TOM GALLO OF LOOK AT MY RECORDS! PODCAST & FAVORITE FRIEND RECORDS
You haven’t been in the North Jersey Indie Rock scene very long if you don’t know the names Chris Gennone and Tom Gallo. Tom Gallo has been at almost every single show I go to in Jersey City over the years, but that’s not why he’s such a well known local figure. His podcast Look At My Records! has done over 130 episodes and has now expanded into album reviews and interviews. Now Tom is branching out into starting his own record label with his friend Nick Lafalce of the band Atlas Engine. The label’s first project is from Chris Gennone and his band CR & The Nones. Chris Gennone has been around the local scene for about half a decade bringing his brand of singer-songwriter based indie rock to the masses. But don’t take my word for it, here is what they have to say.
You are the guy at Look At My Records! What has that been like and did that influence you to start a record label?
Tom: It’s awesome! I started Look At My Records! because I wanted to be involved in the greater NYC area music scene beyond just going to shows. It's been a lot of fun interviewing and hanging out with so many great artists through the podcast. I enjoy being able to give artists a platform to share their art and their stories through it. During the pandemic, I expanded the content under Look At My Records! to include more written content. Now, the site has reviews, playlists, premieres, and other things along that line. I think doing the podcast and radio did influence me to start a record label. It seemed like the natural next step. I like showcasing great artists through Look At My Records! and I’m looking forward to elevating artists that I believe in through Favorite Friend.
Community is also super important to my partner Nick and I. Seeing so many great musicians in our scene get lost in all the noise is part of what inspired us to get involved with a label. He’s been a part of the music scenes in NYC/NJ as a musician since high school, and we’ve both seen how the landscape has evolved in terms of what bands need to survive and succeed. We wanted to start something that can help bands and artists with whatever they need to get to the next level.
Tell us about the label, how did it come about, tell us about your partner in it. Anything available yet?
The label came about initially as kind of an entity for my partner Nick and I to use for a few different projects we were working on. We initially wanted to use it as a name to put on shows, kind of like a “Favorite Friend Presents” type of thing. Nick Lafalce is my partner in the label. He’s a longtime friend of mine. We’ve been best friends since I moved to Verona, NJ when I was 15 years old. He’s a super talented guitar player and songwriter. He’s played in multiple bands in NYC and NJ. His current project is called Atlas Engine and Favorite Friend released their latest single, “Where Have You Gone?”
How involved with the bands are you getting? Like do you produce the albums along with the bands or is it more if the band comes to you with a finished release and you like it, then you release it?
Right now, we’re putting out releases that are already finished. For instance, Chris came to us with a completely finished record. However, Nick is doing more production work at his home studio in Brooklyn, so we’re hoping to get involved on the production side with artists, too.
Is this a Jersey City specific label? Will there be stores carrying the upcoming CR cassette or will they be available at shows if they ever happen again?
Nick is based in Brooklyn and I’m based in Jersey City, So, there’s no specific city or area that the label will be exclusive to. We’re open to any genre, any city, as long as it’s good! Through Look At My Records! and Nick’s experiences touring, we’ve been able to meet a lot of great bands. That’s why building community and trust is so important - everybody loves multiple genres, so we want to showcase the best no matter what. Right now, the CR cassette will be available via Bandcamp and at shows, when they return. I’m hoping to coordinate with local record shops so that they can carry the cassette.
What other upcoming artists are working with you?
We’ll be releasing a few EPs this year for Nick’s project Atlas Engine, as well as an EP for another group he plays in, Edna. Nick is also producing two other projects, so we may do something with them.
How has the pandemic affected the plans for the label and the podcast?
We were originally going to launch the label in conjunction with a showcase we were putting together at South By Southwest. Unfortunately, it was cancelled due to the pandemic. So, we’re planning on having an official label launch show once the pandemic is over. For the podcast, I’ve been doing everything virtually over Zoom or Skype. It’s been an adjustment because I very much enjoy hanging out and doing interviews in person, but I’ve been making it work. It’s been chugging along - I’ve still been able to do one episode a week.
Look At My Records
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
CHRIS GENNONE OF CR & THE NONES
Give us a little history of CR & The Degenerates, I know I first saw you in 2017 at the First North Jersey Indie Rock Festival and at the time you had some of the Sniffling Indie Kids guys in your backing band?
CR & The Degenerates started off as a solo project, with the idea of having some kind of revolving door of musicians in the studio, depending on the sound of the album. So yea, the first album, Salt of the Earth included Smock's Cameron Smith on banjo and mandolin and Quality Living's Harrison Bieth on keys. But the core original lineup featured LKFFCT's Max Rauch on drums and Keith Williams on bass and then Rosey Bengal's Jim Abbott on guitar and lap steel. The four of us started playing a bunch of shows, but Max and Keith were busy playing in three different bands at the time, so we decided to take a break. Then Max introduced me to John Dewitt, who started playing bass and Jim introduced me to his bandmate and Rosey Bengal leader Evan Luberger, who would play drums for us. After releasing a synth-heavy album that Max and I recorded, John, Jim, Evan, Harrison and I then released three albums in two years together. We went on three regional tours, opened for The Sadies at WFMU's Monty Hall, and put out our fifth and final record, Coming of Age in 2018.
Are any of the current backing band members people we may know? Is this any of the members of Winnebago or do you feel like this is a completely separate musical project?
The lineup for CR & The Nones isn't really solidified yet, considering we can't really play shows right now. In February, John and I started jamming with Dash Coombs from Secretary Legs and Josh Bartsch from Pynkie, but the pandemic put an end to that. Nah, Winnebago is its own thing, a different band and sound.
You have changed the name of the project over the years, I’ve seen you as Chris Gennone solo, CR & The Degenerates, and as Winnebago and now as CR and The Nones, what is the difference in the projects? Are you the sole songwriter of all of the material? Any collaborators?
Yea, I get that it can be confusing but it feels simple to me. The way I see it, I really only have two projects. CR & The Degenerates and CR & The Nones are under the same tree, just different backing bands. All of the CR albums are more personal and kind of have more of that singer-songwriter vibe. And whenever I get the itch to rock out a bit more and the songs are a little more aggressive, I hit up the guys from Winnebago. I've always seen Winnebago as my kind of Crazy Horse outlet. I usually write all the songs and bring them to the band. They'll obviously add things here and there or change certain structures and tempos but I'm the sole songwriter. However, on Coming of Age, Jim and Evan both contributed songs of their own to the album.
Where was the new stuff produced, how was it produced, who did you work with and was it a positive experience?
Max and I put a ton of pre-production into this record. We demoed about 20 songs or so, then I went on a solo tour to road-test them and when I came back, we chose ten songs that fit together the best. We recorded it mostly at Max's new home studio, Domestic Bliss in West Orange. We experimented a lot with room mics and different mic placements, utilizing the staircase and laundry room, to create more of an ambient space. I did some additional recording, like synths and guitars at my longtime friend and collaborator Andrew Merclean's apartment in Maplewood, who also plays lead guitar and sonics on a few songs. The album itself features a lot of friends and frequent collaborators. So in addition to Andrew, Jim, Max, John, and Harrison, the album also has LKFFCT's Ken De Poto on organ and keys, Joy Cleaner's Kyle Wilkerson and Joey DeGroot on guitar and vocals and Jim's wife Nicole on vocals. It was an extremely positive experience. These songs were the darkest and most personal songs I've written and because of that, I decided to bring in the people I trusted the most. It took two years to finish this album. All of the other CR albums usually took anywhere from a couple days to a month to finish. Max and I put in a lot of work to this album and I'm proud of it.
What differences if any have there been moving from Sniffling Indie Kids to Favorite Friend Records? Is there a difference when the label is in your same neighborhood? Is that a part of the appeal of it?
Not too much of a difference I guess. I've always just wanted my art to have a home and Sniffling Indie Kids provided that for me for a while, which I completely appreciate. Now Favorite Friend is my new home, and I'm honored to be their first release. I suppose there's an appeal to living nearby? Eric and Frank from Sniffling Indie Kids don't live too far from me in Jersey City either, but I guess I just have a closer relationship in general with Tom and Nick at Favorite Friend. They've both been extremely enthusiastic and supportive of the album and I'm grateful to have them in my corner.
How was working with Max Rauch of Lkffct on this album and how did you decide to bring in Jeff Ziegler? Are you happy with the final product? Would you say this is your best material to date and if so why?
Max and I have been making records together for a long time. We've made seven EP's and eight full lengths together since around 2014. So recording my most personal album with him was a no-brainer. Him and I just have a natural chemistry and a very healthy working relationship. Bringing in Jeff Zeigler wasn't really part of the plan. Max and I were going to start mixing the album when he got back from his honeymoon. I've always admired Jeff from his work on The War on Drugs albums, and while Max was away, I thought about asking Jeff to just mix the single. But when I learned he was willing to work within my budget to mix the entire album, I felt it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. I completely understand why Max was disappointed about it, but I think that we're both happy with the final product. Jeff's mix really just brought the album to a whole new level that I've never been able to achieve before. And I think that's now set the standard for my future albums. Yea, I feel like every new album I make is the best material up to that point. But this album really is different. It's probably the first time that I don't hate the songs after listening to them for so long. These songs reflect one of the darkest periods of my life and as a result, they required a lot of care and time. And I'm grateful for everyone's hard work and commitment. It's definitely the best and the most satisfying record I've made so far.
What have you been up to during the pandemic? Any live streams of the new material that folks can hear?
The pandemic's been wild. I moved in with my girlfriend, been looking for jobs, watching baseball, trying to lose some weight, stay afloat and of course, working on the next album. I'll be doing a solo live stream this Sunday night (8/16) on Facebook and Instagram around 8pm. Make sure to follow @cr_nones and @favoritefriendrecords to tune in.
