018
Kyle Dean Reinford

RIP Damien DeRose of Peasant

Peasant
photo: Peasant @ BV-CMJ 2008 @ Pianos (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

It breaks my heart to hear this news today. Damien DeRose, aka Peasant, has passed away. Schnitzel Records posted the following message around 3am Wednesday night:

It is with a very heavy heart to announce that we have lost a member of the Schnitzel family. Damien DeRose, aka Peasant, passed away last night. He touched us all with his beautiful music and we will miss him tremendously. R.I.P

Philly station WXPN has a longer obituary for the 30 year old Pennsylvania artist:

DeRose addressed difficult topics in his music very vividly, but it was not an act – he wrestled with drugs and drinking in his own life, and spent time in a Maryland prison following a 2013 arrest for burglary and possession of heroin. He kept in occasional touch with his fans, occasionally sharing tidbits about music he would eventually release – the new album he recorded with Joe Ugg in Point Pleasant.

After his release, DeRose refocused on his music and his recovery. He also dabbled in photography through colorful nature scenes on his Instagram page, which often incorporated light and shadow to stunning effect. In September, he shared new song lyrics touching on the experience of the last two years – “someday I know I’ll be free / all the bad will be worth it to me” – and excitedly talked of proceeding through “three years of new and unreleased material.”

He was even scheduled to play MilkBoy this Saturday, November 21st with Illinois, circulating flyers that read “Onstage for the 1st time in a very Long time.” But he was reportedly admitted to Temple hospital on November 6th where he spent two weeks in a coma.

Damien’s beautiful songs first came to my attention in 2008, the same year he then played a BrooklynVegan ROFL show downstairs at Pianos (with Bear in Heaven, The Forms, Dave Hill, Pete Holmes, Kristen Schaal & more) and a BrooklynVegan CMJ show upstairs at Pianos (with Phosphorescent, Wye Oak, Sharon Van Etten & more). It’s been a few years since I’ve seen or heard Peasant, but listening again now reminds me why I loved him in the first place. Rest in Peace, Damien…