Zach Deputy brings the 'Sunshine'

By JUSTIN PAPROCKI • 843-706-8143

The day before Zach Deputy was scheduled to appear in the studio to start recording his new album, his livelihood was stolen.

His tour truck, which included his instruments and clothing, was swiped from a La Quinta parking lot in Paramus, N.J. He was en route to Woodstock, N.Y., where had planned to begin recording his second studio album.

But he didn’t let the theft deter him. The next day, Deputy was demonstrating his technique on a borrowed acoustic guitar for the musicians who’d serve as his backing band. The day after, he was laying down vocal tracks. The resulting album has a title that reflects the optimism that got Deputy through those troubled days: “Sunshine.”

This month, Deputy kicks off a summer tour before the album is officially released July 28. Deputy spoke to the Guide about his album while packing for a Saturday concert in the Virgin Islands.

Question. What’s the new album like?
Answer. The music is all over the place —  soul to funk to island music. What keeps it together is the soul-driven voice. It’s kind of hard to describe, but I’d call it dance music for the soul.

Q. How is it different from your first album?
A. Completely different way of recording. I recorded it in four days. A lot was done live. We’d do a few takes and pick the best, instead of doing one part at a time and trying to forge a record. Over half of the songs I did on my own because my show is a loop machine show. I do the drums with my mouth, play the bass line, play the guitar, organ. The other half I did with a live band.

Q. How’d you get into the habit of doing the instrumentation yourself?
A. I started doing it because I wanted to be a full-time musician. The bands I was playing with were just weekend warriors. I’d pick up side gigs as an artist and did everything myself. Before I knew it, I was drawing more people as a solo act than my band was.

Q. Was it hard to pick up on at first?
A. The first few shows doing it were pretty funny to watch, to say the least. But it wasn’t too hard to because ever since I was 13 I was playing all sorts of instruments.

Q. How often are you on Hilton Head?
A. I’m on the road pretty much all the time. I hope every few months I’m back on Hilton Head. I’ve been coming back more now. I didn’t play Hilton Head for almost a year. At that time, I just wanted to get away from everything and start something new. But it is fun to come back.

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