D.B. Rouse
D.B. ROUSE | “grow up” EP | S/R | nov. 13TH, 2020
Bio (“GROW UP” ep):
D.B. Rouse is a Milwaukee-based migrant musician who has always said that home is wherever the van is parked, and for Rouse, along with the rest of the nation, it has been parked for some time now.
“When the lockdowns started, my wife and I were living in the van on desolate land in the Chihuahuan Desert,” he explains. “Due to the lack of real shelter and resources, we decided to drive twenty-seven hours to a cabin my parents have owned in northern Wisconsin since I was born.”
Rouse has been there ever since, continuing to document his experiences, as is the job of a true folk singer and storyteller. Addressing the plight of his surroundings and beloved state of Wisconsin, Rouse’s new EP “Grow Up,” out Nov. 13th, 2020, is the most personal collection of songs that Rouse and his acoustic guitar, affectionately named “Meal-Ticket,” have produced to date.
“I was born and raised in Neenah, Wisconsin,” he says, referencing “Talkin’ Neenah Blues,” the opening cut and first single from “Grow Up.” “It’s a small city in what is known as the ‘paper valley,’ because they make toilet paper and paper towels there.”
Also: man-hole covers.
“If you are looking at a man-hole cover in the street, odds are upon closer inspection, you’ll see that it was made in Neenah, Wisconsin,” Rouse explains. “They’re all over the world! I’ve seen them in Ireland, I’ve seen them at the Grand Canyon. There have been times when I’ve been homesick and have sought out the nearest man-hole cover. I am very proud to have been raised in Neenah and I wrote this song as thank you.”
As of this writing, Neenah is one of the worst-hit pandemic hot spots and Rouse hopes that “Talkin’ Neenah Blues” offers a break from that news.
“I’ve essentially been on tour for the last ten years or so,” Rouse says, reflecting on the changes that he, and all hard-touring musicians, have been learning to accept this year. “Parking the van, and trying to become house broken again has been a bit of a struggle for us, but I am extremely lucky.”
As a member of a large family – Rouse calls his nine nieces and nephews “niblets” – he has been fortunate to have company during his forced retreat into the woods.
“Summer came around, and my family began visiting us here,” Rouse says. My parents moved back, too. I’ve had more time with my family this year and reconnecting with them has been a really gratifying trip. In ways, ‘Grow Up’ is the most family based project I’ve ever put together and that came through in the songs.”
It comes through in the EP’s cover art, too.
“When I was four or five, my Aunt gave me a cassette of Elvis Presley songs,” Rouse remembers. “Every chance I could, I played that tape at full volume. I would put on my black pajamas, slick back my hair, and run around the house with my toy guitar pretending to be Elvis. I knew what I wanted to be! The cover of ‘Grow Up’ is an actual photo of me as a kid doing all of that.”
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A migrant Americana musician, D.B. Rouse and his guitar, “Meal-Ticket,” has worked as a lounge singer on a Carnival cruise ship, a singing ranch hand near Austin, TX, and as a hobo musician for the Grand Canyon Railway, all the while writing and refining his original songs and performances. He is an entertainer, a poet, and a published novelist. He is currently sponsored by Kazoobie Kazoos.
The latest D.B. Rouse EP “Grow Up” is scheduled for release on Nov. 13th, 2020, preceded by the single “Talkin’ Neenah Blues” on Oct. 23rd.
Bio (“nobody” ep):
“Kids love mud,” says D.B. Rouse. “I sat down to write a kid’s song about mud and this thing came out instead.”
A constantly traveling troubadour, poet and novelist, the Milwaukee-based migrant musician (he actually says home is wherever the van is parked) will release a new four-song EP “Nobody” on March 6th, 2020.
The first single from “Nobody” is that kid’s song that never was, “Mud,” which now plays as a chilling number that crawled out of the desert after a rain storm.
It’s a darker turn for Rouse, who along with his guitar, affectionately nick-named “Meal-Ticket,” has become known for whimsical songs like “About the Bite Missing From Your Sandwich” from his early-2019 album Choices Were Made. Rouse is even sponsored by a kazoo company, if you get the picture.
“Part of the gritty feel of this EP comes from the tiny shack I recorded it in, with a rusted tin ceiling and cardboard boxes for wall paper,” he explains. “It’s right next door to a noisy bar, so I could only record very early in the morning after closing time.”
Influenced by the intimacy of tiny shacks, but also vast expanses, Rouse has been spending a lot of time in deserts the last few years.
“The Chihuahuan, the Mojave, and the Painted mostly,” he says. He’s also seen plenty of his constant companion: the road.
“This EP’s title song ‘Nobody’ came to me on a November night in Wisconsin,” Rouse explains. “Driving alone through snow flurries to my show, the hum of the wheels on the highway teased this song out of my head. It’s an anthem of self-reliance... and also a plea.”
By the time Rouse arrived at the venue that night, the song was complete, and he performed it.
Back in the shack, Rouse remembers, “I mostly stared out the window at the moon lit sand and dirt, wondering when it was all going to turn to glass. I tried to summon the ghosts of Townes Van Zandt, Blaze Foley, Woody Guthrie, Zora Neale Hurston and Randy Newman to help me with this project.”
Ultimately, Rouse’s innate humor peeks through: “But they were busy... and also Randy Newman isn’t dead.”
“Nobody,” the latest EP by D.B. Rouse arrives on March 6th, 2020 preceded by the single “Mud” on Feb. 21st.
News:
Press Quotes:
“Innately hilarious, wildly eccentric.”
“A superb musician.”
“He’s a sharp songwriter, his offbeat personality finding its way into comical folk songs.”
“Simple in nature with a sound that feels heartwarming to say the least.”
“Like an old-school bar song given a new lick of paint.”
“Offbeat humor with age earned wisdom and a hefty dose of heart.”
“There are moments when he approaches the sounds so often attributed to folksy storytellers, but... He’s a singer-songwriter whose work pointedly defies characterization.”
“Nobody does hobo-folk quite like Milwaukee’s D.B. Rouse.”
“Definitely comedic, reminiscent of some of our favorite Weird Al favorites.”
“He notably calls to the work of Woody Guthrie and John Prine, employing saucy, tightly-woven humor to elevate the human existence and staggering universal miseries.”
PRESS RELEASES:
On The Web:
Assets:
D.B. Rouse as photographed by Les Hall. Click for hi-res.
D.B. Rouse as photographed by Les Hall. Click for hi-res.
D.B. Rouse as photographed by Les Hall. Click for hi-res.
D.B. Rouse as photographed by Les Hall. Click for hi-res.
D.B. Rouse as photographed by Les Hall. Click for hi-res.
“Nobody” EP cover art. Click for hi-res.
“Mud” single cover art. Click for hi-res.