Szabo

With influences ranging from Jazz fusion to 90′s alt rock, Szabo strives to create a musical landscape comprised of relate-able lyrics and infectious grooves. Szabo engages audiences with crowd pleasing tunes and a dynamic on stage presence. Comprised of drummer Austin Perry, keyboardist Andy Vieluf, bassist Gary Coveney and lead singer/guitarist Elliot Szabo, the members of Szabo hail from a wide range of musical backgrounds and accomplishments.

In support of Elliot Szabo’s first solo project effort, Between Two Points on a Map, the group did short stints on the road as well as opening for national acts in their home city of Las Vegas. And now a year and a half later, the band Szabo is born, playing fan favorites from Between Two Points on a Map, along with new and innovative songs that fans will soon grow to love. Szabo is now out of the studio finishing up their first EP together!

This four song EP is easy on the ears. They have a laid back sound but also have powerful vocals from Elliot. His vocals are pleading, the lyrics are brooding and full of life and the melodies are catchy.

“Get Wasted” is a song about drug/alcohol addiction. With lyrics like “Go get fucked up on your own time/Don’t you dare waste mine as well/Go get wasted in the corner/By yourself”. That pretty much sums up the lyrical side of the song. The melody is constructed well in this song – it flows from the verse to the chorus and back again.

“Pretty Good Kids” has a pleasant musical opening and is in the same vein musically as “Get Wasted”. Laid back, catchy and melodic. Lyrically, this song is about a longing to be anywhere but the place you grew up in. I can relate to this as I moved from Ontario to British Columbia. I had a yearning to be somewhere completely different. I had never been to any of the Western Provinces so it seemed like a good idea. And its worked out well for me.

“Where to Start” is a bit slower paced and opens with a piano. This song is sparse on lyrics but the song stands well in the EP. Lyrically, this is a song about wanting to do something you really want but you’ve no idea where to start. In this case, I suspect it’s about writing a song as the fist line of the song is “It’s never easy looking down at blank paper”…..

“Minnesota” is a song about a long lost love. It could be a woman, man or a place. It’s also about feeling lonely and down at night and no one you know realizes you are lonely. I can really relate well to this. I don’t feel lonely every night but once in a while…. Musically there is a lightness to the song until it hits the end of the chorus where it goes off the charted melody into minor keys which give it a weird and uncomfortable feel. It’s also full on with vocals that seem to slide down through the melody. I like that effect as it works really well in this song.

This EP was recorded at Battleborn Studios in Las Vegas. It was recorded and mixed by Rob Root and mastered by Mike Houge. The album design is by keyboardist Andy Veiluf with the cover art by Daniella Toscano. All photography by Lawton Howell and Ski Basham. - Jade Sperry

The Vegas Vicomtes of Virtuoso Voicings have me under their spell. Yep. You heard it right. I just got wasted with four freaktastically fun fellows and I couldn't be happier.

Me, Emmie, Picky Chick (so I've been told), was excited to see an EP with four songs on it. Seriously, I know it's contradictory, but I have - ahem - a tendency to take an addictive adoration to a single tune, or two, or three, or four and play it/them again and again and again and again. That means programming a CD player to perform said task. Then, whammo! Along comes Get Wasted. Hey, dudes, I gotta tell you, this debut EP from indie rockers Szabo has not one, not two, not three... but, wait!... four tunes to which I have an unrelenting addiction. All of the songs have deep meaning and more than a little bit of good advice. No wonder Pop Vulture magazine named them a feature artist.

The men of Szabo are:

Elliot Szabo - Lead Vocals, Guitar
Gary Coveney - Bass, Backup Vocals
Andy Vieluf - Keys, Guitar, Backup Vocals
Austin Perry - Drums, Percussion, Backup Vocals


(All of Szabo's song lyrics are included on the inner fold.)


Austin, Andy, Gary and Elliot "Get Wasted" and I invite each and every one of you to "Get Wasted," too. Yes, do it! You don't want to skip a single song on this CD. Nope. Programming a player isn't for the Get Wasted EP.

:: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Get Wasted - In their title track, Szabo sings an ode to the person who thinks the world is their oyster but, upon crossing the wrong ocean, discovers all they got was a clam and maybe they themselves are a bit of a sham. Or, as my hero Buckaroo Banzai once said, "Cuz, remember, no matter where you go, there you are." Listen and you will find a way to expand your mind. The music behind the words is marvelous. Oh, yes, Szabo is adept and hep, very cool. The intro is muy perfecto; the outro a whisper of breath held long and let go on a cloud of broken dreams.

Pretty Good Kids - "I wanna ride into the sun, See the winding road that clouds my view and goes to where I don't know and I really don't care." Love, love, love it! I don't really want to go back from whence I came so this song speaks to me on a whole new level. Szabo reminds me that it's entirely possible I would have been happy if I had never headed for the beaches, thrown myself hardcore into being a troubadour/traveler. "Maybe I'd have been happy if I'd stuck around," Szabo opines as his sooo gorgeous voice melts my brain. Maybe. Maybe. Yes, I was a pretty good kid growing up in that town, Szabo. But, like you said, "Something called and I just had to go." The fab guitar break at 3:15 musically defines it. Open roads. New vistas. New people. New experiences. New life. Oh, baby, it's perfect.

Where to Start - Right here, babe! I can't help but wonder how a Vegas-based quartet zeroed in on my fatuous beachy dreams and desires. Okay, you sing about looking down at blank paper ... but ... in my case, I'm looking down at dumb-ass feet that just refuse to strike a tough-chick pose on a surfboard. The fact that I write means your reference to paper also hits home. OUCH! Seriously? Are you reading my mind - what's left of it, that is? The piano intro is so much like the beginning of my day. Soft and expectant. Ready yet nebulous. Then the vocals let me know "the culmination of your life just failed you" and - oy vey! The story of my life! Szabo, you know me too well. Your smooth vocals are telling too many of my secrets, but I don't really care if everyone knows I'm a mess on a surfboard and even worse staring at a blank sheet of paper with a deadline looming. Yes, my loves, I'd like to believe that Where to Start is an ode to Emmie. I love the way the drum break at 2:25 is touched just right by a rich bass. Your lead guitar majestically punctuates the end of the break and made me tremble.

Minnesota - Do you know the way to San Jose? I do. Not so much the way to Winnebago, Minnesota, though. To this cold aversion chick (cheimatophobia?), being in any Winnebago means having several axles under my house so I can drive it down the highway. Then I looked at pictures. Pretty! Maybe I SHOULD go to Minnesota. Maybe I WOULD like huddling naked under furs as Szabo suggests. "Let your cynicism just fade away, and just be tonight, just be all right." It sounds ... mmmmmmmmm ... luscious, doesn't it? Or, maybe I can just replay this gorgeous song and pretend I'm there, loving, making changes and living life 'til day breaks because Szabo has it in mind to teach me a thing or two. And I did learn. Honey, I learned a lot and grooved a lot and I loved this EP a lot.
- surfrockmusic.com

There is an endless supply of acoustic guitar wielding singer-songwriters who take to the coffee shops and bars of the world each night in the hopes of getting noticed, being heard and sounding different. Elliot Szabo was a member of this multitude; but now after years of growth in the Chicago music scene he and his sound are standing out in the crowd.

Influenced by bands like The Smashing Pumpkins and At the Drive-In, Szabo is developing an acoustic sound that draws on the songwriting and lyrical flavors of his electric rock upbringing.
- Tipp-C Lafayette's Alt Press