by Josh Cook
The front page picture on the Ticks’ website makes a pretty clear statement:
“We could be Cape Cod soccer moms looking to teach their punk rock rebelling sons what the Go-Gos really were all about, or we could be a band that got started right after Bikini Kill came through the East coast, and we haven’t stopped rocking through college and career and family and the Cape.”
They’re either escaping or they’re still running. Of course, Sue Lavallee, Emma Levy and Julie Randall aren’t running or escaping –they’re digging into the skin of the Cape Cod music scene, with a rock sound like a summer breeze off the beach.
The Ticks got started when the members were persuaded to play a gig after a jam session at the studio of fellow Cape band the High Kings. The session was a one-shot deal, done for kicks. Now, however, the Ticks are one of the premier area bands. Their album So Young, So Bad was a Top 10 pick by the Boston Globe in 2003, and they even opened for the B52’s at the Melody Tent. Despite establishing themselves, The Ticks maintain a sense of that one-shot deal in their sound, a sound that, like their namesake, gets under your skin and sticks around.
Their latest album Pick Me walks that thin pop-punk line, and is fun and childish without resorting to juvenile antics, saccharine lyrics or novelty songs. You could describe them as a beach read for punk and indie rockers, something for the ennui sufferers from the cities to remind them that rock ‘n’ roll is supposed to make you feel good. One of the mortal sins of making music is taking yourself too seriously.
We’re Girls pokes gentle fun as girls compete for the affections of boys, explaining it by “biology and socialization.” With almost doo-wop harmonies, the song keeps the listener chuckling through its light punk music. And just in case we threaten to take it seriously, they throw in lines like, “We’re girls! / All of us except that guy over there.”
It’s Fine adds a touch of reggae, with a vocal rhythm reminiscent of the story-telling style of modern musicals. In many ways, it’s the darkest song on the album, including such lines as “And you’re feeling like you can’t take care of a fish / And you’re feeling like you can’t even make it work,” before sarcastically telling us, “Oh and then, it’s fine.”
On Anata Ga, they sound as if they’ve got Raggedy Ann tucked somewhere on stage or in the drum kit, and their music seems to return to a childhood of singing to yourself while you wait for your parents to
finish dinner. Grateful Dead, with the bareness of a Violent Femmes song, fades into your background even as your head keeps nodding.
Because all three members write songs, the musical influences on any given song change with the writer. Their fundamental style reminds you most of such bands as the Ramones, the Kinks and the Violent Femmes. Sue cites other classic rock influences, such as the Who and the Beatles. She even draws from such unexpected sources as ‘70’s and ‘80’s arena rockers like Styx and Journey.
A lot of people believe the Ticks are in a kind of limbo, as a successful local band that doesn’t seem to be striving for national attention, especially with a key stepping stone, the Boston area music scene, so close by. Guitarist Sue LaVallee admits that it would be ideal if they could make money while making their music (she also admits a powerful desire to perform on Conan O’Brien), but stresses that the Ticks are in it for the fun of getting dressed up and getting on stage and playing.
Though Boston has some advantages, there’s a lot more competition there for stage time, and a lot more pressure on bands to fill the bars when they perform. Since there are fewer bands on the Cape, there are more opportunities for the Ticks to establish themselves. It is true, though, that being outside the Boston scene has its own challenges, especially for a band looking to play originals. Because of the big tourist industry, Sue says, “People come and want to hear ‘Brown Eyed Girl’.”
Career considerations aside, the members of the Ticks all have personal connections to the Cape. Bassist Emma Levy grew up in Harwick and per- formed during the summers at the Harwick Junior Theater. Drummer Julie Randall performed at the Barnstable Comedy Club as a child, and teaches at Mattacheese Middle School in Yarmouth. Sue Lavallee drove an ice cream truck for several summers on the Cape, and now works in Brewster and serves as a DJ on WKKL, the radio station at Cape Cod Community College.
Soon their roots in the Cape will deepen when Sue has her first child. She hopes that being a mother won’t change the band too much – after all, since they don’t have to travel far, childcare shouldn’t prevent too many gigs. And given their recent performance at Jamaica Plain’s Milky Way cafe, with Sue already in the last trimester, there were encouraging signs of the stamina it will take to be both a mother and a part of a Cape Cod music icon.
No matter what career choices the Ticks make in the future, they’ll always have a spot on the Cape. Their upbeat accessible music and their commitment to having fun while they perform will make them a safe bet for anyone looking to book a band. The Ticks have burrowed into the local skin, and there will always be a little Tick on Cape Cod.