Born on Flag Day

The strangest but most fortuitous moment of Deer Tick's young career occurred recently when the band was chosen by "NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams as the first interview subject of his fledgling web-only music-spotlight feature, "BriTunes". Offering a humbling reminder of how awkward any of us can be when we step outside our comfort zones, Williams seemed infinitely more stilted and out-of-sorts querying four scruffily reticent young roots-rockers than he does when sitting down with the leader of the free world.