samhadfield

[samhadfield]

Rock ‘N’ Roll is Alive and Well: Ron Gallo’s “Really Nice Guys” EP

Nashville-based singer/songwriter, Ron Gallo, has done it again with his newest release: an EP entitled “Really Nice Guys.” The Tennessee transplant relocated to Music City from Philadelphia and has been shaking things up on the national scene for the past couple of years. Gallo’s songwriting is rooted in satire and dry humor and offers the proverbial kick in the ass that music needs. I played my mom a couple of songs from RG’s latest LP, “HEAVY META,” and she hated it. Perfect. It passed the test. Rock ‘N’ Roll isn’t for parents and never has been. It possesses an in-your-face, visceral quality that’s lost in today’s “Rock” music- a watered-down subgenre that has become far more popular than its predecessor. Bands like Three Doors Down and Daughtry are more well known than Ron Gallo probably ever will be. Those bands play it safe and when you go that route you end up with something that isn’t completely bad but isn’t that earth-shattering or awe-inspiring, either. Jimi Hendrix setting his guitar on fire, The Velvet Underground singing about heroin and S & M, The Replacements alienating themselves from SNL for drunken shenanigans- these artists capture the essence of Rock ‘N’ Roll. The good shit has never been about trying to please the masses, and when it does, it’s simply a byproduct of pure expression. Rock ‘N’ Roll is a form based on being anti-establishment and communicating pure, raw emotion, that is oftentimes ugly and uncomfortable. And let’s face it, Rock ‘N’ Roll is a direct result of the blues and carries itself with respect to the blues tradition. For example, when Howlin’ Wolf offered money to his own mother she wouldn’t accept it. His mother was an upstanding Christian and the dark, raw form of blues that Howlin’ Wolf was playing went against what she stood for as a member of polite society. And everyone knows that Tommy (not Robert) Johnson sold his soul to the devil to be able to play like that. From the beginning, Rock ‘N’ Roll was imbued with the same sense of rebellion and misbehavior that’s so prevalent in the blues. In steps Ron Gallo. The title track from his new EP, “Really Nice Guys,” is a commentary on how people in the scene try so hard to be friends with one another based on the pretense of working an angle. Even when he watches a terrible band, RG is quick to offer compliments in order to make said band feel good about their less than stellar performance. ‘I say “nice set” then I get upset/cause I feel so...plastic.’ Gallo is struggling with being real about his feelings. In another song, “I’m on the Guestlist,” RG sings, ‘I got 20 texts at 9:03/ it’s my friends asking if they can get in for free/I say, “let me see the deal” they never hear back from me/they remind me of who I never want to be.’ Similarly, in the skit “East Nashville Kroger Conversation,” characters Joe and Dylan (played by Ron’s real life bandmates of the same name), engage in a superficial discussion with Gallo at the local grocery store. Dylan is busy asking Ron about his latest tour when Joe walks up and joins the chit-chat. Joe acts as if he’s never met Dylan even though they used to play in a band together. Joe exemplifies an aloofness and strange social phenomenon that occurs among people who are trying to increase their social status and climb the invisible ladder to the top of the heap. After releasing three EPs and two LPs with his former band, Toy Soldiers, and two LPs and an EP under his own name, Ron Gallo has found his true artistic voice and is being embraced by the people. It ain’t all peaches, however, and, with “Really Nice Guys,” RG gives the listener insights as to what life is like for him now. He’s now in a position where people want a piece of him. He has to qualify who he surrounds himself with as well as navigate the greater music scene with a sense of diplomacy even when it goes against his gut instincts. This probably isn’t the best place to start with Ron Gallo’s music but if you’re already a fan you will love it. The first LP, “RONNY,” is more of a country/folk inspired album while the latest full-length, “HEAVY META,” is more in line with what he’s doing now. “Really Nice Guys” acts as an extension to “HEAVY META,” as both albums are very self-aware and...well...meta. “Really Nice Guys” is snarky, satirical, in-your-face, and honest. In other words, it’s what Rock ‘N’ Roll is all about. One of Ron’s t-shirts reads “Rock ‘N’ Roll Isn’t Dead...You Are.” And you know what? He’s right.

#Ron gallo #music #music review #blog #independentwriter #rocknroll

[samhadfield]

Why I Am Moving Into a Van

When I was around seven or eight years old, my parents invited me into the living room to watch Saturday Night Live for the first time. As I ran and plopped down on the couch, excited to be staying up with the adults passed my bedtime, the great Chris Farley waddled onto the screen dressed in a pair of khakis, a gaudy plaid sport coat, black rim glasses, and a white dress shirt that was at least two sizes too small. He was playing Matt Foley, an overzealous, maniacal, motivational speaker, who constantly reminded his audience that if they made the wrong choices they would inevitably end up “LIVING IN A VAN...DOWN BY THE RIVER!!!” Fast forward twenty-two some-odd years. I’m currently thirty, broke, single and about to move into a 1989 Ford Econoline E250. No, I didn’t get hooked on meth, no I didn’t blow my savings at the blackjack table of some riverboat casino, no I’m not some paranoid backwoods prepper. And yes, I am doing this completely by choice. My mom is very proud. People cry when they’re proud, right? ...I need to make a phone call. I am a singer/songwriter and musician who has been living in Nashville, TN for four-and-a-half years and I’m sick of working menial jobs and paying rent just to scrape together enough cash to pursue my musical pursuits. I have no major responsibilities outside of keeping myself alive and breathing...and showered every once in awhile. The goal is to tour my songs as much as possible and, when my van is built out, I will have a rolling apartment to do said touring with much more comfort than what many bands experience on the road. The van will be my chariot. Like Steinbeck and his custom camper truck, Rocinante, I will be self-contained and ready to take on the world. I haven’t figured out the permanent name for my new van yet but I’m working on it.     I’ve toyed with the idea of living in a van ever since high school. At different periods of my life I spent a lot of time researching the idea only to talk myself out of it again. I would let other people’s fears become my own and that, coupled with the social stigma, kept me from actually pulling the trigger. All of that changed when some songwriters I know came to stay with me for a night in Nashville. They had been living out of a 1987 Ford Econoline Coachman for a whole year. They had been crisscrossing the country. Busking, gigging, living cheaply. They regaled me with tales of wanderlust; playing music under the stars, heading out on some Breaking Bad-esque access roads and camping for multiple days at a time, going for hikes overlooking deep valleys and canyons, following their bliss, and living for themselves. They didn’t have a boss to answer to and they weren’t fighting hordes of angry 8-5ers heading into the city on their Monday morning commute.They were living the antithesis of the rat race: free and easy. And they weren’t some train-hopping crust punks, either. Just a couple of otherwise normal people who were bucking conventional wisdom in favor of grabbing life by the balls. The life in which they found true happiness. I got to pick their brains on the hardships and benefits of the lifestyle and within a few days of their departure I was looking for vans. My van is similar to the people’s whom I just described except for one key component: mine has been completely gutted. I bought it for $1,400 and got it towed to my house for $300 so I currently have $1,700 in the thing. Not bad for a rolling home. It needs a lot of work but my roommate is a mechanical savant and I have a willingness to learn. I’ll have much more time and money to pursue my goals and dreams once I move into the van. No rent and few bills means I will also be able to eventually put a down payment on some land outside of Nashville. So not only is my prized dinosaur from the Mesozoic era going to facilitate me being able to tour more, it’s also going to help me invest in my future.  Suck on that, conventional wisdom.

#alternative lifestyle #vanner #vanlife #ftw #liveforyourself #singersongwriter