Delta Deep

Phil Collen, lead guitarist of British rock band Def Leppard & alternative roots/rock band Manraze, started Delta Deep as an extreme blues project. The band has been likened to "Aretha Franklin & Chaka Khan performing with Led Zeppelin". Phil's love and appreciation for the blues since childhood enabled him to move forward quickly with the band's inception in 2012. "Blues was created out of something completely different from what we hear today. I grew up listening to rock music but then I found out it was all based on blues. Jimmy Page, Hendrix, all of those guys-they got it from blues. Today's musicians miss out on what blues is completely about. There's a type of 'blues style' but not actual blues music. I just don't hear true blues anymore unless I go back and listen to really old music." With that reasoning Phil decided to change the tide of what he was hearing.

Collen met vocalist Debbi Blackwell-Cook in 2010. She not only performed at his wedding but is also his wife Helen's godmother. After the wedding Debbi visited both of them often in California. Pretty soon Phil and Debbi were singing Motown tunes and classic blues numbers around the house. Debbi also eventually sang on several Manraze releases. The duo began performing live locally including a special performance at San Diego's Gerson Institute and a television broadcast for UTV.

One afternoon in 2013 in a New Zealand kitchen Phil, Debbi, and Helen wrote the first of ten tunes that would soon become the self-titled album 'DELTA DEEP'. Upon returning to the states they continued to write. Phil and Debbi began recording tracks in Phil's home studio. During this time a chance encounter with drummer Forrest Robinson allowed Phil to share his ideas about the great extreme blues project that had taken shape.

Forrest Robinson, a phenomenal drummer who has roots in heavy metal and played for The Crusaders, Joe Sample, and India.Arie met Phil years prior at an India.Arie concert. The reconnection years later proved vital to the continued growth of Delta Deep. With Forrest entering the band as their drummer/percussionist Delta Deep continued to gain headway securing several live performances for radio and internet podcasts all the while recording for their debut release.

Stone Temple Pilots' bassist Robert DeLeo completes the soulful quartet and lends his fiery and melodic bottom end sounds to the group's diversified catalog. DeLeo's love of jazz & Motown styled rhythm & blues offers a stealthy foundation that allows Delta Deep to showcase a dramatic range of untouchable musical movement. And with DeLeo's entry the harmonious puzzle is complete.