PHIL GALLONI IS READY TO PUSH HIS LUCK WITH NEW MUSIC
Waverly Drive is the solo project of Phil Galloni, a studio engineer/producer and multi-instrumentalist. The Chicago native who has been running Voltiv Sound (Los Angeles, est. 2015) released the debut EP “Living in a Fantasy” in November 2022 and follow-up EP “Now I Know” in July 2023. The music evokes some of the musician’s influences in the indie rock, new wave, indie pop, and electro pop realms, and is perfect for a drive up the cost, daydreaming, and learning to escape the absurdities of life.
His third EP “Push My Luck“, out today, is an up-tempo follow-up to the more muted, mid-tempo previous EP. The driving tracks explore the themes of love, trust, loss, twin flames, through the lens of escapism and surrealism.
Several studio musicians contributed to the “Push My Luck” EP, including Chris Valentine (Magic Wands), Alex Kyhn (Macy Gray, Family Company), Russ Mitkowski (The Weeknd), Kathrene Gawel (True Vacation), and Gadiel Mencia. Songs written/recorded/mixed by Phil Galloni. Mastered by John Greenham (Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, Angelè).
Push My Luck is out today worldwide on all DSPs, as well as for sale digitally & Compact Disc (CD) on Bandcamp.
FEATURE INTERVIEW:
The single art for “Push My Luck” is really striking. It has a very DIY feel and depicts some kind of angel/butterfly? Can you talk more about the single art, what it symbolizes and how it was made?
It was inspired by a photo from an old xxx theater marquee that no longer exists in Columbus (or Cleveland?) Ohio that I found on the internet. I loved the nature of the angelic butterfly as this ep feels like Waverly coming into its own stylistically/more confident with the writing.
“Push My Luck”, the EP, is a noticeable shift in tempo and mood from your last, more muted EP, “Now I Know”. What brought about this change or progression in the music you make? What were you channeling for this EP that’s different than your last?
I wanted to make an up-tempo carefree ep about love… there’s so much drama you’re constantly bombarded with in daily life and from the media this music serves as a form of escapism to free myself from it all.
Indie pop is a competitive and saturated genre, yet your music has this punk, DIY edge that distinctly sets it apart. Is your songwriting inspired by contemporaries in the indie pop genre, or do you draw from other places?
I mainly draw from a range of older records I feel like I’m always behind on the newest stuff coming out… lyrically Dylan is one of my all-time favorites over the decades, stylistically a lot of it is inspired from up-tempo rock, new wave, punk, and synth pop from the late 70s into the 80s… Lou Reed once said in an interview something to the effect of “I want to make pop music for adults” and that really resonates with my ethos for Waverly Drive.
TEAM CREDITS:
Editor in Chief: Prince Chenoa (@princechenoastudio)
Feature Editor: Taylor Winter Wilson (@taylorwinter)
