January 31, 2012 From staff reports

    Make way, Statesboro! With the entire band in tow, Zach Deputy and his soul train are chugging into town this week. On Thursday, Feb. 2, the funky soul-singer will make a stop in the Boro for a free show at Gata’s (formerly Buffalo’s).
    Deputy’s devoted fans — they call themselves Deputies — remember his start as a solo artist who entertained audiences for years with his looping skills at live shows.
    “It’s as simple as this: It’s something that records, so you can imagine you have this record button and you have a playback button,” Deputy said, explaining the art of looping. “So, right when you want to start recording, you tap the record button and you play something. The second you want it to repeat, you hit the playback button, and then it plays it back. And then you just record on top of that. It’s just as simple as recording one thing and having that be your map of time and recording on top of that.”
    Yeah, sounds real simple.
    Deputy uses the layered sounds created through looping to give the effect of a full band. His ability to think outside of his guitarist mindset — he can play bass lines like a bassist, steel drums like a steel drum player, trombone like a trombonist — and impeccable timing are what set him apart from other loopers.
    “The first time I ever did it [looping] was at a show, because my bass player didn’t show up for the show,” he said. “I didn’t want to cancel the show, so I was like, ‘I have a guitar and a loop machine, so make this happen.’ And my first loop-machine show was not on purpose. It was because I had no other option — and it was awful.”
    He’s come a long way since then, and although his face is not an unfamiliar one around these parts, this time, he’s bringing something with him the Boro’s never seen before: his full band.
    Deputy is eager to prove that he’s more than just a looper; he’s a maturing singer and songwriter who would like to cross over into other audiences, but through it all, he’s remained true to the origins of his signature style.
    Thursday’s performance is part of Deputy's ongoing national tour to promote his long-awaited studio album “Another Day,” which was released late last year. Best described as a soulful, rhythm-and-blues, Ray Lamontagne kind of record, “Another Day” features 11 original tracks that come together to show the sultry, more mellow side of the artist.
    A favorite in the Boro, Deputy's signature sound — what he calls “island-infused, drum ‘n’ bass, gospel-ninja-soul” — will light up the Gata’s stage this Thursday … and you’d have to be crazy to miss it.

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