Deviate the Plan

Hailing from the sunny coast of Tampa, Florida, Deviate the Plan (DTP) is kicking ass and taking names with their blend of adrenaline fueled, hard rock. In what seems like a never ending sea of rock bands, Deviate the Plan stand out not only with their hard rocking style, energetic live performance, and captivating stage presence, but also with their sonic versatility, melodic songwriting that has something for everyone, and acute business savvy. Most importantly, their hard hitting but mainstream sound makes listeners sing along, get moving, and keep begging for more.

Formed in Tampa, Florida in August of 2014, the band is composed of vocalist and guitarist Chris Whipple, drummer Jake Jansen, and bassist Carson Schaller. Originally starting out as a cover band named Milk Chicken, the band performed covers from artists such as Led Zeppelin, The Foo Fighters, Metallica, and more throughout the Tampa Bay area. After a year of gigging and a few lineup changes, Milk Chicken had eventually disbanded.

Founding members Chris and Jake had then gotten together to pick up the pieces and began writing and demoing new material for what would be Deviate the Plan’s debut album. After spending all of 2015 in the studio, bassist Jeff Qualls joined the band late in the year and Deviate the Plan had officially taken shape.

In 2016, they quickly set to work releasing their first demo on March 15th, a ten track LP of original material, and began gigging regularly to support its release and build their name. Bassist Jeff Qualls left the group that summer and was replaced by Carson Schaller. By the end of 2016, Deviate the Plan were headlining venues, supporting national touring acts such as Saliva, Burn Halo, and Nova Rex, and taking part in Industry Showcases, all while managing themselves. In 2017 Deviate the Plan began reaching out outside of Florida, playing shows in South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, and New Jersey. They shared the state with Wayland early in the year before playing a summer east coast tour with Doll Skin and Next to None in July 2017, before starting to work on their next EP to be released in 2018. Focusing on building there Florida fan base as well as fine tuning the songs that will be on the next release, Deviate the Plan has played a few local Tampa shows in early 2018, and started an extensive marketing campaign to spread awareness of the band and interest in the new material. They will be in the studio in Early June working with established producer Matt Dougherty. Deviate the Plan will be wrapping up the new EP and video shoots this summer and will be hitting the road late summer/fall 2018 to support the new releases.

They received an award for “Best Up and Coming Rock Act” from the Tampa Bay Music Network and in the same year, also recorded their debut, self-titled album “Deviate the Plan.” It was produced, recorded, mixed, and mastered at their private studio by vocalist and guitarist Chris Whipple. The album will be released on February 24th, 2017 and spawned two singles, fiercely charged, hard rocker “Addiction” and melodic, soulful ballad “Falling Without You.”

With their no frills attitude, Deviate the Plan’s formula of “Real, Raw, Rock” and their mission of “Bringing Rock Back” is apparent in their live show. They are working hard to become a well-known force in the rock arena and are guaranteed to come out of the gate and always leave you wanting more.