Daniel Romano can sing the hell out of a ballad — and he can also vault.

The country singer once saw a possible future as a gymnast but an encounter with teenage romance put an end to that future quickly.

“I was an amateur gymnast when I was 14 and I was casually seeing this girl. She called my house once and when my parents told her I was at gymnastics practice, she broke up with me,” Romano said. “It’s not that I was interested in her, but it was the principle of the thing.”

His quick departure from the sport was good for Romano’s fans, who’ve followed him from his Attack in Black days. They’ll tell you that Romano is unique for his brand of slow, soulful country.

“I don’t bring the rock, so it’s good that people aren’t disappointed by that. They know how to control themselves in tender situations.”

Romano is currently touring with his back-up band, The Trilliums, over weekends this month, hitting Ottawa tomorrow, Kingston Saturday and St. Catharine’s on Sunday.

Romano said he’s only doing weekend tour dates this time around so he can have more time for his “day job.”

Romano co-owns You’ve Changed Records with his friend and fellow musicians, Steve Lambke and Ian Kehoe, also known as Baby Eagle and Marine Dreams, respectively.

Romano’s currently producing the new Marine Dreams album and The Weather Station album, reuniting him with the people he played a showcase with at this year’s Wolfe Island Music Festival.

“I’m not well-versed enough to call myself almost a Kingstonian, but I would consider myself a fan of the town,” he said.

After four solo releases and five releases with Attack in Black, Romano has known the touring game for a while, but he said he never gets used to it.

“I’m not the biggest fan of touring. If it’s longer than two weeks, I tend to not want to do it. You’re in a different town and all that, but for the performer, you’re just in a different room,” he said.

That’s why he sometimes prefers to be the producer instead of the artist.

“I border on being a bit of a recluse, so I guess the producer side does flourish because I have to go less far to do it — going into another room rather than going into another town.”

Daniel Romano and the Trilliums play the Grad Club Saturday night at 9 p.m.