“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 “Cleveland hasn't had a male/female vocalist rock record pairing as enjoyable as this in a long time.” -Matt Wardlaw, CoolCleveland.com “Clearly the audience favorite of the night.” -Jeff Neisel, Cleveland Scene “An intense emotionally charged presentation, and a tight supporting ensemble of musicians who tastefully and seamlessly blend.” -Giselle Fleming, EclatdeFemme.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 So, here’s the scenario: you’ve got a likeable enough Americana act for about four years now that’s been bopping around the Midwest, painstakingly building a loyal, word-of-mouth fanbase. You’ve had a debut DIY album out to glowing reviews and steady regional FM airplay for a while. But you’ve hit that inevitable plateau. So, what now? Cut another DIY record and see what shakes out? Or better yet, how about cutting another record with a gifted producer and a John Popper harmonica feature and then see what shakes out? In the case of Cleveland’s Rob Duskey and The Rounders, the second option, quite thankfully, materialized in the form of the band’s sophomore studio effort, Blank Canvas to Man. Produced by Dave Douglas (formerly the drummer with major-label pop-punk stalwarts Relient K), Blank Canvas was deliberately conceived as a vehicle to push the band’s strengths right to the front of the line: 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 Popper’s blazing harp feature on the album’s fourth track, “Palo Alto (feat. John Popper).” With this one, the Blues Traveler parallels may be hard to avoid. But that’s hardly a bad thing, and Duskey and his crew know it. The self-released Blank Canvas proudly rides the coattails of Duskey’s 2009 debut, Cautiously Optimistic. Cautiously was well received by the Northeast Ohio regional press, being noted for its “well written and powerfully delivered” songs (Giselle Fleming, Eclat de Femme.com) and its straightforward and relatable theme (“a flat out, a good time rock and roll tale of many loves found and many loves lost” -Matt Wardlaw, CoolCleveland.com).