Root Down in the Shadow

In recent years if Philly music fans hadn't seen Ron Gallo a half-dozen or so times by mid-year, they must have tried to avoid him.  But as the calendar turned to 2016, Ron Gallo packed up his talents and left for Nashville.  This summer tour, including a stop at Philly's JOHNNY BRENDA'S, is the first chance for many to catch Ron Gallo in quite a while.  Let's see what Ron has been up to, as he chatted with Root Down In The Shadow. Once upon a time you were everywhere in Philly, but then after 1 (or 2) farewell show(s) you were gone to Nashville at the end of 2015 Part of moving to Nashville and leaving Philly behind, was not being stuck in the same old stuff, doing shows with the same crew, taking a step forward. Going to Nashville however meant playing shows with old friends like Jordan Hull and Joe Fletcher . Do you have fears of getting into the same ruts? i always have a natural fear of growing stagnant. even while in philly i could never sit still. t...

As a music fan, one of my favorite activities is chatting about seeing amazing bands in interesting places.  While I'm stoked to see Pearl Jam later this month in an arena, I was more excited to see Lucius at mid-sized Union Transfer where I could be two feet away from them.  I'm edge of my chair excited to see J. Roddy Walston & The Business, playing the tiny Ortlieb's. Sometimes you know who to look for.  Sometimes you luck out and find amazing where you wouldn't expect it.  Sofar Sounds is a great way of finding magic in unexpected places.  Tonight we'll travel back through the Sofar Sounds: Boston archives for some gems.   Share some videos as you go and don't forget to sign up for your local Sofar Sounds IF you like what you see here, check out our top 20 performances of Sofar Sounds: Philadelphia in honor of their four year anniversary and to take a look at our friend Max García Conover's trip through some Sofar cities. November 2013 ...

Somehow Sofar Sounds : Philadelphia is hitting their 4th Anniversary. The now world-wide phenomenon was a few shy of twenty cities world-wide when Philadelphia joined the ranks. These days, the shows are all over the globe and it seems like there are just shy of twenty dates in NYC alone each month. It all started in London, back in 2009, and slowly spread during the next two years to New York, Paris, DC, Los Angeles, Pune India, Houston, Brighton, Seattle, New Dehli, Sydney, Madrid, Berlin, Toronto, Dallas-Forth Worth, and Glasgow before hitting the City of Brotherly Love.  During the next 10 days I'm going to look back at four years of Sofar Sounds: Philadelphia trying to give my version of the best videos. Please comment and share what were your favorites. 16.Justin Pellecchia (Satellite Hearts) - Meet the Greens For #16 we're back at the same show as #19.  Sofar Sounds: Philadelphia just encapsulates what is great about seeing music in Philly.  If...

Hoots & Hellmouth are back at their rightful place, the stages of Philadelphia, as they have begun a residency throughout May on Wednesday nights in at Philadelphia’s Boot & Saddle .   The event marks a first for both band and venue, as this is the group’s first-ever hometown residency and the club’s first since local concert promotions agency, R5 Productions , reopened the South Philadelphia landmark's doors in September 2013.   Now that the first ever residency week at Boot & Saddle is in the books, it's a great time to check out Hoots & Hellmouth as they go through new material in front of fans and friends alike in anticipation of their upcoming recording sessions this summer. The band—led by founding members Sean Hoots and Robert Berliner —will be debuting new material each Wednesday night in May.  One such song, "Move Me" was first presented with the Root Down In The Shadow series Cover Club earlier this year and will be amongst...

In just under two weeks, a very special edition of #CoverClub will take place live at Church of Kong .  This is the monthly series featuring TJ Kong of TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb and a selection of rotating friends.  The series is a wonderful way to wake up on a sleepy Center City Philly morning.  The combination of the Nodding Heads killer brews, yummy menu and live tunes are great.  When you allow the Kong touch on the lineup to be applied and it's a fantastic morning. LIVE AT CHURCH OF KONG The Cover Club crew is eager to capture some new TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb for our Philly-centric cover series.  The original track stands to be one of their brand new songs, while the Philly-centric cover is yet to be announced.  Come join us to see the tapings before they are released in the upcoming months on YouTube. Be sure to stay for the intense line-up.  Ron Gallo returns for another Church of Kong, as he selects from new solo work and his...

Ron Gallo, AS​-​IS: Live at Kettle Pot Tracks is not at all what it seems. This new release recorded at Kettle Pot Tracks ’ Lafayette Hill studio in December 2013 is not a follow-up to Ron Gallo ’s 2013 solo release Live at Ortlieb's: an in-venue live recording. It is not the Toy Soldiers front-man’s solo project with producer Reed Kendall , coming later this spring with a full band.  AS​-​IS: Live at Kettle Pot Tracks is neither of those. A S​-​IS: Live at Kettle Pot Tracks is the must-share by-product of a solo On The Hill Session with the Kettle Pot Tracks. This stripped-down release marks the first physical release from the Kettle Pot Tracks after a year of stellar digital releases of their sessions. To the unaware listener, what we have is an incredible collection of 1940s standards. Turns out, only one of them is. “Early in the Morning” reigns from that era, but ironically Ron Gallo's inspiration is from the 1970s Harry Nilsson version, rather than 1940s jazz-m...

New venue Boot and Saddle has been doing a solid job of attracting some hot new acts such as Those Darlins and Cibo Matto to town.  The venue is set up for long-term success with a good menu and separate areas for the bar and shows.  If they keep bringing stacked local line-ups such as last Thursday, it will quickly be a new favorite for many.  Toy Soldiers front man Ron Gallo had the headline slot for the night and brought friends Lucy Stone and Jay Purdy to fill out his bill.  Fresh off of a release of his solo work Live At Kettle Pot Tracks, Ron Gallo was backed by local boys Satellite Hearts and Levee Drivers multi-instrumentalist Kyle Perella on lap steel. Jay Purdy started off the night with a captivating solo set, allowing his playful melodies and unexpected lyrics to display a very unique brand of songwriting.  Normally front-man of The Extraordinaires , Jay seemed at ease on his own while switching back and forth between whimsical tunes o...

Earlier this year here at the indie Philly blog, Root Down In The Shadow, we started the fun series #Philly Presents ...bands writing about other bands. The most common reaction from bands to this project: "Wait? Are we covering other bands?" And so #CoverClub was born!   The first sessions for #CoverClub were recorded in October, at the intimate Break Neck Studio under the sonic helm of Peter Joseph!   With the excitement over the series we couldn't contain ourselves, but couldn't continuously steal Peter.  Nomad Recording Studio graciously offered to be our alternate studio for the series and we quickly lined up more bands.  With Rob Swift and Tom Williamson of Nomad Recording Studio, the Session 1.0 includes Aaron Brown of Aaron & The Spell, Ron Gallo of Toy Soldiers, The Rivals and the Fleeting Ends!  The posts here at Root Down In The Shadow have been a blast to do, featuring the excellent videos by director Bob Sweeney assisted...

For those of you who don't know what Sofar Sounds is, here is their story: "We have created a movement which brings music lovers together in secret living room locations to hear some of the world's most cutting edge artists.  In order to create an intimate and spellbinding atmosphere, we ask that nobody talk during  performances.  January '14 Sofar - January 17, 2014  Photos by Lindsey Borgman, Video by Bob Sweeney The Sofar Sounds: Philadelphia team is: Carolyn Lederach, Ken Winneg & Davis Howley Written by contributer Mariel Lorenz Photo by Lindsey Borgman On a frightfully cold day in January, one would think the weather would keep a crowd in the comfort of their own home, but music fans are different.  They do not let snow or cold get in the way of seeing great music.  As Shakespeare said "The show must go on" so of course it was no surprise to me that the first Sofar Sounds Philadelphia show of 2014 packed a row home in the Fis...

Earlier this week we released the raw and intimate Ron Gallo version of the Lawsuits ' 'Anybody's Girl' for #COVERCLUB !  The softer rendition gave ample pause to the heartfelt Brian Strouse lyrics as Gallo sang them on a cold December day in West Philly. It was this type of reflective day that Ron had back in Chicago a recently while on tour with Toy Soldiers, when the lyrics for his original 'Expensive Hair' started forming in his head.  The brand new song, part of an upcoming project, a kind of a concept album of sorts focuses on the humor of the American lifestyle. Cover Club | Ron Gallo "Expensive Hair" This new project is not to be confused with a just finished solo record that should be released sometime this spring,  his previous solo work Live at Ortlieb's released last spring or the impressive Toy Soldiers album The Maybe Boys released last fall.  'Expensive Hair' is an example of the most recent songs Ron has been writi...

Earlier this year here at the indie Philly blog, Root Down In The Shadow, we started the fun series #Philly Presents , ...bands writing about other bands. The most common reaction from bands to this project: "Wait? Are we covering other bands?" And so #CoverClub was born! The newest session in the #CoverClub series finds us at Nomad Studios in West Philadelphia with Philly's hardest working front man, the Ron Gallo of Toy Soldiers !  The selection 'Anybody's Girl' is from the Lawsuits new album Cool Cool Cool , just released in October 2013. Cover Club | Ron Gallo "Anybody's Girl" (The Lawsuits)  Video by Bob Sweeney(director) and Paul Lorenz - Audio by Nomad Studio In the past five years, Ron Gallo and the Toy Soldiers have shared bills with all kinds of bands big and small, in and out of Philly, but the logical choice for Ron's Philly-centric cover was none other than The Lawsuits.   The Lawsuits first came onto hi...

Earlier this year here at the indie Philly blog, Root Down In The Shadow, we started the fun series #Philly Presents , ...bands writing about other bands. The most common reaction from bands to this project: "Wait? Are we covering other bands?" And so #CoverClub was born!  Coming up this Saturday, #CoverClub sessions are being recorded at Nomad Studio with our friends at RLS Video!  Starting at 10am, we will bring in artists for one-hour sessions throughout the day. The line-up includes: Aaron Brown of Aaron & The Spell the Rivals Ron Gallo of the Toy Soldiers the Fleeting Ends How would you like to catch some hot Philly bands, in studio while they record the their #CoverClub session?  Just imagine you and a friend, hanging out a the studio while the bands work on their Philly-centric cover and an original.  Wouldn't it be better with YOU watching? Here's how you can make this work: For each session you would like to attend, blow-up Tw...

Saturday night, October 5th, something truly magical is going to happen.  The self titled  Ali Wadsworth album is going to be released in grand fashion.  We're talking G R A N D !  Cocktail hour, a secret band, a roving party, and the much anticipated release of the most #EPIC album of all time! The Ali Wadsworth band itself, is made up of members of Good Old War , the Lawsuits , Hezekiah Jones , Chris Kasper , and more! We're not talking epic as in my favorite over-used adjective, but epic as in over 50 potential writers contributing to a project!  The cross-section of the Philadelphia scene involved with this project is huge.  We're not even talking 6 degrees of separation or 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon or whatever.  The number of artists directly writing for or playing on the album is staggering.  Don't confuse things though.  This is not some weak celebrity all-star album or some vanity project.  This is a full on collaboration wi...

#PhillyPresents: by Ron Gallo Your band name: Toy Soldiers   Style: Rock N’ Roll Years on the Scene: 5 years Current Members:  Dominic Billett - Drums, Vocals Bill McCloskey - Bass Matt Kelly - Guitar Luke Leidy - Keys Ron Gallo - Vocals, Guitar   Any new album projects?  Sessions in the works?  We just finished a full-length album entitled, The Maybe Boys with Philly record-making mastermind Bill Moriarty that’s looking to be out in September alongside a documentary called, The Maybe Trails, that our pal, Seth Klinger made about life on the road.  In the meantime we also did a live session at Converse Rubber Tracks Studio in Brooklyn which we’re releasing as an 7” on July 4th this year!   Introducing : Thom McCarthy Why he's an inspiration.. why you like listening to and watching him? I really think Thom is a genius in every sense of the word.  He’s extremely unique, humble and often a nervous wreck ...