“Where do I start?” laughs Theryl “Houseman” DeClouet ruefully over the phone from Chicago, “I lost everything I had accumulated in many years of living in New Orleans—and then I lost my kidneys.” Despite many setbacks since the storm, DeClouet seems good natured and positive as he discusses his current status, which includes dialysis three times a week, a new record, and two nights’ worth of benefits at the end of July in San Francisco.

DeClouet is best know...