Rob Szabo: Coming into His Own on His Own
The veteran Toronto musician had a hyped-up label deal go south. Now he's taking things into his own hands.
ERIE TIMES (Erie,PA) Feb. 24/05
by Dave Richards

Just when you thought you've seen every CD configuration known to man — EP, box set, double CD, CD single — along comes veteran Toronto musician Rob Szabo with something novel to match his witty songwriting.

To wit, "Late Bloomer" and "Sore Loser," a double EP.

"Late" features three electric, edgy rockers, with down-tuned guitars, including the brilliant, Cobain-worthy "We're All Alcoholics." "Loser" is a quieter, more ruminative three-song set, featuring his halting voice with some acoustic guitar, slide guitar, and cello.

The double EP isn't some marketing ploy. It showcases two sides of the same songwriter.

"I've always done records that are stylistically diverse," Szabo said. "What I'm trying to get away from is having them all as one package. I want to separate them and present a cohesive music experience."

Szabo said he's inspired by such artists as Neil Young and Paul Westerberg, who are equally adept at writing loud, distorted rockers as quieter, folksy songs. No matter what style they employ, however, they never lose their identity. They're part of the same musical soul.

"I'm hoping that'll be the same thing with me, that people will recognize my songwriting and my voice," Szabo said. "One of the things I'm trying to get away from is the real commercial pop-music world and the way it's marketed to such a narrow demographic. You don't get any diversity within music of the same genre. It's all put into such a small little slot. You don't get that diversity, like you did with Neil Young, where there was more leeway for experimentation."

SZABO, 33, PLAYED THE GAME FOR a while. He led several popular Canadian bands, including Groove Daddys, Marigold, and most recently Plasticine, a power-pop outfit. The latter group signed a deal with a new label started by Tragically Hip's management.

"There were big expectations and hype, and they ended up going bankrupt within a year or so," Szabo said. "So you invest all these expectations in what that's going to mean, and it ends up being a waste of time. At that point, I was like, 'I'll do everything by myself for a while, and see how it goes.'"

The irony: He's doing better.

"That's the funny thing. I'm getting further and wider than I did with the other bands. I'm getting into the States on this tour — to Erie and as far south as Washington, D.C. None of those other bands ever did that."

He'll play a solo gig at Forward Hall on Friday, bringing both acoustic and baritone guitars, which allows him to play low-tuned gems such as "We're All Alcoholics." On that song — and on "Awesome" and "Nobody's Perfect" — Szabo takes a bemused, ultimately hopeful look at losers and late bloomers. Yeah, we're flawed, he says. But he finds the grace and dignity within.

"'Late Bloomer' is more hopeful, in spite of having the element of sadness in it," he said.

Szabo didn't title the rocking EP "Late Bloomer" as an autobiographical gesture. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized the term applies. After years of playing in bands, releasing CDs, touring Canada, and playing the pop-music game, he's come into his own on his own.

"When I thought of the title, it was more like it rolled off the tongue, tongue-in-cheek," he said. "Then, if I go deeper, it's true. I've been slugging away, doing this. Now I'm doing it on my own terms. And I'm feeling good about it."