Anyone who has ever taken music lessons has had that teacher. You know the one, the one who had his or her own band and copies of their CD were sitting in a box at the register for $5. Well students from the Aurora School of Music just outside of Cleveland, you aren’t going to believe what your teacher has gone and done.
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Cleveland native Rob Kovacs has a pretty storied musical career for a guy who, in a lot of ways, can be considered just starting out. This multitalented recording artist, pianist, and singer/songwriter has built up quite the resume. He has composed scores for several award-winning short films, an award-winning virtual reality game as well as American Greeting’s e-cards. Along the more traditional rock star route, he toured and released an album with the piano-based trio Return of Simple and started the indie-rock band Math + Logic. He has also performed under the artist name 88bit, recording and performing virtuosic note-for-note piano arrangements of Nintendo soundtracks breathing new life to forgotten video games.
These days, he’s adding to his resume by launching his own solo career. Having released his debut single in late November, Kovacs is already back with more and American Songwriter has the world premiere of his new tune “Fizzle.” Even more exciting, he’s taking this opportunity to announce he’s got more than just one new song, he’s got a full album ready to go.
“The album, titled Let Go, is all about one relationship and tells the story in chronological order from a personal perspective,” outlines Kovacs. “The songs are about love, longing, loss, desire, confusion, acceptance, pain, the struggle to let go – all that fun stuff.
“I first started recording it in 2014 along with about twelve other songs (which have been set aside for another album). I initially was going to release a record of my best songs, but it was clear they just didn’t all work together, specifically the songs on Let Go didn’t gel with the rest and needed to be their own thing. Those Let Go songs alone weren’t enough for a complete album. So, I ended up finishing two songs that I had started writing during the same time as the others.”
Leading the way is “Fizzle,” not only the first song on the album but the first one written for Let Go as well. Light and airy vocals with a beautiful piano accompaniment, “Fizzle” takes listener on an intense ride.
“It was a rare case where I wrote the melody a cappella first (rather than coming up with piano part first). The melody came to me on the drive home after the first time hanging out with the girl who would ultimately inspire the whole album.
“I often write a song because I come upon a musical idea that catches my attention. Writing music helps to express a feeling that I may otherwise struggle to express. Through this song, I try to convey the feeling of connecting and falling for someone combined with the anxiety about that feeling and the understanding that, for whatever reason, you can’t be with that person.
“It’s one of my stronger and catchier melodies, and as I mentioned earlier, the melody was the genesis of the song which is rare for me. (Usually, it’s the piano part that comes first.) But also, I probably love the bridge the most and the build-up throughout the song that leads into it. Playing it is just such a release when it gets to that moment.”
For those students who had him as a teacher at the Aurora School of Music, they’ll recognize a number of things on Let Go. Not only did Kovacs record the vocals in the school’s performance hall, but he also enlisted some of his fellow former teachers from there as well. While they all had to track their parts separately, drums were provided by Daniel Kshywonis, guitar and backing vocals by David McHenry, and bass by Charlie Trenta.
“On the surface level, I just want people to enjoy the sound, the melody, the chords, the groove, the momentum and progression of “Fizzle.” On a deeper level, I hope people are moved by it and relate to that feeling of longing for true human connection. There’s a lot I can say about the album. It took a very long time and wasn’t the album I initially set out to make. Though, I am happy it turned out the way it did.”
“Fizzle” is set for release on December 18th but you can pre-save it now.
