Today, I stumbled upon D.B. Rouse while looking for something completely unrelated. He sounded like a man who’d lived many lives. Indeed, when I read his story, it became clear that D.B. is man who has lived the life of a constant wanderer: stripped down and bare, broke and yearning to live life, Rouse’s songs reflect his time on the road.
Searches on Rouse produce few results. Fortunately, during his many road trips he kept a brief blog. There are moments when he talks about getting sick, searching for a place of comfort, and making ends meet as a “hobo musician” (his own words). As he puts it, “I still got a bad case of the ramble in me.”
Rouse claims that when he visits Nashville, he is overwhelmed by the city. Clearly, D.B. might be more at home on long quiet empty roads than on bustling streets. Perhaps one of the most illuminating words of his brief blog are “I got to find a town with my kind of people and a music scene. Some place where I can stand still and still move.”
Rouse graduated from college with a degree in Philosophy. Since then he has spent time working at a pawnshop, as a bartender, as a singer on a cruise ship, picking blueberries in Maine, and processing fish in Alaska. These days he’s working as a ranch hand and playing music. His songs reflect all of these experiences while musing on life as a frequently unemployed, almost broke, constantly searching musician. His songs pack the details of his travels, moments of love on the road, and dreams for the future. The song “Keep your nose clean” is perfect Americana and the lyrics reflective of months on the road, “Though conversations just get harder with the strangers that you meet, if you hit that dusty road you’d better keep your nose clean.”
Now in Austin, Rouse might have finally found that town where he can both stand still and keep moving.
This music will sing to anyone who’s ever been, contemplated being, or felt like they were a rambling wanderer: not sure where to settle, always most at home on the go. Home is wherever you are right now. I think I just found home in the music of D.B. Rouse.