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| You know his voice. You've experienced his vision. You've felt his heart�s passion. You may have seen him win his first Dove Award, or even hold up his GOLD-certified record, SONICFLOOd. Now, you'll always know his name� Jeff Deyo has already sold almost 1 million combined albums as the lead singer, principal songwriter and co-producer for the GOLD-certified, Dove Award-winning debut, SONICFLOOd (1999) and the GRAMMY Nominated follow-up, SONICPRAISe (2001). Deyo returns with the spirit and vitality behind those albums in recording his new release, SATURATE�a natural follow-up for the hundreds of thousands of souls touched by his previous band efforts with SONICFLOOd. SATURATE, however, moves well beyond the territory marked by the first SONICFLOOd albums, showcasing the muscle of Deyo�s new band and confirming how fervently his God-given heart and vision go in uniting people together for modern worship. The album affirms that Deyo has indeed assembled a carefully crafted cast of clutch musicians to forge his model band - guitarist Rob Hawkins, bassist Jeremy McCoy, keyboardist Fred Williams, and drummer Nate Winters. These four journeymen share the same devotion and artistic conviction that exemplifies Deyo's work. Their part in the collective vision has already manifested itself in co-writing four of the songs and performing on almost all the tracks. Likewise, Deyo produced SATURATE along with the same production talent team that helped fashion SONICFLOOd's debut, namely Otto Price (GRITS, Circadian Rhythm) and Bryan Lenox (Michael W. Smith, Sixpence None the Richer). "In recording a successful follow-up album," comments Deyo, "we often fool ourselves into trying to recreate the wrong things. Why was SONICFLOOd successful? Was it the great clothes, cool attitudes, or the way we moved on stage? It couldn't have been, because we didn't have any of those things. The core idea was heart and passion. If you had an unlimited budget to make any type of album, what would it be? Pouring that type of passion into our music allows the message to transcend the style and make the difference that draws the listener in deeper and keeps them longer." Showcasing a mix of revitalized classics and Deyo-penned originals, SATURATE communes powerful worship anthems that resound with vigor and vibrancy. Spirited songs like "Let It Flow," �Many Crowns� and "Satisfy" are loaded with catchy vocal hooks and touching lyrics brought to life over inventive tracks sure to win the affection of both the worshipful and the toughest critics. The album also soothes the soul with more inspirational cuts like �Thank You For Life� and "You Are Good," a musical bed of acoustic guitar melodies and atmospheric string arrangements lifting up passionate poems of praise. Adding more flavor to the mix, SATURATE features a handful of big gun guest appearances, including dc Talk's tobyMac adding vocal spice to the imminent fan favorite "More Love, More Power", alternative rock faves Fleming and John (Ben Folds, William Shatner) enhancing multiple tracks, Curb recording artist Nicol Smith (Selah, Wynonna) adding Enya-esque backings on "All I Want," and Grammy Award winner Rebecca St. James nailing a duet on the Deyo-penned "Sing To You." "We had a simple vision for SONICFLOOd," says Deyo, "but at the time I didn't realize the extent of the vision for worship that God would instill in me. I moved to Nashville to be a performance artist. A lot of people are called to that, which is awesome, but I apparently was not. The best thing that came out of SONICFLOOd for me was realizing my true calling as a worship leader." Proving his passion for worship extends beyond his albums, Deyo up-fronts the costs several times a year (often monthly) to lead a massive worship and prayer event called WorshipCityPraise in his hometown of Nashville. Though a marquee artist, Deyo is compelled to make it a no-charge event for anyone willing to come. The event regularly draws 1,000-1,500 people, while a special full-day WorshipCityPraise mega-event June 2001 drew a record 10,000 attendees. Since re-establishing his solo presence, Deyo has already performed at many of the nation's top gatherings. The inspired worship leader has added his distinct ministry to events with crusade evangelist Dawson McAllister, actor Kirk Cameron, speaker Darrell Scott (father of slain Columbine student, Rachel Scott), and worship leader Ron Kenoly. Deyo even led worship at a worship summit in Seoul Korea hosted by Dr. David Yonggi Cho�s church�the largest in the world. In addition, Deyo has an original song on Teen Mania's latest ACQUIRE THE FIRE worship CD (Inpop Records) and another on the accompaniment CD to Top 10 Christian author Max Lucado's new book, HE CHOSE THE NAILS. Deyo also joined Lucado on his major market tour promoting the book and CD. Deyo, who was born in sunny Southern California, spent his youth in the chilly mile-high cold of Denver, Colorado. On a partial music scholarship, he attended Wheaton College in Chicago and then transferred to Indiana's Anderson University, where he graduated with a music business degree highlighting a piano emphasis. Upon tossing his tassel, the newly graduated singer-songwriter relocated to Nashville, TN, where he would soon release three independent albums. Supporting his earlier releases, Deyo traveled to church camps and retreats across the country leading worship each night with one evening set aside for a performance concert. The young independent go-getter finally joined up with the Christian rock group, Zilch, which decided to make a contemporary worship album under the name SONICFLOOd. With his purpose and calling clearly defined, Deyo has been personally touched by the unquenchable electric swell of praise and worship music's true power and has redirected that energized vision to his listeners through his recordings and worship gatherings. With nearly a million copies of his vision already in the hands of fired-up worshipers, there can be no doubt that Deyo will vitalize modern worship once again in 2002. If his SONICFLOOd albums marked the dawn of a modern worship revival, then Deyo now ushers us to the next sun-soaked summit with his unshakeable new bow, SATURATE. |
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