By now, fans of Deer Tick know to expect the unexpected, according to front man John McCauley.
That has been part of the mission for McCauley and the group since its inception in 2005 in Rhode Island. Their sound runs from blues to Americana to country and they've been known to cover songs by John Prine, Hank Williams, the Beastie Boys and entire sets by Nirvana.
"We change what we do all the time," McCauley said. "Deer Tick is not just one thing."
He said they did half-acoustic and half-electric sets on their previous tour.
"We won't do that again," he said.
"Now we can say we did it, but it was too difficult."
For their current shows, like the one they will do Wednesday at Songbirds with John Moreland, they will do a shorter, 75-minute set representative of everything they do.
"We really do work hard at doing whatever we want to do nowadays, and fans know what to expect."
Deer Tick actually began in 2004 as a duo called My Other Face. McCauley changed the name after finding a Deer Tick on his head while hiking.
The current line-up of McCauley, Chris and Dennis Ryan and Ian O'Neil, have been together since 2009, with O'Neil being the last to join.
The band is touring with Moreland, a big man with a big presence and sound. He is touring in support of his latest record, "Big Bad Luv." Fans may find it to be a somewhat cheerier record than his previous works, but Moreland said in a previous interview he doesn't feel he's changed his approach.
"I don't think I'm writing songs that are that much different," Moreland says. "It's always been a positive thing at heart, even if a song isn't sunshine and rainbows. At the very least, my songs have been a way to exorcise negative feelings so that I can move on. And hopefully, they provide that same experience to listeners. So that's what I'm still doing. I think it's a positive thing. I think (on) this record, there's definitely a change in attitude, but it's the same point of view."
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-413-6354.