8-year-old Doug Rausch was faithful to the piano. One day as he was leaving for a lesson, his father slipped him a white unmarked envelope to hand the teacher. After arriving at her studio and following Dad’s instructions, he eagerly climbed onto the bench and tossed his book open, ready to play. The practice week had been less than perfect, but he didn’t feel that should hold him back in any way. Today he would learn the Key of G!
"It says you’re quitting,†she blurted out…
RAUSCH did not quit; he has been studying, writing, practicing, performing, and otherwise living music relentlessly ever since the day his parents all but wrote him off. This obsession recently landed him a degree from the prestigious Ithaca College School of Music in New York, where he won recognition as concerto competition finalist with Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. A diverse following began to build as his tireless vision of resuscitating rock and roll collided headfirst with his obligations to “serious music.†For the encore of an ambitious recital on the eve of his 21st birthday, his 13-piece band joined him in tribute to Guns N Roses. November Rain took a classical music school to tears.
Following this artistic triumph, RAUSCH took on the real world. He played countless gigs and submerged himself into all things music. Fresh off the heels of an internship with Sony Music Studios, he received the title of “Manager of the Year†at age 25 (the youngest to ever achieve this honor), as top producer at a highly respected Steinway & Sons piano retailer. From academia to corporate America, he learned much about the inner-workings of the music industry. In the end, all this first-hand experience only reinforced the urgency in chasing a life-long vision.
RAUSCH caught his first compositional accolades when Jordan Rudess, keyboard wizard of Dream Theater, contacted him to perform in a special master-class known as KEYFEST; the invitation stemmed from a college demo that found its way into Jordan’s hands. RAUSCH unveiled his 11-minute epic FLOW, a work that beautifully unites all of the seemingly contradictory elements of his campaign. Fearing the final drips of musicality about to forever evaporate from mainstream music, he is perpetually driven to help redefine the criteria for “commercial appeal.†RAUSCH has now injected his entire being into a uniquely crafted collection of songs that flow passionately from the soul.
The songs attracted a kindred musical spirit in guitarist Gary Wehrkamp, known best for his seemingly superhuman achievements in the progressive rock juggernaut, Shadow Gallery. As Wehrkamp’s invaluable musicianship helped put a cohesive stamp on the tracks, RAUSCH continued to feel a growing ill-content with the fact that this “genre†(if playing music itself is now relegated to a genre and all-too-conveniently pigeonholed as “prog rockâ€) has been demoted to mere niche status since the heydays of Queen and Pink Floyd. RAUSCH may be taking a risk, but he never loses sight of the song. After all, Beethoven himself was the rock star of his day…