More About Detour

Detour is class act, a band of experienced professional musicians who play the music they love they way they feel it. Each of the players grew up under the influence of Rock&Roll, Country, Blues and Jazz—and it all goes into every song.
Detour covers tunes from Bob Wills swing to Memphis blues, but it’s not a cover band or a tribute band or an “oldies” revival band. They call it Cruisin' Music—laying down a groove that moves. Fun to listen to, great to dance to. They rock the old country songs and swing the old rock songs for an alternate route through familiar territory.

Detour is fronted by guitarist Michael Faubion and bass player Tom Torvie. They alternate lead vocals, with the other harmonizing on nearly every song. Torvie can do a deep voice country ballad, then turn around and belt out a rockabilly howler. Faubion’s distinctive voice makes every song he does sound like his own. And many of them are his own—he’s the songwriter of the group and his originals are a big part of the repertoire.

Rounding out the band are drummer Howard Okland and sax player Bob Horwitz. Okland mainly sticks to brushes, hi-hat and snare, holding a tasty beat without dominating the rhythm or making the band play louder than what’s comfortable for most audiences.

The “treat of the treat” for Detour audiences, however, is the recent addition of “Doctor Bob” Horwitz on sax, which really sets Detour apart. “We’re so excited to have Bob in the band,” says Torvie. “We’ve been looking for the right fourth piece for years.” “Bob just seems to effortlessly play what fits, whether it’s blues or country or anything else we throw at him. Those sweet soaring sax riffs! We love it,” Faubion adds.

Both Faubion and Horwitz are improvisational players, trading licks and lead breaks, playing by ear. So a song seldom comes out sounding the same way twice. “If I had to play off a page,” Horwitz says, “I’d have to think about it and I’d make mistakes. Mostly I just get the key and my fingers know where to go.”

With the addition of Horwitz, “we’ve finally gotten to the level we want to be at,” Faubion says, “And now we’re ready to cruise.”

Original songs, original arrangements of classic Rock, Country and Blues tunes, a groove that moves. That's Detour.

Faubion first hatched his idea of Detour as a different kind of country bar band while living in Reno quite a few years ago.

“I finally stumbled on the name for the band I wanted to build. I knew the music wasn't mainstream—maybe the tunes were, but the sound was different. It was basically going the same place, but taking an alternate route. That's it, an alternate route, a Detour.”

A move to Bethel, Alaska, shortly thereafter made for a slight change of plans. Detour surfaced briefly in Bethel, but Faubion says it was tough to find all the necessary parts to sustain it: “a bass player, a drummer and gigs.”

After moving to Anchorage and playing in a number of different bands, Faubion met Torvie when they were both auditioning for Sourdough Biscuits, a bluegrass band (hey, these guys are versatile and love playing all kinds of music). When they found out they both cut their teeth playing roadhouses and honkytonks in the west and midwest and knew a lot of the same songs (as well as a lot of the same Montana and North Dakota venues), they started scheming on reviving the Detour idea.

Having been accused of a brotherly resemblance, the pair decided they might as well adopt each other, which led to a “nuther” musical partnership: The Nuther Brothers. “Sometimes a venue isn’t able to support a four-piece band, so we’ll play as a duo,” Torvie says. “The Nuthers probably lean more toward an acoustic and folk sound,” Faubion says, “especially when Tom plays the stand-up bass. Then I’ll play acoustic rather than the electric jazz guitar.”