Deer or the Doe came together in the spring of 2006, when former
members of well-received local bands Spiders on Spiders and Curse of
the Carousel Pony joined forces to create a more pop-oriented musical
output than their former endeavors. The band recently wrapped up
recording their debut full-length, Go to Sleep Quit Listening,
and is on the cusp on heading out for a nationwide tour alongside
fellow Portlanders Junkface. Guitarist/vocalist Aaron Miller took some
time to talk about the new record and the prospect of touring this
country without a label’s backing.
First off, can you talk some about Go To Sleep Quit
Listening?
With some help from our friends, we ended up doing most everything
ourselves. From the songs, to the design, to the actual letter pressing
of the covers—our hands have touched every one of these CDs. The
CD will be available at our shows, and speaking of shows, we have a CD
release/tour kickoff show this Friday at Rotture. The first 50 people
to come talk to us will get a CD for free.
How did the upcoming tour with Junkface come about?
We have been friends with Junkface for quite some time and I think
we decided to plan a tour with them when Randy [Bemrose, Junkface
frontman] punched me in the face during a weekend in Pendleton a few
months back. It’s nice to go on tour with another band that you love.
No matter how shitty the show or how many people show up, you can
always count on the other band being there for support.
Is it difficult to tour the country as an unsigned band?
Probably. I’ll let you know in a month or so. The internet has
definitely changed the way things are done. When I first booked a tour
everything was done over the phone. Five years ago if you spoke to
someone on the phone and they booked a show for you, chances are they’d
be at that show and if you were lucky they’d offer you a place to stay
and show you around the city. Now when you email a venue and they tell
you to book the openers for the show that’s 2,000 miles away, it makes
you feel a little disconnected. However, with the help of friends and
great people across the country, we’ve managed to book a show for
almost every night of the tour and we can’t wait to experience
traveling together and seeing as much of the country as we can.
Deer or the Doe perform at Rotture, 315 SE 3rd, on Fri Aug
31st.