The Ken DeRouchie Band

The first time I listened to Muse, the latest release from Portland, Oregon’s R and B and soul artist Ken DeRouchie, I was struck by his deep voice singing lyrics that rang true in every sense. Who hasn’t experienced “drunken epiphanies and moonlight insights” while discussing a relationship with a buddy over a few beers? Whose divorce didn’t feel like “tragedy on display”? And who hasn’t saved voice mails from a lost love because “when I need to hear your voice it’s all that I have”?

The instrumentation is beautifully layered on each track with the great horn punctuation you’d expect from a well-crafted record produced in the R and B tradition. I was eager to find out more about this artist who could write such poignant music, play drums, keyboard, and guitar, and sing with a voice reminiscent at times of Barry White.

The 48-year-old was born in Dearborn, Michigan, the youngest of six children. He was particularly close to his brother Doug, 16 years his senior and already in a rock and roll band. Doug encouraged Ken’s musical interests by sitting him in his lap behind a drum set and thrusting drumsticks into his tiny hands. “By the time I was 2 years old, I was doing it by myself and actually keeping beats and playing along with records,” Ken recalls. “I later toured as a drummer for many years, and it was my brother who got me into music and started me on my way.”

More than once, Doug served as father figure to his younger brother and offered shelter to Ken. That’s how Ken ended up in his current home city of Portland in 1990 when Doug offered Ken a job and place to stay. “He and I were very close. He was always there for me,” says Ken. “He rescued me and pointed me in the right direction.”

While Ken became proficient on a variety of instruments, he was less confident about his ability to sing. It wasn’t until he started his own band in 1996 that he began to sing lead in front of other people. “I was so terrified and nervous to sing in front of anybody in my band in a private rehearsal space. They had to completely goad me into it. I finally started doing it, and their reaction wasn’t horrible.”

The songs on Muse represent two distinct time periods. The first set of songs emanated from a divorce – the “Unglued” period – and was written from 2005 to 2007 in anticipation of a new recording project. The project stalled out due to the end of Ken’s marriage. “There was a lot of transition going on in my life and feeling not creative; feeling not worthy. The band shut down for quite awhile,” says Ken. “I was apathetic about it on top of the apathy of going through another divorce. I wasn’t doing much at all in the way of playing music, and I certainly wasn’t writing music. I felt like I had a failed purpose in music.”

All that changed in 2011. “I met this girl and fell really hard for her. It was one of those really intense and all-consuming kinds of relationships. It only lasted a few months and didn’t end well. It burned itself up real quick,” he describes. “It inspired me, and I immediately started writing. It was only 6 to 8 weeks after we started seeing each other that I ended up in my brother’s studio, and we started recording those tunes.”

Doug had built a home studio where Ken was eager to begin laying down arrangements of the songs inspired by his muse with “Guide You Home” being the first. In addition to providing all of the vocals, Ken also played guitar, bass, and drums on the track. Without his brother’s influence, Ken says Muse would not exist. “I have always credited him with being the inspiration and teaching behind me learning, playing, and loving music. He kept pushing me ‘Let’s record; let’s do this.’”

Unfortunately, Doug’s health began to fail in August of 2011 as they worked on recording the songs for Muse. “As time went on during the process, the more his health declined. I know it got harder and harder for him, but he didn’t want to stop. I know he told his wife her loved the process. After all those years, we finally got to work on a project together.”

Ken brought in his band members as the project grew, including his favorite vocalist LaRhonda Steele, to add their talents to the mix. LaRhonda delivers powerful lead vocals on “Trying to Tell” and “Sexual Chocolate,” the latter being a song Ken wrote specifically for her.

“This Too Shall Pass” was the last song tracked, and soon after, Doug went into the hospital with liver failure. “They were getting him onto the national transplant list, but he never did get well enough to be able to receive a liver transplant,” says Ken. “After about two and a half weeks, on top of the liver failure, his kidneys failed, and he had a couple of heart attacks. His body just completely gave out, and he died.”

The band’s first live performance of “This Too Shall Pass” occurred at Doug’s memorial service. “My band really came together for me and my family, and did some wonderful things at the service for him. I dedicated that - American Blues Scene Magazine

“Hard working, hard playing veteran band. Neo-Soul before there was such a thing. The band (you’ll recognize a lot of them) bassist Rob Busey, Northwest legend, LaRhonda Steele on vocals, virtuoso guitarist Jeff Knudson, keyboardist Wayne Thompson, Portland singer/songwriter and drummer Chris Lay, Clayton Daffron on tenor sax and Caleb Denison on trumpet. Yeah, there are Grammy nominees in there. Muse, their latest album came out last month. It is not damning with faint praise to say that it’s about time this town took notice of Ken and his band. Muse is DeRouchie’s best album. 9pm, no cover listed, although there usually is one. - Tom D”
- Tom D'Antoni, Oregon Music News (Jul 23, 2013) - Oregon Music News

...as the Ken DeRouchie Band aims to mix Blues, soul, jazz, funk, latin dance, rock and pop and not have it sound like a sonic car crash. It doesn't. It sounds more like a party attended by everyone from Curtis Salgado to Barry White and War. - Willamette Week

Like the somewhat jumbled title, (FunkSoulJazzPopLatinRock) The DeRouchie Band's music is full of all those genre's and more, all colliding and fusing into one seriously sassy, danceable mix.
- Statesman Journal

...if you lust for soulful funk, this local artist's most recent statement is as rock solid as they come, and should be snatched up at your local music establishment ASAP! - The Rocket

Like the somewhat jumbled title, (FunkSoulJazzPopLatinRock) The DeRouchie Band's music is full of all those genre's and more, all colliding and fusing into one seriously sassy, danceable mix.
- Statesman Journal

...you should try keeping up with the endless groove the 10 piece Ken DeRouchie Band pumps out in the course of an evening! - Eugene Weekly

...you should try keeping up with the endless groove the 10 piece Ken DeRouchie Band pumps out in the course of an evening! - Eugene Weekly

DeRouchie, who not only writes all the songs but also plays guitar and sings, has a deep, powerfull, resonant voice that carries well on tunes that have a heavy groove. His Mowtown inspired originals come accross with feeling and energy... - Oregonian A&E

RECOMMENDED - Recording a live album, DeRouchie and friends play an energetic funk good for a night of dancing. - Oregonian A&E

RECOMMENDED - Recording a live album, DeRouchie and friends play an energetic funk good for a night of dancing. - Oregonian A&E