The Record(Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge-Guelph,ON)

Rob Szabo is back home, armed with a new CD-DVD that may be his defining statement
COVER STORY-NIGHTLIFE SECTION
by JASON SCHNEIDER

PHILIP WALKER, FOR NIGHTLIFE Rob Szabo says he has been "touring like crazy" but he's back home Saturday.

(Apr 27, 2006)

Rob Szabo shows up at my door looking exactly the same as the picture on the cover of his latest release, Like A Metaphor.

Although I wouldn't expect anything different, it's still a little unnerving after having also digested the accompanying DVD, shot by Waterloo native Cal Brunker, part of which captures some of Szabo's travels in the U.S. in the past year.

He's seen performing in all manner of situations, from packed theatres, to a roomful of wide-eyed kids, to the streets of Manhattan. And as we leave my place, taking in the ongoing revamping of uptown Waterloo as we proceed, I can't help but get a sense that Szabo has truly moved on from this place.

Even though he might be hesitant to agree, this is a good thing. Szabo has been one of the prime figures of the Waterloo Region music scene since the early '90s, first with The Groove Daddys, then Plasticine, and now finally on his own.

It has been recounted many times how close he has come to "hitting it big," "making it," or any other number of bogus terms, but the fact that he has never wavered from his commitment to exposing his art is the true testament to his greatness, along with the music itself.

That's why Like A Metaphor may be his defining statement, as it presents newly-crafted versions of many of his best songs, some having already appeared on last year's Late Bloomer/Sore Loser EP, and even some that date back to Plasticine's repertoire. Szabo says he has no problem revisiting this material, admitting that now is the time to put his best musical foot forward, especially with most of his back catalogue out of print.

"What happened was last year I started touring like crazy -- something like 130 dates -- and it became obvious that people outside of southern Ontario didn't know my history. I'd play some of the old songs in Chicago or Philadelphia and people would want them, so it made sense that if I was coming back to these places, I should have these songs on hand."

In that way, Szabo says that Like A Metaphor almost feels like a debut release. "In terms of introducing me to the world, it really is, even though (2003's) A Battery Of Tests technically is," he says. "It's funny that I actually don't write much on the road, but I'm probably going to have to start if I'm going to be out there as much as I was last year."

One new song that was written on the road is The Johnstown Kids, inspired by a small-town Pennsylvania show where Szabo shared the bill with some local punk bands.

"The amazing thing about that was these kids were doing everything themselves and they were so passionate about it. Once I was there I saw how tough it was for them out there, and I wanted to put all that in a song. Their reality really hit me hard."

Some of that reality is evident on the DVD documentary, but Brunker -- who now works in the film industry in New York -- also shot videos for three songs that add a new perspective to Szabo's work, especially the top-notch animation used with the song Breaking Even.

"When Cal was going to Sheridan College, he and three of his buddies basically spent their last semester working on that video. It made the teachers really mad, but when they showed it, everyone thought it was amazing. The kind of animation they used was so painstaking."

Brunker explains, "Rob and I have a really unique working relationship when it comes to making videos. I was filming while he was still in the recording process. I would work from rough mixes of the songs to figure out what I wanted to shoot, then Rob would come and see a rough cut of the video and this might inspire him to do something different in the mix. In some cases it felt like scoring a film. Rob would bring me a new mix of a track, and it would elevate an entire section of the video. Rob really respects videos as an art form in their own right, so it's a terrific process to be a part of."

As far as what the documentary reveals, Szabo is comfortable with the image it presents.

"Touring is really what my life is about at this point," he says. "I'm not a believer anymore that you only have to play in bars. I've also noticed lately wherever I go that people are a lot less limited in their musical scope. You always assume that people classify themselves as fans of a certain type of music, but then I get in front of a room of punk rock kids expecting them to hate me, but they really get into it.

"It's like when I went back to Johnstown and played that song for the first time. I was really nervous what they would think, but someone had been passing around an MP3, so everyone already knew the words. It felt like the start of a new era."

For the last several years, Szabo has called Toronto home, and while he plans on maintaining a robust touring schedule, he will always acknowledge Waterloo Region as the foundation for everything he has done.

"I look at the guys that I kind of grew up with in the music scene here: Shannon Lyon, Paul MacLeod, Danny Michel, and we're all still doing it. That's inspiring to me, even though we've all started following our separate paths. But I think the thing we all share is that we don't know how to do anything else. My attitude has always been, get in the van, get on the plane, whatever. There's nothing stopping me. I just want to get out there and play like a mental case."

CD RELEASE

Who: Rob Szabo and Band

Where: Starlight Club, Waterloo

Day: Saturday

Time: 9 p.m.

Cost: $10