The ball is gone

What a string of shows we’ve just had. But let’s get right to it, the super bouncy ball is gone. In Charleston, when the crowd was singing happy birthday to Zach, he ran off stage, grabbed the ball and chucked it into the crowd, never to be seen again. There was something special about that ball; I envisioned a whole summer with that guy…too bad.

I’m sitting here typing this blog listening to Zach’s soundcheck at the Music Hall at Wanee Festival. We got into the festival around 5:00 AM this morning after a long drive from South Carolina. Both Georgia and South Carolina treated us right over the last couple gigs. We got back on tour on Thursday, playing to a small, yet enthusiastic crowd at The Georgia Theater. We were all in high spirits arriving at The Georgia Theater as this is THE VENUE in the Southeast. This venue has held every performer that has ever performed, so we were delighted to be headlining it. I had a great time in the green room, taking pictures of posters and autographed pictures. Seeing posters that had dates of when Dave Matthews Band, Phish and Red Hot Chili Peppers all performed for $3. $3? Those were the days. DMB just played Fenway Park the other day for $91 a ticket. Anyways, the show had its moments – namely Into The Morning Into The Night and I Bit His Ear (Mike Tyson Parody) into the long awaited return (for some fans) of Free Turd, Zach’s rendition and response to cheers of Freebird. I was feeling good when the second set started off with a barrage of covers, of which I call Hip Hop Medley. Many of you know this sandwich of songs; it usually consists of theme songs from Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, James Bond, Vanilla Ice, and others. Rarely do I ask for songs, but mid second set I got my request of Fresh Street, a feel good song off the new album Sunshine, slated for release in late July.

Our next gig was at The Pour House in Charleston. This show is easily my favorite show since being on the road. Zach turned 27 at midnight, and with lots of friends and family in the crowd, it was quite the night. We are working hard over here to archive every show with audio, video and pictures now. Every show will be available at Zach Deputy shows and hopefully, eventually available online. I mention this for two reasons: 1.) it’s great to be able to leave the show with a recording of that specific show and 2.) because I can’t get Zach’s version of Quarter In My Pocket out of my head. This show is worth the download/purchase for this version alone! Any of you catching shows in the near future, come up to Jeremy at the merch table and ask about some Live ZD CD’s – we got recordings of a lot of great shows. Another note about the live recordings: BRING A USB THUMB DRIVE TO THE SHOW AND WE WILL BURN THE ENTIRE SHOW FOR ONLY $5! Since we’re talking about bringing stuff to the show, I’ll add one more bit. In response to the loss of the super bouncy ball, we are creating a rubber band ball, so please bring a rubber band (or rubber bands) and take it over to Jeremy at the merch table and be part of the new Zach Deputy tour ball.

After our gig at The Pour House, we headed back to the hotel in Columbia, setting up a short drive to Rock The Dock the next day. Rock The Dock was absolutely amazing – from the music, to the people, to the location, to the cold Diet Pepsi. This was an event put on by Tmayn Entertainment out of Columbia, SC. It was a large gathering of people at a private residence, giving off the block party vibe. Patrons paid their $20 to get all the free food, music and beer they wanted. The massive slip and slide leading down to the lake was the hit of the party. I found myself playing cornhole and dancing in the muddy spots of the lawn – relishing in the fact that this is indeed my job. Over 700 people stuffed the yard, leading from the stage at the top of the hill all the way down to the dock. Boats slowly gathered throughout the afternoon, bringing in even more people by the end of the day. Woodwork Roadshow opened for Zach, who played a relaxing, yet entertaining set. I uploaded a video of Bluffton from this show to Facebook and both Zach and I’s YouTube channels, as well as this blog. I hope you guys are checking in on Zach’s YouTube channel – I’m trying to put up videos from every show. I will be uploading weekly pictures as well on Facebook. The end of the first set into the beginning of the second set was the highlight of the show for me personally. Some of Zach’s newer material was used to open and close the sets. Always-funky Cross Town ended the first set, only to see a soothing rendition of You Don’t Even Love The Girl get people ready for the second set of music. One of my favorite songs, Most People Never Heard Real Music, followed and was a welcomed return to Zach’s setlist after a little time on the shelf. After telling Zach how much Little Bit Of You is growing on me, he ended the show with a wildly different version of the song. He easily found a deep groove that pushed the song throughout, ending the set on a high note for both me personally and all those in attendance.



Now it’s time to go rage Wanee. The festival runs Thursday through Saturday, but Zach is playing a benefit in the music hall right now. We have lots of friends in attendance and have been looking forward to this show for a long time. Tomorrow we are playing another benefit in Hilton Head, SC so check back in a couple days to read about the review of all the happenings of Wanee and the show in Hilton Head. I’m off to go dance with smiling strangers and only begin to imagine where the night will take us.