Zach Deputy uses many genres, instruments to create sound

Zach Deputy never wanted to be a solo artist; it happened by accident.

“It wasn’t on purpose; [the solo show] was always my side gig,” Deputy said during a phone interview. “It got to the point where it was a very intense show. I didn’t realize what was happening when it was happening; I opened my eyes one day, ‘Holy crap, this is a great show.’ ”

The South Carolina-born multi-instrumentalist has been in and out of bands since he was 16 years old, doing his solo show on the side “to make extra cash.” But for the past couple of years, Deputy, 26, has focused on his solo act, augmented by percussionist Paul Kearns and onstage recording and looping devices.

Tuesdays at Valentine’s

With his self-released first album, “Out of the Water,” due out June 24, Deputy’s current goal is to “oversaturate the market” in the Northeast. Deputy took on a June residency at Valentine’s, with performances every Tuesday at 7 p.m., as a way to keep busy in between dates on the road.

“When I’m on the road, I want to play seven days a week, nonstop like a madman,” Deputy said. “If it were up to me, what I would do is play my butt off every single day I’m on the road, nonstop, then go home and go fishing for a couple weeks.”

Deputy’s extreme work ethic (he said he hasn’t had a vacation in five years) has enabled him to hone a sound that combines soul, funk, bluegrass, hip-hop, calypso and country into groove-oriented songs that defy genre classification. In fact, Deputy said he doesn’t believe in classifying anything and tries to absorb all different kinds of music.

“I don’t, like, listen to a rhythm [and think], ‘Oh, I’m gonna try to do this,” Deputy said. “When I hear it, I absorb it, and it translates into my playing. At the loop show, if I listen to something all day, the show will be different.”

This cross-genre mixing existed in most of Deputy’s previous bands, from his first band, Countrifried Funk, which he formed at 16 with his brother, to the last band he was in before his solo show took off, Funky Hayride. His career so far has also included a stint, at 17, in a Motown-styled soul band.

“I played with a Motown band with these guys, 35- to 55-year-old black guys, and I was a 17-year-old white kid. It was pretty funny,” Deputy said.

After briefly performing in a band in Colorado, Deputy moved to Savannah, Ga., where he played with Funky Hayride concurrently with his solo act for a time before quitting to focus on his solo show.

Looping machines

Deputy initially performed with just an acoustic guitar and his vocals, but eventually integrated instrument looping machines into his shows to help fill out his live sound. With this machine, Deputy can loop rhythm guitar, bass, beat-boxing, percussion and a host of other instruments, including entire vocal passages. Rather than form another band to support his material, he found it was easier to just do everything on stage by himself.

“My ultimate goal was always to have a really great band,” Deputy said. “The problem is, the band I would imagine in my head would always be at least 10 to 12 members. In this day and age, with gas and food, that’s not going to happen unless you’re selling out Madison Square Garden. With this now, if I want sax, I can play it and loop it.”

Even if the loop machine is more convenient for Deputy, it can be limiting.

“The loop is very groove-oriented, and I am very groove-oriented. So it works,” Deputy said. “But if I have a song with a lot of sections, it’s never going to happen.”

The songs on “Out of the Water,” although recorded with a host of other musicians, can all be re-created with loops, said Deputy. But with 320 songs written and no end in sight, Deputy is looking into restructuring his performances.

“Eventually I think I’m going to separate, do a couple of different types of shows,” Deputy said.

Deputy’s use of technology and his genre-hopping gives his music a modern sound, even if he isn’t too keen on most modern music.

“I draw from old school country, but I would never, ever in my life draw from new school country,” Deputy said. “I draw from old R&B, but I don’t feel like new age rock has any soul.”

Even so, Deputy doesn’t like to limit himself.

“I try to be influenced by it all,” he said. “I’m a very weird individual, you know.”