Emerging from a small town in Ohio, Jetty Bones is the musical endeavor of Kelc Galluzzo, who uses a core group of friends (including members of Tiny Moving Parts) to help bring the project to life in the studio and on stage. Channeling the band’s namesake, Betty Jones, who broke out of her all girl’s catholic school to remove herself from a situation where she wasn’t happy, this band exists to encourage people to rise above everyday situations and push for a life with better meaning. Nowhere is this modus operandi more apparent than on Jetty Bones’ latest EP, Old Women, which was released via Take This To Heart Records on October 6.
Old Women is a story of progress, growth, and the development of human connection – something often overlooked in today’s society. Old Women takes you on a journey through Galluzzo’s mental and emotional attempts to attach to something in a more genuine way, that something being other people.
Ghettoblaster recently caught up with Galluzzo to discuss her Ohio root, connecting with other people. and Natalie Imbriglia. This is what she told us.
Did you grow up in Ohio? I’m in Dayton and my brother has a band called I think you may have performed with once…
I sure did! I grew up out in the boonies. I’ve been in and out of bands that played regionally since 2007 so there’s a good chance that has happened. Our music scene never ceases to amaze me with it intricate network of how everyone is connected.
Are you still living in Ohio or are you pretty transient these days?
Indeed I am. I travel quite a bit and lived in Columbus for a minute, but as of now I have relocated back to the country. It’s kind of nice to have the peace and quiet away from everything.
When did you first realize that you had an aptitude or affinity for creating music? When did you begin writing songs?
My first journal from kindergarten has a section in it where my dad filled in the blanks about my hopes and dreams. Under the “what do you want to be when you grow up” section it says “an entertainer.” I remember telling my dad that I wanted to sing and dance, but I didn’t know what that was called.
In elementary school I kept trying to start bands with people. Imagine binders full of lyrics and kid drawings of pop star outfits and you won’t be too far off [laughter]. My brother sent me the Blink-182 discography in fifth grade, followed by a bass guitar. That’s where I think it changed for me.
I always loved writing and poetry, but this gave me the ability to put a sound with it. I started playing guitar a few years later, because singing over a bass guitar wasn’t really cutting it. I guess I’ve been writing songs since I was a little kid, but I didn’t really develop a full song with a guitar until seventh grade.
What is your first memory of falling in love with a song?
I started Googling what years certain songs came out so I could answer this accurately and then I realized that’s a little excessive. The first memory I really have of feeling really emotional about a song was Natalie Imbruglia’s “Torn.” I got in trouble for singing the line “lying naked on the floor” and had a pretty emotional tantrum about how I didn’t think it was inappropriate because it was just an expression of how emotionally exposed and broken she felt. Granted, I was in kindergarten so I didn’t word it very eloquently, but I still stand by that. That song is still a banger.

What was the process of writing and recording Old Women like?
Imagine me, sitting in my bed with my cat, crying about something for a while and then realizing I should pull myself together, moving to a computer with a guitar and recording whatever comes out. From those pieces, I pick the lines that make sense, rearrange organic thoughts into a song structure, tweak the lyrics so they are conducive, and that’s how we get the skeleton. I programmed/demo’d out a rough version of most of the songs, then took those to the studio. I worked with Greg Lindholm at his studio, Warming House, and Dylan Mattheisen on the final versions of the songs that were released. Teamwork is cool, especially in song writing.
It seems like the predominant message is that growing up and finding yourself is hard work. Is that accurate?
I guess from my perspective that makes sense.  To me this record is really about my struggle to connect with people and trust them versus my instinctive tendency to push them away to maintain independence and an overall lack of vulnerability. Some things happened that made my brain snap. I wanted to help people, but I didn’t want anyone to help me, or even really see me for the trash I felt like, which made it impossible for me to let people in and let them connect to any real parts of me. Part of our soul starts to die without genuine human connection and mine was pretty close to post mortem. A lot of people think you can’t push people away without being a jerk, but I learned that it’s just as easy to silently drift back into the abyss without most people noticing. It’s also dark there, really dark. Learning these things, taking the power away from my doubt and my self deprecating thoughts was, and still is, a difficult growing process for me, so there’s the relevance.
What other messages are you hoping to impart with this record?
My overall goal with sharing music is to help people feel less alone. Finding something that shows someone else feels the same way as you is a truly strengthening thing. I know I need it often, and I want to try to contribute to the well of ways to feel that. With this record, that is still an underlying motivation, but more than anything it’s about being able to admit you have experienced a struggle, to not be ashamed of feeling.
“Innocent Party” is pretty heavy subject matter. Is it autobiographical? If so, are most of your songs autobiographical?
It is. 100 percent of the songs I write are. I pull from personal experiences because writing is my means of coping.

How did you meet Dylan Mattheisen? How did the collaboration for “Spokes” come together?
I met Dylan at a Tiny Moving Parts show a few years ago and we became instant friends. We have been really close over the past few years and always entertained the idea of writing together. They have had me do some background vocals on songs in the past, so it’s only fair, right?  It was awesome to have him contribute and to see what happens when our brains work together musically. The instrumentals in “Spokes” you can attribute to Dylan, and we both wrote the parts that we sing.
Do you have a pretty rock solid band lineup now or is it sort of a rotating cast of characters?
It all depends on availability, but the goal is to find a permanent crew and we may very well be well on our way there!
Was your tour with Wonder Years the first big tour in support of the record? What was that experience like?
The EP actually came in while on that tour so the timing was great! Every member of every band on that tour was amazing. I can’t find enough kind words to say about them. I was really blessed with that opportunity. We met so many people, made a lot of new friends, and got to reach people we may have otherwise missed. 10/10 would do again.
What’s next?
A few regional shows, writing always, spending time with loved ones for the holidays and then you know, stuff..
What are your loftiest goals for Jetty Bones?
A loft apartment, obviously… okay, okay. Sorry, kind of. I want to take this project as far as I can to reach the most people and/or  the ones that could benefit from the songs. My plans aren’t really up to me. That dives into a more spiritual mentality, but I’m just here to do what I can in the time I’m allowed.
(Visit Jetty Bones here. Purchase the record here.)