of Sonicflood
http://www.jeffdeyo.com/
https://sonicflood.com/
By: Trisha Bleau Smith
T4JYM: Please share with us how your current group formed. Do any of your band members also come from previous groups?
Jeff: After I was no longer a part of SONICFLOOd, I told the Lord that I didn’t have it in me to go out and pound the pavement to make a name for myself. I told Him that if He wanted me to continue to minister I would, but that He would have to open the doors and give me a new band. Well, He did just that! I continued doing WorshipCityPraise monthly and people began calling me wanting me to come lead worship for their conferences and events. So, as the real need for a new band arose, I began keeping my eyes out for the right people. One by one, each guy came into the band. Rob Hawkins (guitars) served by loading in speakers at one of our WCP gatherings. I met him, talked with him, heard him play, and BAM, he was out playing with me the next weekend for 6,000 people. Fred Williams (keyboards) emailed me asking me if I needed a keyboardist. I never imagined that this one the guy that God was sending to play for me, but when I met him and heard his heart, I knew this was the guy! Nate Winters (drums) use to play at Brownsville in Pensacola, and a friend of mine recommended that he was a great guy and a solid drummer – he is, and so I hired him! Jeremy McCoy (bass) played with me before my SONIC days, and it was a perfect fit to ask him to join with me again. All these guys were born to worship. I am proud of them and am amazed at their playing and writing contributions on the new record, SATURATE!
T4JYM: Was it hard to leave Sonicflood to start a new group? What kind of feedback have you gotten from the public on this? What kind of relationship have you maintained with Sonicflod?
Jeff: Not being a part of SONICFLOOd was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It was not my idea to leave the band so I had no real plans after the fact. The hardest part was knowing thatI was finally doing what God had called me to do and that it was all being stripped away. Thankfully, God had and has MUCH bigger plans. I believe this is just the beginning of my oppotunites to lead people into the presence of God in a real and passionate way!!!! Unfortunately, I have gotten a lot of negative feedback from all the changes in SONICFLOOd. People are always surprised when they look on the back of the first SONICFLOOd CD and don’t see any of those original members in the band. So much has changed, but I’m confident God has a GREAT plan in all of this. Maybe it will teach all of us not to hold too tightly to a band and more tightly to God!!!!
T4JYM: What kind of relationship do you maintain with your audiences? Do you fellowship with them? Or do you remain distant as the performer?
Jeff: Maintaining a relationship with the people who come to worship with me at my concerts is the number 2 thing I focus on. After seeking the Lord for myself, I do my best to break down the traditional walls between audience and leader. I’ve found people are tired of fake leaders who try to impress them with talent or charisma. Peopole just want to see something real – something powerful – something “Jesus”. I’ve found that being trasparent and real on stage helps people to do the same when they are worshiping their God and when they are in every day life. I love to sign autographs afterward, because that’s the time when i get to talk with people and hear how God has touched and changed their life!
T4JYM: Are you involved in your own home church? What role do you have there?
Jeff: My wife, Martha and I have gone to Cornerstone Church in Madison, TN for almost 9 years now. For eight of those years we have been on the volunteer youth staff. We are in church every time the doors are open and we are in town!! We love our church and have found that being deeply routed their (invloved in Sunday School, cell group, and in leadership) helps keep us accountable and grounded in a way that simply spending time with God on the road or at home cannot do! A lot of people switch churches a lot because churches aren’t perfect, but we have found that even though Cornerstone is not and will never be perfect, that this is also a part of what God is teaching us. Since we live in an imperfect world, he wants to teach us to be able to function in this real world by learning to deal with things that don’t go our way or that are contrary to how we would do them. The very fact that Cornerstone is imperfect makes it a great place for imperfect people, like us, to learn and grow in God!
T4JYM: What is your musical background? Did you take lessons to gain the musical skills you have now?
Jeff: I graduated from Anderson University in 1992 with a BA in Music Business. I studied music and industry stuff in college for four years, and took private, classical piano lessons from the time I was six until I was a junior in college. I also played the drums in competitive marching band in highschool. Even though I didn’t become a classical pianist or a professional drummer, those years of studying provided me with the skills to be excellent at what I do now. I never did take voice lessons but I was in several choirs in school and learned tons by watching good singer sing. I watched what they did, and I learned how they used their voices, and I literally prayed that God would make me a better singer. Thanksfully, he has done so is continuing to improve my abilities as I allow him to use me.
T4JYM: Do you have any advice to give to the youth of our world?
Jeff: More than anything I want to be REAL. In a culture where so many people are so religious and seem to know a lot about God, I would challenge people to make sure that the knowledge of God goes deeper than just knowledge. (2 Timothy 3:5) says that in these days people will act as if they are religious but that they will actually reject the real power of God that can make them godly. We have many people these days who think that being religious, going to church, singing worship songs, and knowing a few Bible verses will actually get them to heaven. But this is not true–plus, life is about so much more than getting to heaven! God is looking for people who want to KNOW Him, who want to have a deep, personal REAL relationship with Him. I would tell students to read Ps. 119:37-41, and simply make it theri prayer to God–to cry out to him to break the hardness of their heart and cause the truth of his word to force the living waters of the Holy Spirit to be stirred up to overflowing!!!!
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