Lineup 2011

Zach Deputy

Bluffton, South Carolina

There is nothing out there like Zach Deputy. Truly a one-man band, he is a powerhouse of performance, technical chops, and one hell of a charismatic presence. Put simply, Zach Deputy does what is called live looping: layering sounds through the magic of technology to create a full band effect. He isn’t the only performer out there doing this, but he has taken the technique to the next level. First and foremost, however, Zach Deputy is a songwriter, a shredding guitarist and a soulful singer with a 4+ octave vocal range.

He can also drop freestyle rhymes with the best of them. The Zach Deputy sound is essentially roots rock, but in his case the roots are in soul, calypso and dancehall, underpinned by driving hip-hop, rock steady, Motown and Stax backbeats created with his layered vocal beatboxing. On top of the backbeat, Zach Deputy’s nylon strings pull multiple duties as bass, rhythm and lead guitar. Riding over that, a plethora of sounds– keyboard, steel drums and an entire horn section– come pumping and grinding out of the speakers when Zach takes the stage. He is a one man dance party, but he can also bring an audience to rapt attention with a heartfelt love ballad.

Hailing from the South Carolina coast, Zach Deputy’s family roots are in Puerto Rico and St. Croix. Cruzan rhythms and folk songs competed with blues and American roots music for space on the family stereo. Having toured the country in his late teens and early 20’s with a couple of bands that just didn’t inspire him, Zach Deputy followed his muse back to the Atlantic coast, where he began to craft his own approach to music as a solo artist. Zach embraced the creative freedom of performing alone, but soon realized it also had its limitations. Thus, he began to employ live looping as a means of filling out the sound. Zach Deputy is now a full band unto himself, made possible through simple technology, but delivered by a skill and mastery of technique, made pure through the injection of warm, charming soul.

From his base in Hilton Head, Zach Deputy has been performing 250-300 shows a year for the last four years, and has expanded his base into the Northeast and Midwest over the last 12 months. The pace of growth has been startling. Tourists and summer residents of the South Carolina and Georgia beachside resort communities got caught up in the fun took the music back home, creating fan bases in places where Zach Deputy had yet to travel, leading to remarkable first time attendance numbers in many new markets. Promoters and regional acts, blown away by the refreshing new sound, have also enthusiastically made it their mission to help Zach build his fanbase.

Zach Deputy now basically lives and works from a small box truck, playing almost every night of the week. The tireless work ethic is paying off, as audiences all up-and-down the East Coast and as far West as the Mississippi are reacting with genuine joy and passion, spreading the word to friends and fellow music lovers. Zach Deputy is bound to hit your town soon. If he does, head on over—he will be glad to see you—but be sure to bring your dancing shoes… and prepare for the wow factor.