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POP & ROCK 

Deeps 
In the Aftermath of Last Night (Independent) 

Deeps is the stage name of Hamiltonian Steve De Piante and In the Aftermath of Last Night is a Canadiana concept album set in Steeltown that kicks some serious bottom while tugging at heartstrings throughout its nine rock-solid tracks. 

De Piante had been through some changes in his life in the recent past and set those resulting sentiment to music and lyrics, and tracks them perfectly as the album progresses. Opening offering Empty Handed sets the story in motion with its Bob Seger/Silver Bullet Band melodies and decries a relationship ("I’ve been broken hearted Baby we were just getting started") on the threshold of collapse. The couple tries to reconcile (Call My Name, Rustin), keeps trying to resolve the relationship in some coherent fashion (Headed Back That Way) and then repeats it all as the figurative walls continue to wear down on their time together (Come on Back). 

There is palpable pain in some of De Piante’s lyrics, yet the songs are set loose to fly by the quartet backing him up. The Stonesy riffing in Run and the Tom Petty/Heartbreakers-esque Come On Back keep the motors running well. In particular, the song Rustin is evocative and perceptive in it’s insight into loneliness ("Here amidst the art, the hipsters, and the pouring wine she hopes it gonna be better next time but we’ve blown apart and we’re running out of time I don’t like our chances... further down the line") and doubt in ever making amends with a person that needs to better evaluate their openness to being in an adult relationship. 

The album is less than 40 minutes, but within that time, De Piante and crew manage to make a lasting statement that is worth hearing again and again. 

★★★1/2 stars out of five 

Stream these: Rustin, Empty Handed 

— Jeff Monk

 

 

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Deeps - In The Aftermath Of Last Night  
Format: CD - Digital / Label: Own Management  
Release Date: June 5, 2019 

Text: Peter Marinus 

Should Bob Seger ever decide to quit his career, I already have his successor ready, namely the singer-songwriter Deeps from Hamilton, Canada. He was born Steve De Plantes and he is a multi-instrumentalist (vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica, bass, accordion). His motto is: "get tired, get divorced, make a record".  I never knew it was that easy!  

The voice of Deeps has a great similarity with that of Bob Seger. Both men have a raw rock voice. There are also a lot of similarities with Bob Seger in terms of music. Deeps mixes his rock with light country influences with the greatest of ease. 

That becomes immediately clear in the opener Empty Handed . An up-tempo rocking song with quite a few powerful Keith Richards-like guitar riffs. Also, Call My Name is pretty Bob Seger-like. Again a very powerful rocking song. Not a difficult activity but "just" good rocking! Rustin goes down a little in tempo but still sounds just as impressive in a Bob Seger's "Against The Wind" style. This song is followed by the angular pumping Run with fiery Stones-like guitar work.  

Then two delicious roots ballads follow. Headed Back That Way and When Push Comes To Shove , both very intimate and equipped with a warm crying pedal handle.Come On Back is then a light-hearted, rocking rocker, followed by the free-logging Thunder And Rain, in which the sound of Warren Zevon also appears.   

Fumes And Flames closes the album in a beautiful way. A ballad that is provided with a matching rock sound at the end. I am very pleasantly surprised by this great roots album by Deeps. We will hopefully hear (much) more about this!

 

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Deeps (Can)  
tiltle: In The Aftermath or Last Night  
music: Southern Rock - Rock  
year: 2019  
promotion: Sarah French Publicity 
info artist: Deeps © Rootsville 2019  

If you are a lover of Gram Parsons or a Bruce Springsteen you will definitely love "Deeps". "Deeps" is the alter ego of Steve De Piante from Hamilton and is a confident singer-songwriter. On this "In The Aftermath of Last Night" we find 13 originals, all written by this multi-instrumentalist. The album is the successor of the album "Headed Back That Way", which was released in 2017. 

This album is a tribute to Americana-Roots music with a strong nod to rock and Southern rock. Just like with Bruce Springsteen, many of the songs are also written with his home base in mind. Songs about the resting "Steeltown", songs to be able to pay the bills with his rock 'n roll. All with a strong base as his strong voice and sometimes a blistering rhythm, sometimes interrupted for a moment by his acoustic gospel guitar. 

Opener on this album is "Empty Handed" and the rock 'n roll is right there. Sturdy, stirring reefs that naturally remind us of the rockin 'era with Parsons and Springsteen. The subsequent "Call My Name" also takes you to the years of carefree rock and is a gift for the party that is coming. 

With songs like "Run" and the Americana quiet "When Push Comes to Shove" offer enough diversity to appeal to every music lover. As an outwsinger there is the semi-acoustic ballad "Fumes and Flames" and that's how embarrassing it comes to me that I've never heard of these "Deeps". Top! 

tracks: 

1. Empty Handed  
2. Call My Name  
3. Rustin  
4. Run  
5. Headed Back That Way  
6. When Push Comes to Shove  
7. Come On Back  
8. Thunder and Rain  
9. Fumes and Flames

 

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Arts & Entertainment Feature  

Deeps lands spot at Mariposa 

 June 21, 2019 Susan Doolan music 

Hamilton singer-songwriter Deeps — a.k.a.  Steve Vincent De Piante — has landed a spot at Mariposa Festival. 

Catch Deeps at two locations over the weekend –  Friday, July 5 performing on the Downtown Stage at 4 p.m. and  Sunday, July 7 on the Village Stage at 3:50 p.m. Fans can also see him at The Cameron House in Toronto where Deeps has a residency on Tuesday’s in August from 6-8 p.m. 

Three songs — “Empty Handed,” “Headed Back That Way” and “Rustin’” — earned Deeps and his band the win at the Mariposa Showcase held last month. The songs are all from his new album, In The Aftermath of Last Night. 

Deeps’ writing has a strong hometown narrative with songs about rusting in Steeltown, rock ‘n rolling to pay the bills, and small city romance, all delivereda with attitude-filled vocals and punctuated by southern gospel guitar, searing keyboards, and upbeat drums. 

“It’s the sound of Hamilton, and it’s evolved from the band playing together in nearly every bar and venue in town,” said Deeps, who plans to rock Mariposa with  “serious alt-country soul.” 

Deeps’ full band includes  CJ Altmann (pedal steel, mandolin, guitar, vocals), Tom VanDeven (guitar), Tyrone Ramsey (bass), and Matt Burns (drums, vocals). 

The three-day Mariposa Folk Festival features more than ten stages of the best folk-roots music on the North American scene, along with story, dance, and craft on more than 10 stages. Tent and RV camping are available. 

The Mariposa Folk Festival runs July 5-7, 2019, in Tudhope Park in Orillia, Ont., on the shores of scenic Lake Couchiching. All ticket categories are on sale. Children age12 & under are admitted free.  Visit https://mariposa.frontgatetickets.com for details. 

 

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DEEPS' “IN THE AFTERMATH OF LAST NIGHT” FROM OUR FIRST encounter with Steve De Piante, he came off as a social animal, perhaps taking cues as much from actor Robert Downey Jr. as much as musicians like Gram Parsons. We first wrote about Deeps, the name the singer and songwriter is preferred to be called, when his musical exploits and habitation situation moving from Guelph to Hamilton in pursuit of matrimony.

That’s now yesterday’s papers — both the bride and the band — and for a period Deeps became an accompanist on the prowl — backing up Radio Free Universe, Shari and Jonny , Justin Dunlop and more but Deeps had his own songs to sing and set about developing his own band and a raft of songs to form an album. Impetuous to get something out, Deeps released an EP of acoustic tracks late last year before hoping on a train bound for exotic climbs for him to play the guitar around Canada for a few months. How romantic for this vagabond musical playboy?

It’s Deeps’ style that might initially ingratiate him with an audience but Deeps has found his own voice nestled somewhere betwixt Gram Parsons, Van Morrison and John Mellencamp on a collection of songs that exudes some heart and soul as well as style. But it’s that romantic lifestyle that is documented in Deeps long awaited debut full length album In the Aftermath of Last Night . “We actually started tracking this two years ago at Boxcar Sound Recording with Matt Montour and worked on it on and off since,” says Deeps. “We didn’t belabour this album; we had good sounds to start with and built from there. Some of the songs have been around for about a decade while others are a year or two old.

They’re songs about my life up until that two year point. There are other songs but these all fit into the theme of the album being getting through divorce, through breakup, getting through moving towns and a career change and that kind of thing so all the songs fit in that realm. “There are all sorts of ways to get you in trouble and I’ve found them over the last while,” adds Deeps. “It’s a little bit of a reflection on that: drugs, alcohol, women, and rock and roll. I’ve done a lot of that over the last bunch of years with varying degrees of fun and aftermath. There are repercussions with that kind of stuff, which I struggle with here and there. As an extraverted guy, I like to be out and in the line of work I am being on the stage; you get yourself into certain situations.”

Deeps song fodder is based on mostly real life experiences, the good, the bad and the ramifications. The debut video for “Call My Name” underscores the playboy vagabond persona of sorts with a fedora slightly tilted and a scarf casually draped across in neck. The plotline sees what happens for Deeps at a party with unexpected end results that have him finding solace in his keyboard. “With the video and the way I named the album, it’s a little shrouded in terms of how I write,” clarifies Deeps. “It’ s not Motley Crue’ s “Girls Girls Girls” — there is a conscience and I understand both sides of that story and I try to give it some justice.

At the end of the video I end up alone at my piano and I’m thoroughly relieved to be there rather than being mired in some romantic turmoil. It’s a little bit of a wakeup call for me. It’s about playing your instrument, singing your song and stop chasing the next party, buzz or that kind of thing. “It’s pretty autobiographical writing for certain,” adds Deeps. “Some of the people know that I’m writing about them but I tend to be pretty fair with how the songs turn out. Often, I look at my own faults like an assessment after the fact. It makes for a hard night some - times. I was almost immediately writing about my divorce but I’m out there singing them. I’m reminded on a nightly basis of where I was but when you’re singing it you’ve got to put yourself back there. 

Amy King at Grant Avenue said something like that I write where other artists are afraid to go and I didn’t realize what I was doing. I just do what I do but I’ve realized I do wear my heart on my sleeve in that way. I tell my story in a personal way and I have people come up to me and say, ‘I’ve gone through that’ and they find a little solace that I’m speaking about it so honestly. I guess that’s just how I’m wired. I was worried it might come off as a bit of a downer but I don’t think that it does. Maybe I’m allowing these songs to come off a little lighter because I’m not mired in the situation that brought about the song.” Lyrically, Deeps is writing deeply personal folk songs basically retelling a lot of the events of his time in Hamilton. Musically, that lead video has a pop rock vibe like an Arkells single with a grittier vocal but other tracks mine more of an Americana vibe conjuring up Van Morrison on “Empty Handed” but his style can veer more into country folk rock “When Push Comes To Shove” to roots rock mined from The Band “Come On Back”, funkier soul with “Thunder and Rain” or even country balladeering in a Tom Waits vibe like the album closer “Fumes and Flames”. “Alt–country soul I think is kind of apt because I have that kind of voice, I bark a little bit,” offers Deeps.

“I’ve played everything from reggae to funk to prog, so there is a lot that goes into what I’ve learned and I just play what I like. Maybe I’ll be more traditional roots in the future but this is what I’ve done now and I like it. It’s a record with a lot of variation but not too extreme but the variety is what makes it inter- esting to me. I don’t want to listen to the same song over and over again so the tempo shifts and the approach changes, it’s just who I am, I guess.”

With Matt Burns (drums), Tyrone Ramsey (bass), Tom Van Deven (guitar), Chris Altmann (pedal steel) and Deeps on keyboards and acoustic guitar, the CD release party for “In the Aftermath of Last Night” is another one of those parties that Deeps writes about. Perhaps if we’re lucky, this event will inspire more song fodder but Deeps expects a good night regardless. “The band that’s on the record is going to be on stage,” says Deeps.

“Listening to this record, with the band I have I realized we could do this and make this record happen on stage without missing a lot, which is not always easy to say. Sometimes you’ve got to hire a lot of other musicians or a horn section, which is fine but this is pretty authentic. We’ve got five guys that know each other, that care about this music and they play it well. That feels goo d to have. “If the band’s ready and playing well, we’ll have a good night and that’s what I expect,” adds Deeps.

“If people are singing along by the end of the night, that’ s what makes a goo d night for me. If people come out and feel they’ve seen something special — I think that’s what kind of show we’re going to put on for them.” HDeeps plays this Saturday March 23 at This Aint Hollywood with Fry Truck and DJ Aerlie Wild. Doors open at 9pm and $15 gets you in. Click on deeps.ca

 

Ric Taylor 

 

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