To date, I don't think an artists death has hit me as much as MF DOOM and I did not expect that until it happened. That feels like the DOOM way - he's like a shadow lurking genius, a humble kung fu master - grounded, calm but could kill you in ten seconds, in this case left the body on halloween of the most fed up year in memory and no one found out until New Years eve. This remix I did just kind of fell into place as a tribute, I had made the music track a few weeks ago and then realized his vocal from "Gazillion Ear" fit perfectly on top. I love the way it turned out. It feels like a whole new world than the original, like the sound of ascending and just wanted to share it. For me, MF DOOM is a taste thermometer. If you know, you know, if you like, I trust you. Not to say I don't trust anyone that doesn't (I probably don't), but I definitely trust someone that does. Since a kid I've been obsessed with words and wordplay, no rules, free form, no grammar, sensical nonsense - no one to me has embodied this better. The first time I heard MF DOOM, it was "The Mask and The Mouse" record and it was instant, it felt like what I was always looking for, if there was a perfect music. It was hilarious, it was surreal, it was jazz, it was social commentary, it was sound collage, it was English language sonic visual art, it was insane colorful lyricism I could relate to as someone that falls asleep to common word choices, rhyme schemes, imagery. It was like finally physically walking into the universe I had in my head. I'm pretty sure "Crosshairs" has been on every playlist I've made for another person in the last 15 years.
I have written pages upon pages upon pages of stream of consciousness while listening to DOOM, he unlocks a key in my brain, his rhythm opens doors where suddenly you are speaking in tongues. It's not common, music that checks all boxes, music that you want to be playing loud when driving through a city when people can judge you on 2 second increments in which you pass them by. I have a bunch of songs that are direct/indirect results of MF DOOM influence, maybe you can find them now on second listen. Anyway, this is my homage to my all-time #1 and in my opinion one of the best ever users of the english language. Thank you. R.I.P.
Trying to box Ron Gallo up is like trying to clutch water in your hands. If he was to have a "thing" it's like the monk and the mandala - build something, then destroy it. Not intentionally but more out of necessity, a way to stay engaged and genuine in whatever he does, forever. His only constant is that there is none.
After years living in Philadelphia DIY touring, playing in different bands, starting joke projects, cleaning houses and filling hard drives full of songs of every genre (most that that never saw the light of day) in 2014 he decided to finally make himself his main project, something he could go all in on, also for practical reasons citing that "if I make music under my own name, the project can never break up, i can just die. It's like a lifelong commitment to myself."
During his final days in Philly before relocating to Nashville, Gallo finished his first proper solo album, 2017's HEAVY META which lead to signing his first record deal, widespread critical acclaim and touring the world including performances at Coachella, Bonnaroo, Governors Ball, Austin City Limits, Lollapalooza and more. The album was described by NPR as "a burst of literate electricity" and Gallo himself as an "insurgent poet and rock 'n' roll disruptor" in response to the viral music video for "Please Yourself" where Gallo and band performed guerilla style on the back of a pickup truck they stopped in the middle of the busiest section on Broadway in Downtown Nashville.
Gallo followed up quickly with the Really Nice Guys EP, a genre-bending joke concept album and mockumentary film commenting on the absurdities of his newfound role as a professional touring musician. Then in October 2018, came the release of his second LP Stardust Birthday Party - a post-punk/new wave exploration of Gallo's spiritual path described by The Guardian as bringing "the fruits of meditation to Gallo's jams - a little like Bodhisattva Vow marked the influx of MCA's Buddhism into the Beastie Boys."
After 3 years of non-stop touring behind these releases Gallo found himself at yet another wall. Physically and mentally burnt out and unsure of where to go next if anywhere at all. The band's last tour date was on June 4th, 2019 at Beaches Brew, an annual music festival taking place on the beach in Ravenna, Italy.
At yet another moment of breakdown, Gallo went on a hiatus, deleted social media, dissolved the band and planned to live the rest of the year in Italy in the hometown of his now-wife and collaborator, Chiara. This began a period of reinvention via self-embrace, returning to some semblance of normal life and re-evaluating everything. To assist in this process Gallo launched REALLYNICE.world a positive creative outlet for Gallo to share his interests, thoughts, interview random people and has since morphed into a digital festival and a clothing line.
Only a few weeks in to this break, due to visa issues, Gallo was unexpectedly sent back to America which lead to a three month period of mostly self-isolation in his house in Nashville where he began writing and recording music that would ultimately become the album PEACEMEAL.PEACEMEAL, to be released worldwide 3/5/21, finds Gallo exiting the dark confines of the garage and going outside to make music with no limitation or plan. The result is a colorful hodgepodge of 90's hip-hop, r&b, weirdo pop, jazz, and punk - his version of "pop music". Though the sounds have changed from album to album, and most drastically this time, the sense of humanity, humor and a truly eccentric worldview is the common thread in all of Gallo's music. This time we see a Gallo free of expectation, exploring music again in an almost childlike fascination way and playing pretty much all instruments himself, with some assistance from producer Ben H. Allen (Gnarls Barkley, Animal Collective). Written in similar circumstances the whole world would be in less than a year later, the introverted, isolated perspectives have become oddly universal.
Gallo's mission statement has gone from one of the end of the spectrum to the other - where at one point he was a frustrated young guy out to try and change the world by stirring people out of complacency he's now landed on something much more light but equally as powerful - to just be himself no matter what it is and encourage others to do the same - one of the more radical things to do in a world that tries to box everything up - and show you can actually have fun doing it.
