Deer Tick: NPR Music Field Recordings

Watch more Field Recordings at: http://www.npr.org/series/144918893/field-recordings

We were late getting set up. As Deer Tick's John McCauley stood on the picturesque hillside of the Columbia River Gorge, about to strum the first chord of a song, another band started to blast us from the main stage nearby. We had to leave. It was a relief, really, because the natural majesty of the surroundings didn't seem at home with Deer Tick's music— especially not the Replacements-esque party attitude of the band's new album, Divine Providence.

So we drove as far away from the painted landscape as we could in the short time we had to capture this Field Recording. We landed at the opposite end of the spectrum aesthetically — all the way to the sanitation area of the artists' campground. There, in front of a row of Honey Buckets, the Deer Tick frontman performed "Main Street," appropriately one of Divine Providence's morning-after numbers; the song exudes regret and loss while remaining brash and defiant. For the minutes he played, it was the most beautiful spot around.

Credits
Producers: Jim Beckmann, Scott Holpainen; Videographers: Jim Beckmann, Mito Habe-Evans, Scott Holpainen; Audio Engineers: Matt Ogaz, Kevin Wait; Editor: Scott Holpainen; Coordinator: Saidah Blount; Special thanks to: Sasquatch Music Festival, Live Nation