Cure For Gravity by Steve Deal Band

Guitarist Kevin hellake & bassist Glenn Ewing have played together for years in Florida before moving to Atlanta to hook up with Deal & Myers. Together they form a distinct sounding rock band that regularly has thousands of worshipers every week crying out for more of God. The band's greatest passion is to see people connecting with God through music. and so far, they have been very successful at it - playing regularly in their own church & touring...opening at times for bands like Earthsuit, Sonic Flood and recently, Darrell Evans. With constant radio airplay in atlanta, they're making a name for themselves as a hardworking band with a mission & passion for God but the guys maintain that their greatest love is playing at their home church in Atlanta most weeks.

This is a review from Todd Wright at www.worshipnotes.org

Cure for Gravity is the brand new record from C3 worship pastor Steve Deal. C3 stands for Christian City Church, a family of churches across the world. In fact, Steve was a part of a C3 compilation that we reviewed some time back. (See archives.)

Cure for Gravity is a collection of ten songs meticulously crafted to inspire praise by deconstructing what we all think the worship genre should be. I try to often give references to other artists so that readers can get an idea for what our review artist sounds like. The fact is, Steve Deal sounds like nothing I've ever heard.

Steve is a self-proclaimed Crowder fan, and while Cure sounds nothing like Crowder, it possesses such a powerful, "other-worldly" feel. However, Deal's explorations never venture so far as to isolate or confuse us, a problem sometimes found with Crowder's more experimental writings.

Originally, Steve had plans to make the record with producer Hugh Wilson, a writing/recording genius in his own right. These Deal/Wilson songs had a very programmed feel, giving the record an electronic, ethereal feel. However, during tracking, Steve was blessed with a strong set of new musicians in his church. By bringing the band into the Wilson sessions (already in progress,) something both artistic and practical was born.

Standouts on the record are songs like "Fall on Me," a guitar-based rock song built on simple chord arrangement and prayerful lyrics. The electric guitar tracks on the song build a very nice groove. I did this song with my student worship band a few weeks ago. We learned it in about ten minutes and our kids had a blast. What more can you ask for in a song?

Songs like "Wash " and "Shine Right Through Me" build beautifully, evolving from simple progressions to epic anthems. "Betrayed With a Kiss" and "Free Fall" are fresh, original concepts, and "Wider Than Sky" is a really fun celebration song. Your band would really like recreating the groove on this one!

Both the producer and the band work beautifully for these songs. I liked that these still sound like worship songs, even with the varied textures on some pieces. There are definite programming pieces where the song seems to require more electronica and less rock, but with a little adjustment, even these songs can be used in worship.

Certainly, a record with this much tracking is going to pose some problems for some worship bands. Without some high-end synths and keyboards, you're probably not going to be able to play these dead on, but I think every one of these songs can be done by a simple four piece rock ensemble. If you've got acoustic, drums, electric and bass, you can do these songs and they will work.

I'll also say that if you choose to do "Covered in Grace," DO NOT even try to do Steve's falsetto part at the end. It will destroy you. He doesn't use it a lot, but with high-end range like that, this guy could be the new tenor for Gold City.

To wrap things up, Cure for Gravity is the best record we've seen this year. It's original - you'll spend a good deal of your time thinking hard about what the band is doing. It's built for worship - even if you can't pull off the electronica stuff, these are songs you can do with great lyrics and memorable melodies.

Buy the record and spend some valuable time letting it speak to you. If you're interestied in hearing worship done in a fresh, new way, Cure for Gravity will not disappoint. Check out the link below and be one of the first in your town to know about this promising new voice.

Album Review

Thursday, November 09, 2006

The Steve Deal Band - Edge of the Ocean

Edge of the Ocean, the sophomore release from the Steve Deal Band does exactly what a second record should do. In keeping the atmospheric, free-flowing feel of Deal’s earlier work and adding the passion and precision of a live band, Deal and crew offer a unique progression from their previous work. Whereas the first record was made up of a majority of programmed pieces with some live band sections, Edge of the Ocean is an all-out band record. Let’s break it open and see what’s up…

What Works

Steve Deal’s songwriting is just as consistent as ever. It’s as if he intuitively knows what texts and melodies are going to work - what’s going to "stick" in the minds of the listener/singer. I think these songs work best in more charismatic worship settings as they are fueled more by passion and spontaneity than more linear-framed thinking. Deal writes prayers – simple and repetitive, but set in melodies that any writer would be lucky to dream up.

Hugh Wilson’s able production (and vocals) are still present, which is makes for a fantastic combination of ambient musical touches and Deal’s collection of rocking musicians.

Some of the strongest songs include "The Coming King," a climbing anthem with a great droning acoustic underpinning that builds the tone to a impressive ending. I also love U2-tinged "You are Here" and the echoing "Yahweh." I like that the band isn’t afraid of tying these songs to each other. While many records would recoil at the thought of two tracks in the same key, the Steve Deal Band approaches this project as a worship experience and not just something to be thrown in an iPod. I also think that this record gives us a better glance of the band’s skill in blues and at some places, even in jazz.

The record also serves as great example of quality tone. The guitars on the record are crystal clear with just enough bite to be overdriven without distorted. I also think a lot of church keyboardist would benefit from checking out the simple tones and synth layers here.

What Doesn’t…

I think there a couple of songs that don’t work. The opening track, "Letting Go," is a good song, but its place as the record’s opener doesn’t give any indication of the tracks to come. It’s a bit mellow for an opening track and may suffer because of poor placement. I also like the blues/jazz feel of "Peace Like A River," but I don’t know if it melds with the strong base of tracks that make this record stand out.

As someone who uses Steve’s song in my worship team, I understand that a few tracks might be a bit daunting to musicians and singers. I would encourage leaders and players to really make sure to pick songs they know they can nail. Steve’s text are closely linked to the tones and rhythms that accompany them and can often hinder the worship experience if not played with accuracy.

I think the Steve Deal Band is seriously underrated worship band. To be honest, the music is hard to classify…it’s ethereal and rocking and almost spontaneous in its delivery and that’s hard to explain to somebody in a two-line album description. But in a world of cookie-cutter, cliché worship acts, isn’t that what so many of us are looking for?

I strongly encourage you to pick up this great collection of tunes.For more info on The Edge of Ocean, check out stevedealband.com or c3worship.com.

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