Artist InformationBiography
The close musical and personal empathy of this dynamic duo has been established over five years of working together. Initially, Rob recruited Barbi to be the singer in the house band he put together for one of Toronto ’s leading nightclubs. They performed there three nights a week for 18 months, and the project was so successful that such legendary rock singers as Loverboy’s Mike Reno were invited to perform for them. Reno , in fact, became a good friend, and he co-wrote two songs, “Superhero” and “Triumph,” appearing on the album.
According to Rob, “that gig gave the two of us a great foundation, showing that we could work together and that we enjoyed each others creative intelligence. Finally, Barbi came to me and said ‘let’s write a record.’ We started from the ground up, came up with nearly 60 songs, then whittled them down and started recording.”
After that.... 18 months of recording at Toronto studio MDS, and the duo’s perfectionist approach paid off. Laidlaw co-produced with Murray Daigle (Sum 41) and contributed guitars, bass, keyboards, programming and backing vocals, Baumann played piano and sang all lead vocals, and former Harem Scarem member Darren Smith contributed drums and backing vocals.
Songs from Random Robbery have already received recognition in some highly prestigious international songwriting competitions. The stirring and passionate “Carry On” won the 16th annual Billboard World Songwriting Award as Rock Song of the Year and “ 5:09 ” received an honorary mention from the Great American Songwriting contest, while the Toronto Magazine awards nominated “Bleed” in the Best Rock Song category.
These tunes are all ready for rock radio prime time, while a new club mix of the sexy funk-rock tune “Get It On” by Grammy Award-winning producer/engineer Marc Urselli is poised to scorch the dance floor. Describing the multi-dimensional sound of Random Robbery is not easy, but reference points vocally would include the likes of Pink and Kelly Clarkson at their most rockin’, while the high-energy and hard-edged music has something of a Velvet Revolver vibe.
Lyrically, these songs dig deep, with the pair drawing heavily upon personal experiences and tragedies. “I’d say 99 per cent of the tunes are based on s*** we’ve gone through in the last few years,” says Laidlaw. “’Wild Horse’ was written after Barbi’s tragic loss of her mom, while ‘5.09’ [and lines like ‘I got my pimped out party posse and we lost track of time’] came directly from a great night out we had in Manhattan.”
Over the course of an illustrious career, Laidlaw has worked extensively with such top Canadian female singer/songwriters as Alannah Myles, Alanis Morissette, Lee Aaron and Blaise Pascal (songs they wrote together earned a 2002 Juno nomination - confirm?
He has no hesitation about ranking Baumann high in that company, naming her as “one of the best female singers I’ve worked with, and there’s been a lot of them. Not only is she an incredible singer, but she’s the coolest chick. That’s important, believe me,”
It is testimony to the strength of their songs and their combined instrumental and vocal prowess that Random Robbery have been able to deliver knock-out live performance as a duo. That was dramatically demonstrated earlier this year when they were invited to appear at a Florida hard rock festival headlined by Mudvayne. When their drummer dropped out at the last minute, Rob and Barbi rolled the dice, courageously (or potentially foolishly) deciding to appear as a duo, in front of 10,000 decibel-loving music fans.
Laidlaw picks up the story, explaining that “we met up with the promoter the night before, and he goes ‘I can’t wait to hear the band!’” “It worked out great though,” says Baumann. “We were the one unique band surrounded by all these super heavy groups! We’re a group that thrives in times of adversity.”
RR now perform both as a duo and as a band. The production on Random Robbery is polished and sophisticated, but the well-crafted nature of its songs means they can be stripped down and performed acoustically. When a full band appearance is called for, Laidlaw’s connections ensure the highest calibre of sidemen, including drummer Randy Cooke (Kelly Clarkson) and guitarist Mike K (Natasha Beddingfield).
Armed with this killer album, Random Robbery are now poised to plunder. Stay tuned!
Instrumentation
Barbi "B-Girl" Baumann Lead Vocals
Rob Laidlaw Bass/BG Vocals
Mike K Guitar
Randy Cooke Drums
Discography
Discography: Debut CD
Random Robbery
Tracks
5:09
Bleed
Carry On
Hollywood Ending
Fame Fortune
Get it On
Alive
Real You
Super Hero
Wild Horse
Back Down