Bibi McGill and Madame Gandhi on stage at the Palace Theatre in LA

Here’s a cool update you guys. In the beginning of the summer, we announced the start of our amazing partnership with Bibi McGill, the former lead guitarist of Beyonce’s Sugamamas. Now, as you’ve probably seen on our Instagram page, we’ve been incredibly busy this second half of the year, but we couldn’t let news like this skip by.

When we first started working with Bibi, we couldn’t wait to get some cool pictures to share with our fans. However, realizing that Bibi was traveling all over the world DJ-ing and giving yoga lessons, we weren’t sure when she was gonna hit the stage with one of our guitars.

It was not until a couple of months ago that the very first opportunity to have some footage of her on stage presented itself. Bibi was participating on this giant health and wellness festival, that many of you may probably know by the name of Wanderlust, and she was going to be sharing the stage with MIA’s former drummer, Madam Gandhi. We were very excited on our side to see that happening, but we turned out to be empty-handed of pictures by the end of the event. It was a bummer, but little did we know, something good was starting to line up.

After their performance in Wanderlust, Bibi and Madame Gandhi, carried on with their respective tours. A couple of months went by and surprise! Bibi was back from teaching yoga in Hong Kong and was now ready to share the stage with Madame Gandhi once again. This time the whole mood of the gig was different, as it was in Bibi’s beloved Portland and it was in an actual venue instead of a festival. From what we heard, it was an amazing night at the Wonder Ballroom, where they played supporting Ani Di Franco’s tour. However, there were still no pictures, but no worries, things were going to materialize for us a week later in LA.

The next stop on the tour was the Palace Theatre in Downtown LA, where Madam Gandhi had Bibi as a guest in her all-female band once again. Once there, some phone pics and teasers started coming our way, but it was not until a few days ago that we finally got the pictures in our hands!

Well, you guys, we are very glad to finally present you with some pics of Bibi rocking our beautiful Aurora on stage. This is only the beginning and as Bibi would say, we hope these pics will show you how to “vibrate higher!”.

– Gallo Guitars–

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Lighting Up The World with Beyonce’s Bibi McGill

The way I met Bibi was another crazy, but true story. Believe it or not, everything started over three years ago, the very first day that I showcased my guitars to the public at SCAD’s Out to Launch (O2L) 2014.

Back when I was in school and participated in this event, I was able to meet one of Nike’s former creative leaders, or as he likes to call himself “Kayatlyst”, Kevin Carrol. We exchanged contact info and three years later this connection led me all the way to Portland and meeting Bibi McGill at her studio.

To give you a little more info about Bibi, she started touring as a guitarist for Pink, La Ley and Paulina Rubio between 2001 to 2005, which later led to an audition that got her a spot in Beyonce’s all-ladies band: The Sugamamas. As Beyonce’s lead guitarist and musical director for over eight years, she was able to tour the world and play in the biggest stages, including Glastonbury Festival and even the Half Time Show of the Super Bowl on 2013. Currently, Bibi and Beyonce are in an indefinite hiatus, as Bibi is pursuing new musical horizons as an independent musician and DJ, as well as touring the world as a yoga instructor.

Coming back to the story of how I met Bibi, it was a crazy series of events that got me there. An email, after phone call, after phone call, after a bunch of texts, finally got the Gallo Guitars page in front of her. After she looked at it, she now tells me that she fell completely in love with the way the light changed according to sound and all the possibilities we had to collaborate on a bigger project. She also explained to me, how she incorporates “vibrational medicine”, into her yoga and music practices, and how all of that resonated with my artwork. Nevertheless, for a musician of her caliber, it was completely necessary that she had the chance to play the guitars, to test them and see if they met up with her standards. Now, this is what took me to Portland a few weeks after. This entire trip twas quite an adventure, but I will tell you more about it on a later post.

When I got to Portland, I was able to have a 2-hour meeting with Bibi at her studio. It was early in the morning, but we had to make it work as she was going on an 8-week tour the week after. While at her studio, we were able to discuss music and several other ideas. She was able to play two of the guitar demos from my Artist Signature Series: “The Soul Runner” and “Aurora”. As she played the first one, I was very excited, yet nervous about what her reaction was going to be. Then, when she grabbed Aurora, this is when it all made sense to me. I could see the reaction in her face as she played, and then it was delightful to hear all the positive feedback she had for me and my Gallo Guitars.

After demoing, we sat down and chatted about new ideas for collaborating together, which, btw, to this day I feel very fortunate to have had the chance to be at that very spot at that very time. It is just an unbelievable feeling that words cannot describe!

As our meeting got to an end, we rounded up our ideas. The first thing I did to make our collaboration official, was to have Bibi take one of my demo guitars on tour with her, so she could try it on a bigger stage and give me some feedback of how it accommodated to her needs. Also, once I get enough feedback from her, we are looking to build her a bespoke Gallo Guitar, completely customized to her playing needs and featuring my original artwork. Finally, we’re going to continue to work on other projects together, but this is something that we will have to share with you guys later in the future.

Now that I’m back in Boston and Bibi is on the road with one of our Gallo Guitars, I cannot wait to share all of the things we’ll do together. Today, I am very pleased to introduce Bibi McGill to our Light Up The World Project and cannot wait to see her on stage vibrating higher!

To read more about Bibi got to our -Light Up the World- page on this link.

– Jose Gallo –

 Bibi McGill at her Portland studio with "Aurora", a Gallo Artist Signature Guitar.

Bibi Mc Gill's guitar solo during Beyonce's I Am World Tour.
(YouTube)

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One on One: Jose Gallo, His Vision and Gallo Guitars

We sat down with Jose Gallo at the Gallo Guitars studio in Boston, MA and asked our lead artist about his vision for Gallo Guitars, how it all started and a couple of more personal questions. Make sure to read bellow and don't miss a thing!

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What does Gallo Guitars stand for?

Gallo definitely stands for my last name. Just as Leo Fender and Orville Gibson named their company after themselves, I decided to do the same thing. The name could be something with lights or something futuristic, but honestly Gallo is the perfect fit. In my studio I am not trying to replicate creations from any other guitar-makers, I am making creations of my own. This whole spirit of creation and belief over the unknown is what Gallo Guitars stands for.

How did it all start?

It all started before I even knew it did. I remember being a little kid and watching the “All My Life” video by the Foo Fighters on MTV and thinking how cool Dave Grohl’s clear guitar looked. Back then I had no idea that I was going to end up making guitars, but when the opportunity came, I just got inspired by that memory and used everything I had to make my own.

The actual story happened after a trip I made to see my brother in Boston for the Holidays. I got to hang out with him and many other musicians, which, combined with my interest for performance art, got me feeling really great about that entire atmosphere. After I came back to school I had the perfect scenario: I had two classes, Technology in Sculpture and Advanced Computer Modeling. Then, the idea of designing a guitar and merging both classes into one big project came to me and, even though I was doubtful at the time, I never looked backand went for it. A leap of faith, that’s how it started.

Why lights on a guitar?

Because you can light up the world. There’s this duality between light and darkness, but I look at it as darkness being defined as “the absence of light”. To me, Gallo Guitars is a beacon of light to creativity, expression and truth. I want light to be shone over artists who, just as me, believe that they can make a difference.

So, who exactly would play a Gallo?

At this moment, we are focused on supporting up and coming artists. People who have an act, a really cool idea and want to visually and acoustically enhance their performance. Overall, we are looking to support performers who want a nice visual addition to their repertoire and would love to be playing a work of art.

What about the sound? Does the material affect it?

It obviously does. In acoustics, any material that you attach to a body would affect the resonance of such body. The real question is if the material affects it positively. The answer is: Yes it does. You see, A Gallo Guitar is made of two components: Plastic and rare wood. They both have an individual set of characteristics very proper to them and combined they create a masterpiece of its own.

For plastic, you have its transparent nature, plus you also get a bright sound, just as is expected because of the density of the material. In the other hand, you have the wooden component. Lets say Mahogany for instance. This type of wood is recognized for producing a very warm and full tone, plus it is also sturdy, thus adding a tonal and structural component to a Gallo Guitar. The end result: A stunning guitar with a beautiful tone.

Ok. So, I have $1,200 for a guitar. Should I buy a brand name guitar or should I bet on a custom-made Gallo?

I think it is honestly up to you. It really depends on what you are looking for. If you are looking for a name, a specific look or a specific sound, you should really consider buying the instrument that is going to emulate what you are looking for. If you are looking for something different, visually stunning and something that you can make your own, then I would definitely go for a Gallo. I design my guitars for performers, for people who want to stand out and make a difference, but at the same time can be united through the commonality of the light all our guitars shed to the audience.

Lastly, if this is not enough of a reason, then know that you are buying a work of art. When you do that, not only do you get artwork specifically made for you, but you also support the artist, his creations and what they represent.

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Now, time for a couple of personal questions. Do you play?

Yes I do! I remember the feeling I had when I built my first guitar, I knew a couple of chords, but it was really frustrating to have something so cool in my hands and not be able to use it to its full potential. Since then, that feeling had me very motivated and I took some classes here and there. Now I just like to experiment and learn new things. I make a tool for artists, so I may as well use it to generate more creative output!

What inspires you to create?

It’s just a drive that I have. I cannot explain it, I just have an idea and I want to make it happen. And when it happens I want to make it better. – I am just a builder in everything I do. – I like to inspire people just as I have been inspired and I think all of that comes from having a grateful attitude. Gratefulness towards the people and the opportunities you have around you and knowing that those will take you far if you believe in them. Belief is the most important and if I can be a beacon of light for you to believe that you can do anything good for the world, then I will always be inspired. I will always believe in art.

Finally, any new plans of some cues you can give us on what’s to come?

Well there’s a million of plans in my head already, but we need to take it one step at a time. As of right now, we’ve been working with a couple of artists here in Boston to put more Gallos on stage, so you can definitely expect more of that. Additionally, and I will leave you with this, keep an eye out for our new signature series coming in October, there has been a lot of work put into them and we are very excited to share them with you to light up the world with some amazing art!

– The Gallo Guitars Team –

Live Studio Sessions with Daniel Patiño Quintana

Hey guys! As Jose mentioned on his previous post, here are some new videos with Daniel Patiño Quintana and his custom-made Gallo Guitar. It has been a great experience to work with Dan and we really do hope you enjoy his music and these new guitar demos he was kind enough to record for us.

The demos are set up as a live studio session where Dan is playing two original songs: ‘Joaquin’ and ‘En la Boca del Monte’.

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For ‘Joaquin’ Dan Pat is using the Seymour Duncan SH-11 humbucker on the custom setup Jose built for him and is also playing with our LED sound reaction system. So this is a very good video to watch some lights and listen to some beautiful tones.

Dan’s original ‘Joaquin’ is about a young man named Joaquin who is lost in alcohol. It talks about his struggle with this substance as his father tells him that he is becoming a beast. The song then ends with Joaquin talking to you and advising you to not follow his messy steps because if not you will become who he has become: "poor, old Joaquin".

The second song is more upbeat and is very proper of Dan Pat’s repertoire. In this, like in many others, Dan is taking us back to his home country Costa Rica. For this one, he is telling us how in Costa Rica it storms so hard, that you can see rain actually rising up, instead of falling down. This, you can see in his song when he is singing “llueve al revés” which directly translates to “it's raining backwards”.

For this song, he is using the P-90 on his custom setup, which gives it a slightly brighter and hotter tone, which fits the tropical nature of his song. Also, for this session Dan is playing with our sound reaction system turned OFF. This is a good way to show the range of options that he gets as a performer with his custom Gallo Guitar.
 

Finally, we would like to extend our gratitude and best wishes to Dan.  It has really been a pleasure working with him. To keep up with his music follow him on Instagram @yosoydanpat or on Facebook @ Daniel Patiño Quintana .

-The Gallo Guitars Team-