrect answers are all singles released by Green Day.

Answer: The Black Dirt Sessions

John McCauley had had a massive burst of creativity after the release of "War Elephant" in 2007. So much so, that a number of the tracks that appear on 2010's "The Black Dirt Sessions" (TBDS) were written and recorded in 2008, prior to the release of their second album, "Born on Flag Day". They didn't fit the mood and style of that raucous recording and so, were carried forward. The shift in mood on "TBDS" is welcome and sobering, however, it does make some of the tracks seem like they were "leftovers". "TBDS" is a set of mood pieces with McCauley exploring acts of betrayal ("Piece by Piece and Frame by Frame"), loss ("Goodbye, Dear Friend") and wistful yearning ("When She Comes Home"). That snarl that served McCauley so well on the previous disc is still there but, for the most part, he seems to be caressing a set of songs here that may prove to be the band's most durable. "Twenty Miles" sits comfortably amongst this lot as an atmospheric piece that seems to reveal a shakier sense of self in McCauley that we hadn't seen before; "Raindrops like bullets on my fragile skin/Insecurities I've had are creeping within".

The question is now... are they starting to grow up.

Answer: Divine Providence

Deer Tick had established their reputation as a live band of great distinction. On stage they were high octane, loud and in your face with a sense of fun. On "Divine Providence" (2011) they endevoured to channel all that energy into a studio album. And they almost succeeded. The album's opener, "The Bump" threatens to explode and tear the stereo apart and from that point the band does not let up. At times they try too hard with "Let's All Go to the Bar", a good example. It comes across as being one dimensional but what it doesn't lack is a good sense of fun. Then along comes "Something to Brag About" or "Clowning Around" and the album, once again, soars.

The album celebrates the art of being young and, judging by the lyrics, being full of squirt (alcohol) but it does hide demons that you need to look closely at to see. In an interview with Chicago writer Josh Terry in 2017, McCauley admitted to having had a drinking issue during these years and how it had a hold on him. In hindsight one wonders if the lyrics were a celebration or a cry for help. In a previous question the thought had been floated as to whether the band was starting to grow up. This album says not, a point that McCauley admits in "The Bump"... "We're full grown men / but we act like kids".

Answer: Negativity

If Deer Tick's "Divine Providence" (2011) was an ode to machismo and a drunken swagger then 2013's "Negativity" was their subdued hangover. McCauley was enduring hard times - his fiancé had called it off and walked out, his drinking had not subsided and he had to face up the barbs of his father being placed in jail. Faced with a darkness, he turned to his songwriting, both for succour and confession.

The pain is clearly visible on "Mirror Walls" where he deals with the failure of his relationship. You don't even need to move beyond the title of "The Dream's in the Ditch", which channels a little of Tom Petty, to get a sense of self defeat.

However, despite the downbeat nature of the lyrics the music refuses to cave in and, whilst it doesn't extract the raw fun of its predecessor, the listener is still rewarded with, possibly, the band's finest recording to this point.

Answer: Vanessa Carlton

A woman tames the beast within the man. The years 2012 and 2013 were both bust and boon for John McCauley. He'd endured the break-up of a relationship, saw his father wind up in jail and moved on to the release of the band's latest album, "Negativity" and, at the end of 2013 married Vanessa Carlton. From that point he went through a sense of withdrawal; his drinking had, not ceased, but had abated, and the band was placed on a shelf while he examined whether or not he should persist with that project. In 2015 he and Vanessa announced the arrival of their daughter Sydney. By the time of his interview with Chicago based writer Josh Terry, the band had been on a form of hiatus and McCauley was enjoying the opportunity to devote time to his daughter while his wife was on tour, supporting Stevie Nicks.

(Note) Vanessa Carlton had a massive hit in 2002 with "A Thousand Miles".

Answer: One is electric, the other acoustic

There is a four year gap between the release of this set of albums and the band's previous recording, "Negativity" in 2013, the longest ever for the band. They didn't cease working as most continued with projects of their own and, every year, they would make their regular appearance at the Newport Folk Festival. McCauley recalled in his 2017 interview with Chicago based writer, Josh Terry, that when they returned to the studio, the atmosphere was different. They'd grown up. All of the members were now married and with responsibilities. They had confronted their past demons. Their coming together for this project was like a meeting of old mates who were now comfortable with who they were.

During their break McCauley had come to realize that they wrote songs that were polar opposites to each other. They were either quiet or they were loud. Consider the subdued "Diamond Rings" on "War Elephant" (2007) followed by snarling screamer "No So Dense". From there, the idea to then showcase both sides of the band's personality in two separate albums was born.