Episode 593: Wendy Colonna Returns Again!

Hey gang! I hope the week is treating you right and you're easing into your weekend. It's funny, when most people are gearing up to get off work on Friday and head home, or out of town to "have a weekend", I'm usually packing up my car to head out to a show and start my two-day intense work weekend. You can actually see me in action this weekend in Houston. SKYROCKET! is playing at Fitzgerald's in Houston tomorrow, Saturday, May 20th. Come out and say hi. Those shows are always a good time. 
My guest for episode 593 is the amazingly talented, always entertainging and now, extremely pregnant, Wendy Colonna! Wendy's brilliant new album, No Moment But Now comes out today, Friday, May 19th. Go to wendycolonna.com to find out where to get it and what her summer looks like. The first single off the album, "Every Second" was featured on Apple Music's "Hot Tracks" and Spotify's "Fresh Folk" Playlist. Wendy and I have a great conversation about living "home free", Scoring Coke and State of Louisiana commercials, Her partnership with producer, Mark Addison, falling in love, starting a family, being a 2016 Black Fret winner and getting $17,000 to finish her album and much, much more. I had a great time catching up with Wendy. I'm sure you will too. Let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 577: Happy Meals

Hey gang! I hope the world is treating you like a king or queen right now. Things are good here. I've just been working on some songs for my new band. We have a gig on Sunday, May 7th at Pecan Street festival here in Austin and we're getting into the rehearsal room to start knocking out some songs. I'll let you know how it's going. SKYROCKET! will be playing some shows this weekend... Tonight, Friday, March 24th we'll be at Sam's in San Antonio and tomorrow, Saturday, March 25th we'll be at Cedar Street Courtyard in Austin, TX. Come out and party with us.
My guests for episode 577 are Suzanne Rodden and Lewis Cook from Glasgow's, Happy Meals! This phenomenal dreamy, synth, French-pop duo was in from Scotland for SXSW. They came by and we had a great conversation about their e.p.'s Fruit Juice and Apero, the d.i.y. underground scene in Glasgow, our love for Swtched On, touring Russia, India and Europe, working as couple, our ove of synthsizers and much, much more. I hope you enjoy getting to know these fine people. I sure did. let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 568: Ian Moore Returns Again!

Hello friends! I'm a little late putting this out because I went to see Sphynx last night and then went and sang karaoke. I was drunk and terrible which is a great combo right? Anyway, Sphynx was incredible. Their new e.p. is out and it's awesome. Other than that, I want to invite you to a storytelling/improv show I'm doing tomorrow at The New Movement Theater here in Austin. It's called The Megaphone Show. I'll be telling stories and then an improv group will act them out. Should be fun. If you're in town, come out and say hi. Here's a link The Megaphone Show
My dear friend, the amazing Ian Moore returns to the show for episode 568! His gorgeous new album, Strange Days comes out next Tuesday, February 21. Ian was in town rehearsing with his new band and they're hitting the road on the west coast starting March 2nd and ending up in Austin for SXSW. Ian and I have a great conversation about making Strange Days and his last e.p. The Noble Art, selling out vs. making a living, his new non-profit, SMASH bringing affordable health care to Seattle musicians, his songwriting workshops, family and much, much more! I hope you enjoy our conversation. I sure did. Let's get down!
ciao!- jg

Episode 541: Mandy Rowden Returns!

Hello friends! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend. Mine was good. I went to the Mac & Cheese Festival on Sunday with my friend A.J.. It was a pretty amazing experience that ended in possibly worst stmach ache I've ever had. What happened was, I went to the festival hungry. They were toally over-serving and I ate the whole 5-8 pounce servings right off the bat. There were tons of different cheeses including Gorgonzola, Bleu Cheese and other crazy cheeses mixed with bacon, chorizo, pork, brisket and anything else you can imagine. I say, if you go, only taste the mac & cheese and you'll be fine. You can watch our adventures at The Mac & Cheese Festival on our show "Cooking/Drinking with Johnny & AJ"
Singer/songwriter, Mandy Rowden returns to the show for episode 541! Mandy has just released a new album, 1,000 Miles and has been touring behind it. In fact, she's been touring since she was last on the show promoting her album, These Bad Habits which was #2 in The Austin Chronicle Music Awards. Mandy came by a few weeks ago and we talked about touring, making 1,000 Miles, strange times at The Americana Music Awards, Girl Guitar Austin and the opening of Girls Guitar Nashville and much, much more. I hope you enjoy our conversation. I sure did. Let's get down!

Episode 502: Fair City Fire

hello friends! i hope you're getting ready for the big 4th of july weekend. maybe you're listening to this while you're joining the 43 million americans hitting the road this weekend to celebrate summertime and our nation's birth. if so, safe travels and have fun. i don't have a very "holiday weekend" thing planned. my cousin, jennifer is coming in today, i'm playing an acoustic set tomorrow at the townsend for their first anniversary and maybe i'll hit a bbq or pool party on sunday or monday. either way, i hope enjoy your 4th of july weekend safely to it's fullest. 
my guests for episode 502 are brett winning and brian wolff from austin rock band, fair city fire. their debut album, the simple truth came out in april and you can find where ever you get your music online. i met brett and brian a couple of months ago and i was really blown away by their work ethic and ability to think and act outside the box. for instance, brett and brian make their living playing as a duo 3 to 4 days a week, so they're always working on their music/performance skills which makes fair city fire better. they host a podcast where they invite bands they're sharing a bill with over for some drinks and get to know them. you can find the show along with their music and show calendar at faircityfire.com. i hope you enjoy getting to know these guys. i sure did. let's get down! 
ciao! -jg

Episode 479: Eric Dingus Returns!

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. i'm good. very tired. i played last night with my band, ladyband johnson at the townend here in austin. we had a great time. i wish we could have played longer. heading out to houston today to play some private events with skyrocket. looking forward to that. also, we'll be staying in my favorite hotel, so that's always a plus. i'm not sure you keep up with the cooking webseries i have with my old pal, aj vallejo, called, "cooking/drinking with johnny and aj". we made a crazy bloody mary last week with "bloody revolution" bloody mary mix and tito's vodka. well, both companies saw it and we have cases of both now. thanks to bloody revolution and tito's vodka! check out our show here .
my guest for episode 479 is producer/dj/beat maker/label owner, eric dingus. eric was on the show 3 years ago when he was 17 and making beats in his room for rappers. well, since then he's created a label called, dream sequence records, produced a song for drake, toured europe, the u.s. and canada dj-ing and much, much more. i had a great time catching up with this thoughtful, humble and extremely talented artist who is bringing a new sound to hip hop and electronic music. i hope you enjoy getting to know eric dingus again. i sure did. let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 471: Modern Outsider

hello friends! i hope you're all in your positions for the maelstrom of insanity heading our way like a giant category 5 hurricane made up of hipsters, entertainment industry professionals on spring break, corporate take overs of your favorite street corners, drunk fans and the president and first lady of the united states. i think i am. if you're not in austin or coming to austin this week for sxsw, maybe you'll get sleep and wake up sane. if you are coming to austin or live in austin, good luck bro! let the insanity begin.
my guests for episode 471 are chip and erin adams, owners of modern outsider records. the just won "best record label" at the austin music industry awards on monday. they've only been around for five years and have put out records by dana falconberry, quiet company, moving panoramas, the crookes, black pistol fire and many more. they started out with a simple mission: discover and release good music. they've stuck to it and in a time when labels are folding and straning to survive, the've made modern outsider work. find out why they started it and how they make it wok. i hope you enjoy getting to know chip and erin. i sure did. let's get down! 

Episode 463: Tank Washington

hello friends! i hope you're all getting your love jams together for the big "love day" coming this sunday. what are you doing for valentine's day? i have no idea what i'm doing. zuri and i are going to my aunt christina's birthday party saturday in houston. we'll be coming back that night. maybe we'll go to the iron cactus north for the opening of "soul of a musician series"... the townsend is having a thing with sarah sharp... what are you doing?my guest for episode 463 is hip-hop artist, tank washington! a member of the l.n.s. crew, tank just released his first full-length album, "pain" in january. the record is absolutely brilliant. he lost his father while he was making it and it really informed the record's feel. you can find the album on itunes, spotify, soundcloud and on bandcamp. we have a fantastic conversation about turning loss into productivity and deeper art, being a father, the lns crew, growing up in austin, the current hip-hop scene and much, much more. i hope you enjoy getting to know tank. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! jg

Episode 450: Paco Estrada

hello friends! i hope this episode finds you well. it's the last week of he year. are you okay with this year? did you have a good one? i think i had a good one. things are going well. i'm healthy and happy and in love. did you have a good christmas? i had a good one. no matter how weird it got, i was still surrounded by my loving family and i wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. my guest for episode 450 is talented and beloved singer/songwriter/bandleader, paco estrada! paco and i have been trying to get together for a podcast since i started the show. well, we finally did it! i went out to orb recording studios a few weeks ago, tucked away in one of their gorgeous cutting rooms and had this great conversation. we talk about growing up a preacher's son, learning songs for dual cassette recordings, making e-books along with records, his newest album, bedtime stories, the uncertainty of labels and managers, the two corys and much, much more! i hope you enjoy getting to know paco as much as i did. let's get down! ciao! -jg

Episode 449: Casey Monahan

merry christmas! i hope you're all in a good place. i hope i'm in a good place. i wish you all happiness, love and peace this holiday season. i will be on my way home this christmas day. i'm going to spend the weekend back home with my loved one, zuri. maybe we'll go to a movie, see a band, play some yatzee... end of the holiday decompression and relaxation. because even if i wasn't working any of my "jobs" this week, being with family and that whole thing can be pretty intense and a couple of days of quiet and mellow vibes. i'll talk to you on tuesday and fill you in on star wars, family time, last-minute shopping, christmas and more. merry christmas!my guest for episode 449 is behind-the-scenes texas music legend, casey monahan. if you don't know casey, he was a writer for the austin american-statesman,  he was the director of the texas state music office for 25 years under governors ann richards, george w. bush and rick perry, he created the texas music register, he was on the team that brought the grammy chapter to texas in 1994, he produced roky erickson and much, much more. in january 2015, when the new regime took over the texas capital, casey was let go. the music community was outraged, but casey turned his energy toward his family and now is back at work consulting music businesses and more. casey is a great hang, a wealth of music knowledge and a real sweetheart. i hope you enjoy my conversation with casey. i sure did. let's get down! merry christmas! -jg