Are They Really "THE UNLIKELY SAVIOURS OF LIVE MUSIC"?

I'm not really sure what makes a great band bio, but it's one of those things I know when you it. A few characteristics of a good bio are:

• Humor. It makes me laugh.
  
• They talk about music should be about "having a good time"
• It conveys that the band is "keeping it real" without mentioning how that they "keep it real".
• Making fun of the state of the music industry.

My favorite this year is the one for Deer Tick, a fine, up and coming band. This hard-working "pseudo-hillbilly" band from Providence seems to be getting the attention they deserve and I must say the more I listen to them the more I like them. At first, I must admit, I was put off by their name that reminded me of a particularly unpleasant de-ticking session at Indian Guides camp one summer.

There one of those bands that grows on you and get better with each listen, and I hear they have a great live show. It says so in their bio. Oh yeah the Bio! Here's a sample:

"Remember the good ol' days? You remember, back when Pluto was still a planet? People used to laugh, regularly. They would shout, maybe have a little drinkie and, y'know, enjoy themselves? Oh, nostalgia! And, sometimes, people would go to concerts and shows and they would have what was known as "a good time". Man, those were the days. Sometimes, even the band would join in. Maybe they'd had a tipple, too. They would play their instruments out of tune and at breakneck speeds. Occasionally, there might be harsh words exchanged... fisticuffs even. But they didn't give a fuck, and that's why we loved them, why we wanted to be them and why we wanted to be with them.

Then something very bad happened. In a heinous, puritanical move designed to destroy rock and roll abandon, a witch hunt ensued. Spearheaded by a MOR music media, the "rock-star stereotype" gradually became a bad thing. The Evian sponsored falling star of flamboyant excess was soundtracked by a lead singer hell-bent on explaining how the agonizing autumnal hues really remind him of his missus slipping off with his best friend last September. Iggy Pop was stripped for parts and sold off to an insurance company and Johnny Rotten was bartered off to the jungle in exchange for his weight in butter. Even Ryan Adams was manhandled onto the wagon for long enough to make a couple of horrible records.

Last week, in the unlikely setting of leafy Mancunian suburbia, I had a stick of dynamite inserted in my asshole, courtesy of Rhode Island pseudo-hillbillies Deer Tick."

I will not miss them this year...and if you don't have a wristband you can see them for free at auditorium shores on Saturday at 5pm.

On that same bill is a band called Dawes. I'm starting to dig them as well. If you like Deer Tick give them a look see, too.