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Overview: "This Cleveland folk-rock act's second release is
defined by tight harmonies between Jodi Dobos and
Rob Duskey, whose strong voice sounds like a mix
of Darius Rucker and John Popper.-Cleveland Magazine
"Blank Canvas to Man really comes together to
create a sound I haven't heard many do well since
the mid 90s. The more I listen, the more I love it.
-Mandey Corsi, WJCU 88.7 FM/neorocks.com
Cleveland hasn't had a male/female vocalist rock
record pairing as enjoyable as this in a long time.
-Matt Wardlaw, CoolCleveland.com
[Blank Canvas to Man] is about as authentic as it
gets. A collaboration of impeccably tight musicians
mixed with spot-on harmonies and lyrical hooks
which stick with you for hours brings it all home.
John Popper's harp feature adds icing to the cake.
-Ann Thompson, AfterTheGig.com
Artist Site
From: Cleveland, OH
Format: Alternative, Rock
Plays: 19
Plays Today: 0
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 | Good Gets Better |
| Meet Me in The Middle |
| Palo Alto feat. John Popper |
| It Takes Time |
| Sunshine |
So, heres the question: if you throw an
unassuming Americana band from Cleveland in
a recording studio with an up-and-coming pop
rock producer, John Popper, and a harmonica,
what do you get?
In the case of Clevelands Rob Duskey and The
Rounders, the answer is, perhaps somewhat
surprisingly, the bands acclaimed sophomore
album, Blank Canvas to Man. Produced by
Dave Douglas (the former drummer and brains
behind pop-punks Relient K), Blank Canvas
was painstakingly conceived as a platform to
showcase the strengths that have earned the
band its unwaveringly loyal fanbase: accessible
songwriting, dramatic boy-girl harmonies, and a
solid musical foundation of alt-country,
Americana, and straight-ahead rock. From start
to finish, the album takes you on a refreshing journey through reality Mandey Corsi, WJCU 88.7 FM /neorocks.com.
And then there was the icing on the cake: John Poppers blazing harp feature on the albums fourth track, Palo Alto (feat. John Popper). With this one, the Blues Traveler parallels have become somewhat hard to avoid. But thats
hardly a bad thing, and Duskey and his crew know it.
Released in February, 2012, Blank Canvas got up and running as a buzz generator right out of the gate: within a week of its debut on the web, a nationwide audience voted the albums jangly Meet Me in the Middle runner-up out of hundreds of entries in Ourstage.coms Alt-Country new music contest, while the songs video attracted more
than 2,000 YouTube hits in three days. The album also attracted the attention of the regional news media, earning
the band live spots on both television (WKYC (NBC)s Good Company) and radio (WJCU 88.7 FMs NEO Rocks and V107.3 FMs The Inner Sanctum). Several Blank Canvas tracks have also seen regular airplay on two of Clevelands AAA/rock FM stations and in college radio markets nationwide.
The self-released Blank Canvas proudly rides the coattails of the Rounders 2009 debut, Cautiously Optimistic, which was lauded for its well written and powerfully delivered songs-Giselle Fleming andits relatable theme (a flat out, a good time rock and roll tale of many loves found and many loves lost -Matt
Wardlaw, CoolCleveland.com)
In addition to its regular headlining and co-bill situations in the Midwest, the act has shared the stage with a number of nationals in the jamband and Americana/alt-country circuits, including Railroad Earth, The Bodeans, and The Clarks.
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