Understanding Yourself, Understanding Others
Between moving into his new Nashville digs and acquiring a vintage Casio MT-210 synthesizer, Ron Gallo has been on a creative streak. “I’ve had the house to myself for a week straight and I’ve just been in hardcore song and demo mode,” the indie-rocker admits. But then again, being busy is not unusual for Gallo, who spent much of 2018 touring, writing music and releasing both his Really Nice Guys EP and his Stardust Birthday Party full-length. This brief respite from the road has also given the Philadelphia native the chance to take stock of his touring methods.
Recently, headmits, he’s learnedto “revamp” his setlists, optingfor his more high-energy rocktunes over some of the moreslow-burning, cosmic materialfrom Stardust Birthday Party.For example, he swapped thedroning “‘You’ Are The Problem”for more in-your-face cuts like “IWanna Die (Before I Die)” and“Love Supreme.”
Another big lesson he’s takinginto 2019 is working smarter, notharder. After all, playing showafter show can grind you down inmore ways than one. “I just thinkit’s important to get back to thebasics: get back to being creative,get back to yourself a little bitand not give a shit about some ofthe noise that starts to creep inwhen you’ve been on-the-go somuch in the realm of the musicbiz,” he says.
Interestingly, Gallo can also trace that humanist message in his work. “This record is trying to address the human condition—being a human with a mind—which is something that we can all relate to. Trying tobetter understand yourself helpsyou better understand otherpeople. And, I think that’s oftena huge oversight,” he says.
That exact sentiment echoes in Stardust Birthday Party’s “Always Elsewhere.” Over the rumbling sounds of a garage-rock bassline, Gallo comes off somewhere between a preacher and a public service announcement as he recites between lyrics: “As soon as you honor the present moment, all unhappiness and struggle dissolve. The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and obvious and simple. And yet everybody rushes around in great panic, as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.” Throughout history, there’s been plenty of rock-and-roll philosophers, but at a time when music couldn’t be more disposable, Gallo’s soul-gazing is a breath of fresh air.
This article originally appears in the April/May 2019 issue of Relix. For more features, interviews, album reviews and more, subscribe here.
