GINA PANARELLO

In 2014, a boy walked out on the stage at The Sinclair in Boston.. tall, skinny, an afro that you can’t help but be curious. Headlining with his band Toy Soldiers, I stood in the crowd watching Ron Gallo sonically hypnotize everyone with his presence. After the show, I met him, told him he was great.. shot some portraits- and that was that. Fast forward a year later Ron was back on the North Shore doing a solo tour promoting his new album “Ronny” and I wasn’t missing it for anything. He was singing his own tunes, melodies, he was being the fucking weirdo that makes him so appealing.. His voice stimulates your brain going from low to high notes, unexpected guitar riffs and honest words only creative rebels have the balls to sing. Mixing multiple genres into one song at a time, he effortlessly stands before you pulling you into that brain of his and steals your attention away from your iphone or whatever conversation you were in the middle of. Two days later Ron and his touring band, The Lawsuits recorded a live mix at Vivant Vintage in Allston for their new tape where I got to sit down and dig into his mind. Here’s a look into what make this prolific artist tick.

Q: Who was your biggest influence musically when you started playing 10 years ago?

A: “That’s a tough one. Ryan Adams has always been a big idol of mine. He’s a great song writer, great singer, and at the same time he’s a fuckin’ weirdo. I find myself always relating to weirdos and drawn to weird personas in music. I don’t care about the “I’m cool” thing. I’m the least cool person and I’m happy to show that. It’s not about being stand-offish and having a wall between you and your crowd.. It’s about letting all the weird hang out. There’s have many more like Harry Nilsson, he was an important figure in my musical development.”

Q: What is touring like for you? What’s your mind set before you leave and when you’re on the road?

A: “It’s evolved over the years. In my late teens early twenties it was a romanticized way to get in the car and travel and see the country. Be carefree and move from city to city and an intimate way to  play for people. It was exciting regardless of how the shows went. As I’ve gotten older its become more of a job, more strategic. It’s how I pay my rent, I’m smarter about it. It gets to a point where this is your craft and a lot of money goes into it. With Toy Soldiers it was like a business trip and now that I’ve gone out on my own, especially this last tour I’m excited. My album came out in June, we did the Beach Binge Tour that started down South and then I came up North. I’ve been to California, Nashville, and on some Northeast tours. It’s nice to travel light.. This tour with the Lawsuits, they’re a great band and old friends and its a nice collaborative effort to do what we love and have fun. I get crazy when I’m not traveling and playing I can’t be stagnant. ”

Q: When is your most creative time of day?

A: “The morning! I love that morning haze! I'm a early riser, and the whole world feels like it’s being reborn and so are you.”

Q: What really made you hit the point to make the decision to go solo?

A: In February 2014 I booked a solo trip out to California for 2 weeks. Toy Soldiers had just taken a small breathing period after a 3 month tour . I had no plan, I just went there not knowing anyone no where to sleep or what I was doing.. I just spent a couple weeks roaming around in LA, Joshua Tree, San Francisco and Big Sur. I had never done anything like that, had “me” time which is rare and it actually ignited this sort of inward looking period. Last year I realized my life had been moving forward but I had never asked real questions about my happiness. This trip out West kick started an insane transformation period, and I realized I had to make changes. When I came back I felt more in tune, and I had formed a relationship with someone I met here right before I left. I came home ready for new and started to see things more clearly. The band did a couple more tours but I really wanted to put all of myself into something, be my own project. I work best with freedom and did what made sense. I still play with some of the guys we’re still all friends, but I’m happy with what I’m doing.

Q: If you weren’t a musician what would you be doing

A: “Probably a Secret Agent, CIA, FBI..My hobbies are doing photo and video, painting.. visual art stuff.. Maybe a Real Estate Agent??.. some kind of Agent.”

Q: What inspires you more pain or happiness?

A: “Definitely pain usually. I know it sounds cliche but it’s harder to write when your happy and convey feelings with out being cheesy. It’s hard for me to write a straight forward positive love song. So I try and find darker ways to write the love.”

Q: If your listeners put you on a playlist on Spotify- what are the other artists you would want to be grouped with?

A: “A few people that I love and identify with right now is Ty Segall, I love everything he does sonically, his approach is awesome. Josh Tillman, Father John Misty, I love his world view and approach I think his two records are fucking great. Mac Demarco, he’s a weirdo and I love his whole thing. His music is very much his own. All these guys their music is just as important as their persona. They’re all very relevant to me.”