Kitchener-Waterloo Record (Kitchener, Cambridge,Waterloo, Guelph) 05/15/03

A darker song set by Szabo

Kitchener singer puts Plasticine on hold for his first solo album

by Jason Schneider

By his own admission, Rob Szabo has always been a "band guy." But after a decade of fronting The Groove Daddys and, more recently, Plasticine, Szabo has opted for a new, introspective direction with his first solo album, A Battery Of Tests.

Done virtually on his own after settling into his Toronto digs last year, the Kitchener native says the album is largely comprised of songs that for one reason or another didn't translate well with a full band sound.

"I've accumulated a lot of songs like these over the years," Szabo explains. "But when I started this project, I didn't really know what kind of record I wanted to make. The approach with almost all the records I've made has been, let's write 12 songs and make an album. With this, I just decided to go back over all these songs I've put aside over the years and record them.

"Eventually, I ended up with two groups of songs: a kind of dark collection of stuff, which is what this album is, and a more poppy collection of stuff, which is what I'm planning my next solo album to be. I could have released it all at the same time, but I think people will appreciate the unified vibe that each one has."

As a result of Szabo's meticulously hands-on recording process, A Battery Of Tests is solid from beginning to end. Fans of his previous work will probably be surprised by the atmospherics on songs like "I Live For The Summer," and "The Life Of The Party," yet he insists it's nothing new.

"I've always done this kind of songwriting, but no one has ever gotten to hear it. That's the cool thing about this album, I can finally show people that just because I'm playing with a loud rock band, screaming and yelling, that it doesn't mean I can't do other things."

Although Szabo insists that his longtime musical collaborator Steve Strongman and he will make another Plasticine album, he says it's been good to get away from that situation for a while, especially in light of how criminally overlooked Plasticine's last album, Public Address System, was.

Strongman has released a solo album of his own on the same Hamilton-based label, Basement Bar Records, that Szabo is working with, as well as playing with Hamilton rap/rock artist Kazzer. But an added twist is that Strongman and one-time Plasticine (and now Remy Shand) drummer Roger Travassos will back up Szabo on his current string of CD release shows.

"I really think that our solo projects and Plasticine can co-exist," Szabo says. "I mean, Plasticine has always basically been just me and Steve, and he's a big part of this new album too. My attitude is, why would I get anyone other than Steve to play with, when he's such a great guitar player and we have such a good time playing together?"

And although he has acclimatized himself to Toronto, Szabo remains a familiar face in town with regular solo gigs, and isn't about to break off his ties here. "Moving to Toronto had more to do with personal preferences, like being able to get food at 4 a.m.," he laughs. "Obviously, from a musical perspective, it has its advantages of being closer to the business and being able to see great bands on a nightly basis, but realistically, I don't think there's any real differences between the two scenes. The only real difference I always noticed was that Kitchener musicians never relied as much on image, and that's something I'm proud of."

Concert

Who: Rob Szabo w/ Shannon Lyon

When: Tonight (Thursday)

Where: Registry Theatre, 122 Frederick St., Kitchener

Cover:

Doors: 7:30 p.m.

Web: www.robszabo.com