Bongos, Road Trips and Heat: The Life of Zach Deputy

Seven years ago, Zach Deputy scored his first-ever gig at a place he calls a hole-in-the-wall on Hilton Head Island.

But the past few months have found him in decidedly different environs: After years frequenting the bar scenes of the Lowcountry (and the entire Southeast), the 23-year-old Deputy and his bongo-playing wingman Paul Kearns just began work on their first record at Southern Tracks studio in Atlanta, which in recent years has hosted artists like OutKast, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John and Bob Dylan.

"The biggest challenge is the transition from playing in bars and small venues to getting my album out there and getting the reputation I need in concert hall venues," Deputy said.

'ALL ORIGINALS'

It's something of a tall order for a duo who was once accustomed to haggling past bar owners to get through their doors.

"When we first started playing in Hilton Head, we couldn't get any gigs because everyone was like, 'You don't play any covers?' And we were like, 'No, we play all originals.' But once we get into venues we always get called back," Deputy said.

Zach Deputy's rhythmic melting pot is made up of equal parts soul, reggae, jazz and Latin music. The band's double-sided homegrown sound was conceived when Deputy, for a while a one-man band, extended an offer to best friend Kearns.

"We had a house together when we were about 17," Deputy said. "I offered him some cash to help move some stuff and asked him if he wanted to learn how to play the bongos."

Kearns, 22, was doing tile and remodeling work at the time, and found he couldn't refuse. "(Before) I was the set-up-the-P. A. man," Kearns said. "(Zach) showed me where the pocket is, where the bongos should be in the song, and I picked up on it quick. It's changed my whole career outlook," Kearns said.

Kearns and Deputy not only share the same vision, but also a house in Hardeeville and countless hours together on the road and in the recording studio.

"I go to bed at night and say 'Good night, Zach.' I wake up in the morning and say 'Good morning, Zach,' " Kearns said.

They have only been apart for a couple days in the past two years, Kearns says, because of their demanding schedule. It's not uncommon for the two to drive nine hours to Lexington, Ky., play until 2 a.m., then pack up and drive eight hours to Statesboro, Ga., for a show the next night. "The biggest challenge would be the long trips," Kearns said. "In the summertime we're cranking and don't sleep."

BIG IN OHIO

It's that work ethic that's helped them start to develop a fan base that stretches as far away as Cleveland, where fans have requested - via the duo's MySpace page - repeat visits.

Deputy and Kearns might not be able to predict their next trip that far north, but they do have other plans in the works.

"I see us recording more than we have," Deputy said. "I see us having a manager and a label behind us, and in the next year owning my own record label and being on my feet with our own tour."