Sonic Flood

Jeff Deyo: The one time lead singer of Sonicflood reaching saturation point
Published in the CR Mag 69
Monday 1st July 2002
One-time Sonicflood singer JEFF DEYO holds a vision to see Nashville become a renowned place of worship. Tony Cummings reports.
Jeff Deyo Band
Jeff Deyo Band

The torturous disintegration of the original Sonicflood after the release of their groundbreaking 'Sonicflood' rock praise album did little to help the reputation of Nashville's CCM scene. But now the dust has settled. A brand new Sonicflood have emerged to release the 'Resonate' CD, one¬time band members Jason Halbert and Dwayne Larring have become acclaimed record producers for acts like Petra and Matt Redman, and Sonicflood's original lead singer Jeff Deyo has stepped forward with a brilliant rock worship debut 'Saturate' for Gotee Records. Aided and abetted by special guests tobyMac, Fleming And John and Rebecca St James, and with the same producers that made 'Sonicflood' such a tour de force, the album, in the words of the Cross Rhythms review, features "brilliantly inventive arrangements of Vineyard evergreens ("More Love, More Power") with powerhouse originals."

For observers of the Nashville scene, one of the most encouraging aspects of Jeff Deyo's emergence has been his decision to continue the monthly gathering for God's people to come together for Nashville's transformation. Those meetings, originally called Sonicpraise, have been renamed WorshipCityPraise. Commented Jeff, "Our vision hasn't changed; just the name. We decided since this gathering was not about a man or a band, but about Nashville being transformed into the likeness of Jesus, we would go ahead and start calling it by the name it has been prophesied to become. You probably know that Nashville is currently known around the world as Music City USA. Well, a number of years ago it was prophesied that this city would become known around the world as Worship City USA. So, as a step of faith, we have decided that we should begin calling things that aren't as if they are until they are! We're gonna worship God with our songs and our lifestyles and pray for this city with a 2 Chronicles 7:14 mindset until Nashville actually becomes transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit into Worship City USA!"

Jeff continued, "We are not satisfied with a small sign in front of church that reads, 'Revival This Week'. We want the Spirit of God to literally come down in power and authority as thousands upon thousands of Christians submit their lives wholly and completely to Jesus. As this happens, we pray that the rivers of Living Water contained within us would burst out of our souls creating a tidal wave that flows through the streets of our cities, towns and neighbourhoods washing away ungodliness of all kinds. We plan to lead by example as we worship God with our songs, our prayers and our lives! We believe that God will hear from Heaven, forgive us (his people) of our sins and heal (transform) our city, as we come together to humble ourselves, pray, seek God's face and turn from our selfish ways (2 Chronicles 7:14). We also want to be a part of answering Jesus' prayer to the Father in John 17 for us to be one. As this begins to happen, Jesus said that many people would believe that he was sent to the earth - many people. This is what we want! Our worship gatherings are for all God's people of all ages, races, denominations and backgrounds to come together with the purpose of worshipping our God and praying for the spiritual healing and transformation of our cities and nations. We don't worship God based on a music style, but rather on a lifestyle. The purpose of these gatherings is not simply unity. To have hundreds of thousands of worshippers gathered in stadiums is awesome, but this is not the ultimate goal. A transformed or 'awakened' city is the true goal. Call it evangelism, call it revival, call it fulfilling the great commission, call it whatever you want -we just want many people to truly and deeply come to know Jesus. But true unity must happen in us first."

When pitched the tough question, what is the future of Sonicflood, Jeff is quite candid. "There were some differences in the band and everybody went their own separate ways. If you look on the back cover of the CD, there are four guys [on it] and none of those guys are with the band currently calling itself Sonicflood. And none of the guys that are in the band Sonicflood were on the first album. To me, it's a bit confusing. I can be honest and say there were some legal threats, legal wrangling as you might put it, for placement and control. It's disappointing and saddening for the Kingdom of God. I got out before all that stuff happened. It wasn't really my decision to leave. The other guys asked me to leave. I think it was really God protecting me from what was about to happen. That's all I would say at this point."

In the stormy period between the break-up of the original Sonicflood and the recording of 'Saturate', Jeff contributed to the various artists project 'He Chose The Nails' inspired by the best selling book by Max Lucado. Jeff explained how he came to contribute to the album. "I was working with Bryan Lenox, who helped us produce the 'Sonicflood' record, and he was telling me about this upcoming project he was working on with Max Lucado. While he was describing it, I remember thinking to myself, 'I would like to be a part of something like that.' And literally, like six months later, Bryan calls me and says that one of the bands has to back out and there's an opportunity for me to write a song for that. I had a couple songs written... I was on the Newsboys tour [at the time]. I put my cell phone down, picked up my guitar and played These Hands' over the phone and they were like, "That's the song!' We've gotta have that one!' It was a great feeling to be a part of that. For me, it brought back one of the most basic but foundational messages, the Cross. Like [Max] says, 'Without the Cross, there's nothing!'"

Of all the riveting tracks on 'Saturate', probably the most attention grabbing is Jeff's radical recasting of the George Beverly Shea '50s oldie "I'd Rather Have Jesus". Jeff told CCM magazine how he came to re-invent the song. "I was sitting at a Billy Graham crusade and George Beverly Shea sang it and it was like it was the first time I'd ever heard it. The message was relevant... but I thought the music made it like it was written in another language. So I wrote new music for it."
Your Music
A Sonic Decade



It was in early 1999 when a love-struck Rick Heil, the bass player for Christian blues rock band Big Tent Revival, stepped off a tour bus and stepped behind the wheel of his truck to cross state lines to visit his girlfriend. Fatigued and sleep-deprived from touring, he lost focus while driving 70 miles per hour on a Missouri highway and ended up flipping his truck several times. The scene was so horrific that those who witnessed the accident actually thought Rick hadn’t survived it. When he crawled out from the wreckage, he had two amazing sights to behold. Behind him – a totaled truck with everything crushed except the driver’s side seat and door; before him – gleaming in the grass… the ejected SONICFLOOd pre-release demo disc he was listening to before he flipped his truck. “The Lord spared me, so I knew it was where I was supposed to be,” recalls Rick of that fateful day. “SONICFLOOd was doing what I wanted to do: love songs to God.” Shortly after that, Rick left Big Tent Revival, a three-time Grammy nominated band, to join SONICFLOOd, an obscure fledging band that hadn’t yet released a single album. At the time, this decision seemed to make little sense. But then, not too many things about Rick Heil’s life would make much sense from a worldly point of view.

The band’s self-titled debut album was released later that year, followed by a tour. Edgy and invigorating, SONICFLOOd’s unique brand of worship rock was unlike anything the Christian audience had heard before, and the band soon created quite a buzz. However, after only a year together, internal dissension tore the band apart and the original band members soon parted ways. Rick too wanted to bail, but after praying over the situation with his new bride, CeCe, decided to take a giant leap of faith. Rather than run from what seemed like a collapsing building, he and his wife decided to keep the band going and take on the SONICFLOOd name… and its six figure debt. Rick also felt that God wanted the band to honor its pre-booked worship concert commitments. He often found himself scrambling to secure musicians to play at these shows but still managed to honor those commitments. Looking back, he believes that God was teaching him and others that it’s not about who’s playing ­– it’s about God.

While fighting to keep the band from extinction, Rick was also fighting a battle of another kind – against Crohn’s Disease, an incurable intestinal disorder. The disease rained down on Rick relentless and excruciating agony, making touring hellish for him. “Some days I swore I wasn’t going to make it through the show. I had an open sore along my waistband called a fistula – a tract going from inside my intestine to outside of my body, spilling its acidic contents onto my skin. I had to wear a gauze pad and change it every couple of hours. The pain was horrific because I’d have to use my diaphragm to produce notes. I honestly believe I was closer to God at that time because I was at his feet calling him constantly.”

Over the years, SONICFLOOd has sold over 2 million albums and garnered many accolades, including 2 Dove Awards, a Grammy nomination and several ASCAP Awards. But it’s the band’s tireless labor in the mission field, including facilitating over 10,000 child sponsorships, that makes them among today’s most cherished worship bands. They have inspired worshippers across the land, boldly proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ wherever they played, including churches, community events, high schools, festivals, arenas, military bases and clubs. They are distinguished as having performed the first Christian concert ever in a secular venue in modern Istanbul, Turkey, a region which is 98% Muslim. They have truly lived up to their title, “The Fathers of Modern Worship Music,” and have changed the face of worship music forever, paving the way for modern praise and worship movements.

Today, Rick Heil is completely symptom free from the illness that had once tormented him. There is no medical explanation for his cure, and he thanks the Lord Jesus Christ for healing him.

IV: Rick, you are living walking proof of God’s supernatural grace and healing powers. During your battle with Crohn’s Disease, you were walking in the deep valley at times. Can you tell us about it?
Rick: I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease when I was 11, and dealt with it most of my life. I had eight feet of intestines taken out. And learned how to play the guitar in the hospital, I was in there so much. There would be months when I was not allowed to eat anything, so I was fed intravenously or through a tube.

The surgeon who opened me up the last time could find no sign of Crohn’s disease. Where it should be reoccurring, the skin was pristine. I’m praising the Lord. When God takes away something you’ve dealt with for so long, you have to re-learn life. When a person is in pain, that does something to the psyche; you sort of become focused inward, because all you’re thinking of is how to get away from this pain. The pain twists the mind. So, when all of a sudden I was walking around pain-free, I felt like air. I didn’t know how to act, and become a person who is more focused on the people around me than myself. Because that’s the whole Gospel: die to yourself and live as Christ. So, God, in His grace, has allowed me to live without [Crohn’s disease.]

IV: For those out there living with pain, illness or depression, what encouragement can you offer them?
Rick: Lay it down at the Lord’s feet. I thought, in my pride, that I could handle it myself. And I grew up with the misconception that God didn’t care, that God wasn’t going to do anything, that He couldn’t do anything. That was Satan’s lies to me. God does care. He has never lost his power to heal, to raise from the dead, to restore, to make whole. When I finally got to the point of brokenness, when the doctors were saying I was going to die, when I had no more energy to carry around this bag of pain with me, I had no where else to run except into God’s arms. I said, “Lord, I give it all to you. I lay it all down at your feet. Let Your will be done in my life.” At that point, I didn’t care if I lived or if I died. I was just tired of carrying it. But that’s when my life changed. That’s when God began the process of healing in my life; first with my heart, in my understanding of Him and His power. When I realized that God could restore my heart that was as hard as a rock and turn it into a heart of flesh, and give me peace and take away the desire to kill myself, then He was able to heal my body. So, I started on this exploration into God’s character. I came to realize as Psalm 103 says, “He forgives all my sins and he heals all my diseases.” The Word is full of promises to us that He loves us so much that we could never fathom His love, that He is willing and capable and desiring to make us whole. God reprogrammed my mind through His Word. I realized I was holding offense toward God. You can’t grow in a relationship if you’re holding offense against somebody. So, I had to let go of those things. It was a time of humility, and when you’re broken, humility comes easy. In that time of humility, God is able to work; He’s able to speak to our spirits freely. He’s able to work our change from the inside out.

I’d encourage your readers to know that He is the One who works miracles. We all need a miracle everyday. Like the Israelites being fed enough manna for that day, God provides enough for each day. The joy of the Lord is our strength, and it’s only Him that we can put our trust in.

IV: I know one project that’s been near and dear to your heart is Call2Fall. For those in our audience who aren’t as familiar with Call2Fall, can you share how this ministry got started and what we’re looking to accomplish through it.
Rick: We were invited by a 15-year-old kid to come down to Florida, because the ACLU had sued the school because teachers had prayed with the students outside of school time. Whenever the students assembled to pray, the teachers had to turn their backs toward them. They ended up settling out of court, but this 15 year old kid wrote us asking us to come down and lead them in worship, pray with them, encourage them, and we brought with us a law professor from Liberty University. She got there and told them their rights as being followers of Christ and students in a public school. It doesn’t mean that you leave your Christianity at the door. Then following graduation, this past May, all of the students remained standing and recited the Lord’s prayer after the principal had told them to sit down. It was really encouraging. This community came together. It didn’t matter what denomination you were, if you were a follower of Christ, you were involved. A quarter of the population came out, and it made us think we’d love to see the body of Christ united for a cause greater than any one church. We really need to come together in these last days as God’s people, to humble ourselves and repent for our sins so that our land will be healed. This country is in a world of hurt. So, we were thinking about all of this, and I started doing some research and found out about the Family Research Council, who was doing this Call2Fall campaign this past July 5th where they were calling all the churches to have a moment of getting down on their knees in repentance and prayer and crying out to the Lord for the country. So, we got involved, and thought we’d love to get this on the road and get more people involved for next year. We’re praying that by next July 4th we’ll have at least 2 or 3 million people signed up and committed to falling on their knees and crying out to the Lord for this country’s sake.

A lot of people blame a lot of other things for the situation we’re in as a country, but I blame the Church. I blame us… first of all, for not taking care of the poor, and turning it over to the government, making the government pick up our slack. That’s outside their jurisdiction. It’s the Church’s job to take care of the poor, the stranger at the gate, the widow. That’s what God had called us to. He’s called us to be His representatives to others, and have His heart for the poor and needy. We’ve failed in that area. We need to pick that back up, and be a Church of action. We have to be held accountable for the sins going on in our country. Well, there’s the fact that we’re committing them personally, maybe some of us are, yes, we’re all sinful, we’re all fallen. But we need to be salt and light. Back in Biblical times, salt was a preservative, but it had to be rubbed into the meat so that it wouldn’t spoil. We as God’s people need to be rubbed in to be effective spreading the Gospel of Christ and living it out in these dark times. So, Call2Fall is just basically a call to God’s people. You know, 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” That’s all we need to happen. We need this land to be healed. We need God’s people to come to a place of humility and repentance to really seek God’s face, being the voice for the innocent, standing up for the Word of God and what it says. When I think of the Church, I think “anemic.” When you’re anemic, you have no energy, you’re pale, you just kind of mope around. Man, we need to be filled with passion. We are living in a generation of skeptics who don’t know who to trust. The only way they’ll trust us is if they see Christ in us.

IV: On behalf of all of us at InnerVoice, congratulations on celebrating the 10 year mark of your music ministry and thank you for taking the interview. We look forward to seeing you in concert in our area soon. SONICFLOOd has been an inspiration to us all.
www.sonicflood.com
www.myspace.com/sonicflood
www.facebook.com/sonicflood
twitter.com/sonicflood
www.call2fall.com

A very special thanks to Kristen Topping.

***

Meet the Band

Chris Knight (Drums)
IV: Who did you play with before joining Sonicflood?
Chris: I got my start in Nashville playing for a group named Everlife. After that I started playing with a variety of Christian, pop, and country artists. I did showcases around Nashville, and did some extended touring. However, most of my 5 years in Nashville was spent on the road with country artist Carolyn Dawn Johnson. Carolyn had great success with a #1 written single, and 3 top ten billboard hits. We shared stages with the likes of Kenny Chesney, Brooks and Dunn, Keith Urban, and did a short run in Canada with Reba McEntire and Carrie Underwood. However, my favorite experience with Carolyn was getting to play on The Opry here in Nashville a few times.

IV: Is there a significance to the lower-case “d” in SONICFLOOd?
Chris: It's my understanding that it wasn't in our budget to get all the letters capitalized. So, we had to pick one letter to "take one for the team." Thanks, "d."

McKendree Tucker (Keyboards/Vocals)

IV: As a keyboardist, who was your biggest musical influence?
McKendree: My biggest influence for the piano has to be the mainstream artist Ben Folds. My biggest influence as a worshipper has to be Martin Smith of Delirious?

Branden Taulbee (Bass/Vocals)

IV: I’ve read that you and your wife had your first child in August. How is the baby doing? How has fatherhood changed you?
Branden: My wife Deanna and I were blessed with a little girl, Leah, in August of 2008. She's now 14 months old, and is walking and trying to talk. She's all girl, she loves bracelets, purses and hairbows. She also loves to strum on any basses and guitars that are left lying around, which is a common occurrence in our home. Fatherhood has changed me in that it radically changed my perspective on my relationship with God. My desire to protect and provide for my daughter, as well as the unconditional love that is realized between us causes me to be much more aware that my Heavenly Father looks at me the same way. If I, as a flawed human, can love and care for my child like this, how much more is God the Father able to love us and keep us in His care?

Rick Heil (Lead Vocals)

IV: I heard you in concert a while back sharing about how amazing it was to be a dad. How is fatherhood treating you and what has fatherhood taught you?
Rick: It’s definitely been a learning experience. It’s really helping me to understand God’s love. I can’t imagine loving someone so much that I’d be willing to sacrifice my own son for them. God’s love is so deep that He would sacrifice His own son to reunite us to Him. And He had the power to stop it, but He just tied His hands so that we could be set free. That just freaks me out, man.

Phil Baquie (Guitar/Vocals)

IV: Originally from Australia, how does the American church culture compare to the Australian church culture?
Phil: Well, I've lived in the USA for just over 10 years now. One of the first things I noticed when I first moved here to America was the difference in the way political leaders speak. Here in the USA it seems more socially acceptable to acknowledge God, whereas in Australia that was not as predominant as it is here. Something I have noticed after traveling around much of the world is that God is moving amongst His people everywhere.

***

A Letter from Phil Baquie of SONICFLOOd

I am being mobilized & have to report November 15th 2009 to Ft. Benning, GA for Operation Enduring Freedom. This means I am being deployed to Afghanistan for about one year.

To say I am in shock would be an understatement and I was not anticipating this happening anytime soon as I'm in the Inactive Ready Reserve. Having said that, I will serve my country with honor and am grateful for all America has done for me and do still feel a sense of duty to serve in the areas I have been trained.

This means my last gig with SONICFLOOd is October 31st. I write this with tears as I have loved being a part of this band and believe in everything it's trying to accomplish. I hope that the position of guitar/bgv will be held upon my hopeful return from Afghanistan.

I love you guys so much and am believing that God is in control and has amazing things planned for SONICFLOOd and the journey he has me on.

To God be the Glory and God bless America,
Sonicflood
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Sonicflood
Origin Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Genres CCM
Years active 1998–present
Labels Gotee Records
INO
Resonate Records
Website www.sonicflood.com
Members
Rick Heil
Chris Knight
McKendree Tucker
Phil Baquie
Branden Taulbee

Sonicflood (sometimes stylized as SONICFLOOd) is a U.S. group of Contemporary Christian music, based in Nashville, Tennessee. The band has roots in a group called Zilch, which formed in 1997. The group took the name Sonicflood in 1998 as they became known as a praise and worship band, and after some personnel changes. The name Sonicflood is a reference to a line in the Book of Revelation, chapter 19, verse 6.[1]

Sonicflood is known for producing modern praise and worship music. They released their debut at a time when such music was gaining commercial audience in the Christian music industry. Their success in turn fed the genre, expanding it's appeal and reach.[2]

Since their debut Sonicflood has sold almost 2 million records, and produced top worship hits (often as covers) including "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever", "Resonate", "Cry Holy" and "Here I am to Worship". In the early years of their existence, the group earned two Dove awards and three further nominations, and one Grammy nomination. Additionally, their eponymous debut took Gold status, and spawned several #1 hits on Christian radio.

Sonicflood's line-up has changed significantly from its original band, partially due to disagreements over the artistic direction that they should take. These conflicts eventually left the band with no founding members. With Rick Heil at the helm since 2000, the band has continued to release albums and tour internationally.

Sonicflood and Sonicpraise

Sonicflood released its debut album in February 1999. With this release, the band became one of many bands in the burgeoning genre of praise and worship music, joining Delirious?, Hillsong, Matt Redman, and others at a time when the genre was a fast growing part of the Christian music industry.[14] The album landed on Billboard charts including the Billboard 200, the top 10 Christian albums, and peaking at #2 on the Heatseekers Chart.[11] The band would stay on the top 10 Christian album charts well into the year 2000 (for over 72 weeks),[15] and becoming possibly the best known praise and worship band in America.[16]

The release had two #1 hits on Christian radio, "I Want to Know You" (written by Andy Park) and "I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever" (written by Martin Smith of Delirious?), and several lesser charting singles. The latter was probably their most well known song,[17] and would gain an additional Dove nomination the following year, in the "Song of the Year" category. The band garnered three Dove Award nominations in 2000 and one win, for "Praise and Worship Album". In 1999 the band recorded a live album at the Flevo Festival but featuring content from other shows as well.[11] Originally scheduled for a late 2000 release, changes in the band's structure would delay the album until 2001.

In the fall of 1999 the band toured with speaker Josh McDowell. The following Spring Sonicflood joined the "Life Liberty Disco Tour", headlined by the Newsboys.[18] The band also recorded a track for the compilation album City on a Hill with Peter Furler as lead vocalist. This release would take a Dove award for "Special Event Album" in 2001, although by that time the band would bear no resemblance to the one which recorded it.

Sonicflood dissolved throughout the year 2000, citing differences in over the vision of the band.[19] Issues that led to the band dissolving included whether the band should return to a more conventional musical strain or continue making praise and worship music[9][19] and how the band should sound.[12] These were complicated by the fact that the band had no true leadership; the original arrangement was equal ownership for each member.[12] In a corporate fashion, this meant that each one had equal say in the direction of the band.[12]

Jeff Deyo resigned in May 2000 at the behest of the remaining members.[19] In later interviews, he would state that he viewed what happened as himself having been laid off.[12] Dean Rush, a New Zealander who had previously played with the Newsboy's Phil Joel, was recruited as lead singer, but lasted only a short time.[20] By the fall of that year, all members except Heil had departed.[19] During this period the disagreements between members cascaded into legal threats.[19] It was reported that Larring and Blanton were pushed out under pressure directly from Heil.[21] For his part, Heil denies using any form of legal action.[21] Heil took the role of lead singer and began recruiting new members to fill the band's touring obligations.[22]

This turmoil led to the delay of their live album because the now-departed members owned the name Sonicflood, which in turn prevented any publishing under it.[12][21] By Spring of 2001 Sonicflood had gone Gold and the legal complexities that surrounded the band's name and ownership had been resolved.[21] Sonicpraise, the live effort recorded in 1999, was finally released. Similar to their eponymous album, it featured a mix of songs from that Sonicflood and new covers written by other praise artists.[23] This album earned a Grammy nomination for "Best Gospel Rock Album", and landed the band on Billboard charts once again.[11]

Jeff Deyo went on to sign with Gotee, releasing a series of praise and worship albums under his own name. Aaron Blanton joined By the Tree, and remains with that band today. Halbert and Larring formed a production company, based in Los Angeles.

Gotee Records continues to release Sonicflood products from time to time. These albums include Gold (a 2004 re-release of both Gotee albums with some bonus material[24]), The Early Years in 2006 (which contains a mix of songs from the same,[25]) and an installment in the Open Mic Karaoke series.[26]

As its first offering, 7101 Music Nation presents “The 1st ELEMENTS National Songwriting Camp” to be held on November 14-18, 2010 in Dumaguete, Negros Oriental. Set against Dumaguete's beautiful beaches and rain forests, Elements aims to gather aspiring and professional songwriters from various disciplines and provide them with a venue to learn, collaborate, interact, and create music in a natural setting.

For five days, more than two dozen respected and renowned Artists and practitioners from the Philippine music industry will come to share their talents and experiences through case studies, interactive outdoor sessions, music games, group activities, and one-on-one consultations. A total of sixty (60) aspirants will be accepted to be the first batch of ELEMENTS participants. There are Twenty (20) slots each from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao that will be made available.The process of selection will be through online application and live auditions. It will be handled and overseen by Maestro Ryan Cayabyab and his working team of distinguished songwriters.

The application period is from July 20 to August 22, 2010. The final list of participants will be announced on September 22, 2010. All news, information, and updates can be accessed through the official camp website at http://www.7101musicnation.com.ph.

The 5-day workshop will present modules on Musikang Pinoy: History 101, Basic Music Creation, Lyrics, Beyond Music and Words, Commercial Music Structures, The Music Producer, Publishing & New Business Trends, Music & Technology, Music Videos & Production and Music & Inspiration. Speakers, Lecturers, and Team Facilitators include such luminaries as Jim Paredes, South Border's Jay Durias, Side A's Joey Benin, Joey Ayala, Noel Cabangon, Gary Granada, Gary Valenciano, Chito Miranda of Parokya ni Edgar, Gabby Alipe of Urbandub, Sponge Cola's Yael Yuzon, Jonathan Manalo, Jungee Marcelo, Trina Belamide, and many more.


Cebu Entertainment
Christian rock band Sonic Flood to stage concert in Cebu
The Freeman Updated May 09, 2008 12:00 AM
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“Music was created by God, as was every instrument, to be used to bring Him glory.

We are commanded in the New Testament to sing and make melody with all our heart to the Lord and to address each other in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs!” (Col. 3:16 and Eph.5:19) says Rick Heil of SONIC FLOOD.

This is the desire and belief that is central to the life and ministry of the Grammy-nominated worship band SONIC FLOOD.

Having released eight albums since their debut in 1999, sold over two million records, and received numerous Dove awards and a Grammy nomination Best Gospel Rock Album in 2001, SONIC FLOOD’S brand of modern worship—including the hits “Here I am to Worship,” “I Could Sing of your Love Forever” and “Cry Holy”—has made a major impact on worshippers all over the world.

This impact is sure to continue in the Philippines with the band’s tour to Manila and Cebu next month in June.

SONIC FLOOD’s music is a staple during praise and worship services in churches and is especially popular with the youth due to its rock flavored sound. The band is credited with helping push along the modern rock-worship movement.

And so, it is Praise and Worship Night with SONIC FLOOD at the Grand Ballroom of the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel on Saturday, June 14.

Tickets are priced at P1500, P700 and P300. For sales and reservations, please call 4124512, 2326888 and 5169387 or visit the official SONIC FLOOD ticket outlets at Waterfront Cebu City Hotel, Ayala Center Cebu Customer Care Counter, SM City Customer Service Counter and Wings
Sonic Flood: The American group influenced by British pop worship
Published in the CR Mag 49
Monday 1st February 1999
It's the sound of Britain's new wave of worship which has been a major influence on Nashville's SONIC FLOOD. Ian Matthews caught up with the guys.
Sonic Flood
Sonic Flood

A new name to watch out for this year is American band Sonic Flood. This band has a long pedigree of musicianship within CCM Stateside, with (amongst other things) a keyboardist from dc Talk and a guitarist from Seven Day Jesus. At the end of last year they came together to look for something deeper than what they had experienced in music thus far. The result of this is the eponymous album to be released soon by Gotee (through Alliance Music in the UK). To British ears there is something familiar about the sounds on this CD, and clues to this are given in the covers of Martin Smith's "I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever" and Matt Redman's "Heart Of Worship". I asked the band what their motivation was for the project. "Originally, we were playing some local clubs in the Nashville area. At the time we were going after a mainstream, pop style break, we were doing the normal stuff that everyone in CCM does - trying to be as cool as possible and as much like the world as possible, and then sneaking the Gospel in at the end of the show. We then inserted one worship song into the show - probably because it was the thing to do.

"After a few shows it became the focal point of the entire concert and we couldn't wait to get to this point because it was so powerful when it actually came. The president of Gotee Records came up to us after one of the shows because he was so 'blown away' by the worship time. He asked us if we would consider doing a project, which would encompass the idea of worship he found there. At the time we though he was crazy as there was no way we were going to be a praise and worship band. We had worked hard and worked our way up to make something of our project. A little while later we visited Brownsville, to the revival, and in about a month God had turned us around completely! We pretty much abandoned everything we wanted, all our goals. We started wanting to do music that was glorifying God, something that we could do directly to him. We wanted to find and write songs that start here on earth the worship that we will be giving to God for eternity in Heaven."

As mentioned above the different members were all playing for different projects. They describe how they came together, "We were all playing in different bands and would meet up occasionally at various festivals across the States. We were just friends, but started to realise that we had some common goals and visions that God was giving us."

On listening to their CD it is clear that there was a particular bias to their musical influence. "Delirious? are more of a philosophical than musical influence, they are paving the way for what we want to do. If anyone was to listen to the CD it would be obvious who our influences are. There is a strong Radiohead influence. A lot of British bands have influenced us a lot, especially The Verve and Oasis. The British bands have really captured something in terms of melodies and creativity, rather than a mould."

They go on to explain why they thought this was, "This is probably because of the way that British radio is set up as opposed to the USA. In the UK radio is set up so that it is much more conducive to artistic expression and creativity. By the time something has become a hit for an American band it has become so watered down and so packaged. Everything is so packaged and down to formula. It seems that only when the British decide that Oasis is a cool band that America decides the same! The music is so much fresher. This could also be down to the fact that Europeans have much more of a world view, whereas many Americans grow up and live in the same State, never leaving it. So there is not so much culture and experience to draw upon when writing music."

With the current situation concerning Christian radio in the UK, their thoughts seemed particularly relevant. "Because of the restrictions on radio here, bands have had to build up a following based on concerts, word of mouth. It is phenomenal how many records bands such as dc Talk and Delirious sell here considering the difficulties Christian radio has. Delirious? started off in 'grass roots' worship, built things up and now they're heading off into the mainstream. It seems that we're going into the other direction."

There is no doubt that worship has become the object of obsession for the band. "That's why we are here. It seems that anything that is happening in worship at the moment is happening in England. I think that this is the birthplace of what God is going to spread worldwide, in a restoration of worship. We want to spend time in England soaking up what is happening, to receive an anointing and take it back to the States. The Matt Redman song we cover on our album ("When The Music Fades") sums up a lot of what we are about and want to be and do."
Sonicflood's Deyo To Headline 'The Day'
0 Comments | Intelligencer Journal Lancaster New Era; Combined Saturday edition, Mar 6, 2009 | by David O'Connor

An annual start-of-summer tradition in New Holland is returning in 2009.

It's called "The Day," a morning, noon and night of Christian contemporary and praise-and-worship music, to be held on Saturday, June 6.

Featuring Grammy-nominated singer Jeff Deyo, known as both a solo artist and the frontman for the popular Christian music group Sonicflood, the ninth annual event is free and will run from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The location is the New Holland Park on East Jackson Street. The rain location is the big Petra Christian Fellowship Church on Airport Road, outside new Holland.

Organizer Crystal Sowel, of Ephrata, recently confirmed that the 2009 version of "The Day" is ready to go, calling it a full "day of praise and worship."
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Along with the performers, there will be a free "kids' zone" from 1 to 4 p.m. and two worship workshops, also free.

"The Day" has averaged more than 1,500 spectators since its inception.

Performer Deyo has brought his catchy, rock-fueled sound to the New Holland event and elsewhere in Lancaster County over the years.

Also performing June 6 will be well-known artist Christopher Wright of Exton, who's returning from last year, and the Michael Gungor Band.

A more detailed schedule of events will be announced later.

Sowel planned the first "Day" around the year 2000, after attending the huge Creation music festival in west-central Pennsylvania.

"It's a wonderful time where people can come, free of charge, and worship, fellowship, hear God's word, have an opportunity for their kids to be ministered to and much more," she said last year.

Along with having nationally-known bands, "The Day" features local worship bands who don't have a chance to go out on tour.

Fronted by Deyo, Sonicflood's 1999 debut, self-named album became a gold-selling record and won a Dove Award, Christian music's version of a Grammy.

The band's second album, "Sonic Praise," then received a Grammy nomination in 2000, and Deyo in recent years has been a successful solo performer.

The 2008 New Holland festival, overcoming temperatures in the 90s, featured the popular national recording artists Big Daddy Weave.

"The Day" is just the first Christian contemporary festival here in June. The Witness Festival in Quarryville is being planned for the following Saturday, June 13.
*credits to:www.crossrhythms.co.uk/artists/Sonicflood/8192/