Ron Gallo
TWEN, Ian Ferguson, Sixteen Jackies
Sat, November 10, 2018
Doors: 6:30 pm / Show: 7:00 pm
First Unitarian Church
Philadelphia, PA
$13.00 - $15.00
Tickets
This event is all ages
https://www.r5productions.com/event/1739074/Facebook comments:
Ron Gallo
“Stardust Birthday Party” is about human evolution. Specifically, one humans evolution: mine, Ron Gallo. That’s the name my parents gave me. Hi.
At one point, I was a very lost mid-twenties person living in Philadelphia, in a relationship with someone struggling with mental health issues and crippling heroin addiction. I was asleep. I didn’t know how to handle my life. I was also writing songs for “HEAVY META” - my “frustrated with humanity” album. I laugh about it all now, but at the time it all felt like an absolute nightmare. It was the perfect doorway to look inside the place I’d been avoiding forever: myself.
“Stardust Birthday Party” is about what is happening underneath all of this life stuff. My path inward. The details of my path are pointless because everyones path is different. It is about me sitting with myself for the first time and confronting the big question “WHAT AM I, REALLY?” It’s about the love and compassion for all things that enters when you find out you are nothing and everything. I think at one point I wanted to change the world, but now I know I can only change myself, or rather just strip away everything that is not me to reveal the only thing that’s ever been there. And that’s what this album is about, it’s me dancing while destroying the person I thought I was, and hopefully forever.
In the liner notes of John Coltrane’s album “A Love Supreme” (which we pay tribute to on this album) he wrote: “During the year 1957, I experienced, by the grace of God, a spiritual awakening which was to lead me to a richer, fuller, more productive life. At that time, in gratitude, I humbly asked to be given the means and privilege to make others happy through music.”
That’s it. That is the pure essence of creativity. Someone embodying what they have realized about themselves and the world that surrounds them. That is why this album exists.
Thank you for letting me share this with you.
- Ron Gallo
At one point, I was a very lost mid-twenties person living in Philadelphia, in a relationship with someone struggling with mental health issues and crippling heroin addiction. I was asleep. I didn’t know how to handle my life. I was also writing songs for “HEAVY META” - my “frustrated with humanity” album. I laugh about it all now, but at the time it all felt like an absolute nightmare. It was the perfect doorway to look inside the place I’d been avoiding forever: myself.
“Stardust Birthday Party” is about what is happening underneath all of this life stuff. My path inward. The details of my path are pointless because everyones path is different. It is about me sitting with myself for the first time and confronting the big question “WHAT AM I, REALLY?” It’s about the love and compassion for all things that enters when you find out you are nothing and everything. I think at one point I wanted to change the world, but now I know I can only change myself, or rather just strip away everything that is not me to reveal the only thing that’s ever been there. And that’s what this album is about, it’s me dancing while destroying the person I thought I was, and hopefully forever.
In the liner notes of John Coltrane’s album “A Love Supreme” (which we pay tribute to on this album) he wrote: “During the year 1957, I experienced, by the grace of God, a spiritual awakening which was to lead me to a richer, fuller, more productive life. At that time, in gratitude, I humbly asked to be given the means and privilege to make others happy through music.”
That’s it. That is the pure essence of creativity. Someone embodying what they have realized about themselves and the world that surrounds them. That is why this album exists.
Thank you for letting me share this with you.
- Ron Gallo
Sixteen Jackies

Sixteen Jackies have been lurking in the basement of Philadelphia since early 2016 building a sound that while often nostalgic, defies easy categorization. With their first EP "Movie Was Bad," (set for release on October 20th) they've unveiled an offbeat pop sensibility which draws to mind both the manic spirit of the Talking Heads and the aching balladry of Roy Orbison. By setting the intimate details of singer Jody DeMarco's singularly queer experience against a soundscape which takes cues from the atmosphere of classic horror films, Sixteen Jackies have produced a unique set of torch songs for misfits and weirdos of all kinds. Recorded by Hunter Davidsohn (who has worked with Porches, Frankie Cosmos, and Sheer Mag) over a weekend at Business District Recordings, these songs buzz with feral energy and naked sensitivity.
Venue Information:
First Unitarian Church
2125 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA, 19103
http://www.philauu.org/
First Unitarian Church
2125 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA, 19103
http://www.philauu.org/