Episode 480: Calliope Musicals Return!

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. i'm good. i'm getting ready to make a yummy cuban chicken recipe i found on pinterest a couple of weeks ago. it's pretty easy. you just get a rotisserie chicken, shred the breasts, marinate them in lime, lemon or any citrus you like for a couple of hours, fry it up with some onions until it's crispy then serve it with rice, black beans and sliced avocado. i'll let you know how it went on friday's show.
my guests for episode 480 are austin's own calliope musicals! they were on the show last fall and now they're back and their new album, time owes you nothing comes out this friday, april 15th and they're having a very special record release show on friday here in austin at central presbyterian church. go to calliopemusicals.com. we have a great conversation about sxsw, being black fret nominees, the evils of facebook, making time owes you nothing, keeping it up when you're playing two shows a day for a week and much, much more! i love these guys and i'm sure you will too. let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 460: The Halfways

hello friends! i hope you're all had a good weekend. i actually had a weekend. i didn't play this weekend, so my weekend was "normal". friday was girlfriend, zuri's birthday and we had brunch, went shopping, had a nice french dinner, saw a comedy show, saw a rock & rock/sex show and got really drunk. we got down on friday night and could not get back up on saturday. anyway, i had a great weekend. happy birthday zuri!my guests for episode 460 are daniel and alejandro from psychedelic rock band, the halfways! the halfways just released their debut e.p. a couple of weeks ago, they've been playing in and around texas for the last few months and they're the austin music foundation's band of the month. daniel and alejandro came by a few weeks ago and we had a great conversation about trying to rock in miami, making their way to austin, finding bandmates and bands through ads, making the new ep and much, much more. you can find out all you need from the halfways by going to thehalfways.com. i hope you enjoy getting to now these guys 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

Episode 440: Casey McPherson Returns!

hello friends! i hope you all had a great holiday weekend. i had a very laid back holiday weekend. i played one show with skyrocket and did a couple of podcasts on saturday and sunday. i got the chance to sit down and talk to paco estrada on saturday at orb recording studios and then sunday morning, bright and early, the trishas came over and we had a great conversation and a lot of laughs. look for both of those in the coming weeks. my guest for episode 440 is one of my favorite people and best friends, the amazingly talented singer/songwriter from alpha rev and flying colors, casey mcpherson! casey has had a busy few years since he was last on. he's released several albums and toured europe a few times with his prog/rock/pop band, flying colors which features mike potnoy and steve morse. he's released a lot of new music with his band, alpha rev. he's also been finding ways to build a community and help his community by raising awareness about affordable housing. this year casey is a black fret nominee and he's performing at the 2nd annual black fret black ball gala at the paramount theater in austin, tx this friday, december 12th. you can find out how to get tickets by going to black fret black ball gala. i hope you enjoy my conversation with casey. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 439: Dan Dyer

hello friends! i hope you all had a fantastic thanksgiving! i had a really good one. my girlfriend zuri and i went to her family's house and had a great dinner. of course, i ate too much, tried not to fall asleep watching football after dinner then played a trivia game. good times. today is black friday. i hope you're having a successful one if you're one of the millions that go out and try to get the "super-deals". skyrocket is playing a show tonight (fri. 11/27) in austin at the one-2-one bar. we go on at 10. come out and celebrate the holiday with us! (i just made "black friday" a holiday)my guest for episode 439 is the amazing singer/songwriter, dan dyer! dan and i have known each other for over 20 years. he's a phenomenal talent and a super sweet and real cat. he's a black fret nominee and has the honor of performing at their black ball gala at the paramount theater in austin, tx next friday, december 4th along with a host of other nominees. you can find out all about it at black fret info dan has a new e,p,, singing river sessions available now. go to dandyer.com to find out where to get it and when you can see dan live. dan and i have a fantastic conversation about his journey from breedlove to working with lenny kravitz, jingle singing in new york city, getting into working with his hands and much, much more. i hope you all had a great thanksgiving. i am very grateful for you. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 438: The SIMS Foundation Turns 20!

happy thanksgiving everyone! i hope you all have plenty to be thankful for. i'l be missing my family this thanksgiving, but i'll be with my girlfriend's family here in austin and that should be a good time. are you thinking of frying a turkey for thanksgiving? well, my pal, aj vallejo and i have a special thanksgiving edition of "cooking/drinking with johnny and aj" where fry a turkey cajun-style and teach you how to make this delicious and quick way to make your thanksgiving turkey go to our youtube page and learn how to make a fried turkey! i hope you all have a happy thanksgiving!my guests for this very special episode are heather alden, jennifer vocelka and kyle ellison from the SIMS foundation. for 20 years now, the SIMS foundation has provided support for austin musicians and their families. to find out more or just get involved go to simsfoundation.org.  along with the KGSR "live broadcast # 23" release this friday, kyle ellison has produced "friends of SIMS" an album of some of austin's best artists playing some of their favorite covers including, charlie sexton, alejandro escovedo, doyle bramhall ll and many more. we have a great and insightful conversation about mental health care, how SIMS can help and much, much more. i'm thankful for the SIMS foundation. they were there for me when i needed them. i hope you enjoy our conversation. i sure did. happy thanksgiving! ciao! -jg

Episode 425: Freddie Steady Krc

hello friends! i hope this episode finds you all happy and healthy. i am a bit hungover as i celebrated my birthday last night. it was a blast. saw the wonderful dawn & hawkes play, then i had a fabulous dinner, then went to se my old pal aj play and met up with a bunch of friends. great night! if you're in austin tonight, october, 16th and looking for something to do, skyrocket will be playing at the one-2-one bar at 9 pm. come out and party with us.my guest for episode 425 is singer/songwriter/drummer/guitar player/renaissance texan and texas music hall of famer, freddie steady krc! freddie has been a staple on the austin scene since the 1970's when he played drums with the likes of b.w. stevenson, jerry jeff walker, carole king and more. he went on to start the new wave/power pop band, the explosives in the late 70's. then a string of great country and garage rock bands including freddie steady 5, shakin' apostles, freddie steady's wild country and many more. freddie continues to write and play with his many bands, he owns a record label and now runs the austin chapter of the musicians union. freddie and i have an awesome and long conversation about his journey. i hope you enjoy getting to know freddie steady as much as i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 422: Sphynx Returns... Again!

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. maybe you're celebrating john lennon's birthday. i'll be on 89.9 kutx in austin today at 2:30 along with stephen doster's band and a lot of other folks singing john's songs. tune in. turn on. and freak out! if you're not in austin, tune in to kutx.org to listen. hey gang! if you're in houston, tonight friday, 10/9, come out to the continental club and party with skyrocket. we go on at 10 pm. on that same note, if you're in pflugerville, skyrocket will be at hanover's tomorrow saturday, 10/10 we go on at 10 there too. we have three shows coming out next week, so look for shows on monday, wednesday and friday. my guests for episode 422 are returning for the fifth time. they're one of my favorite bands. they're one of the most energetic, creative and fun bands around. they're sphynx!!!! the guys stop by and talk to me about unicorn sex, the highs and lows of the last year of their lives, their new album, live from earth, touring, their dead van, the magic of french pop, their upcoming cmj showcase and much, much more! these guys have been through a lot over the last year/ they're weary but still going strong. they're beautiful people with a very strong musical and brotherly bond that i love being around and so will you. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 410: SaulPaul

hello friends! i hope you're doing well. today is the 10th annual, HAAM day in austin, tx. there is music everywhere from 6 am - 2am. participating businesses are donating a portion of of their income today to HAAM. you can get involved and show your support by supporting participating businesses and/or going to see some music somewhere today. for a complete listing of music, venues and participating businesses got to myhaam.org get out and get involved. HAAM is one of those things that makes austin and the music scene here unique. support it. my guest for episode 410 is rapper/singer/songwriter/author/public speaker and all-around great guy, SaulPaul! i met SaulPaul a month or so ago when we were both on an austin music foundation panel. he seemed like an interesting and talented guy with a lot going on, i was right. saulpaul came by a couple of weeks ago and we talked about losing his mom at 3, prison, college, making unique music that incorporates rap and acoustic guitar, tedtalks, google talks and much, much more. i hope you enjoy getting to know SaulPaul. i sure did. let's get down! ciao! -jg

Episode 372: East Cameron Folkcore

hello friends! i hope you're all happy, healthy and kung fu fighting your way through these crazy times.  things are good here. i am about to head out of town to play with SKYROCKET! tonight at a deb ball. should be interesting... if you;re in houston tomorrow, saturday, april 25th we will be playing at the continental club. the show starts at 10. it's always a good time at the continental club. also, if you're in austin this weekend, check out art city austin! it's an amazing art show that's going on saturday, 4/25 and sunday 4/26 with tons of art and artists showing their work. this year there will be music at the black fret stage both days with such notable acts as danny malone, jazz mills, elias haslanger, amy cook, today's guests, east cameron folkcore and many more. just go to artallianceaustin.org  for info and tickets!my guest for episode 372 is east cameron folkcore's frontman, jesse moore! if you live in austin, you might have just seen east cameron folkcore on the cover of the austin chronicle a couple of weeks ago. if you live in europe, you might have seen these guys on their yearly european tours. they've just released their thrid and most intense album, kingdom of fear, on april 7th. these guys are using music to spread a message about waking up to the catastrophic realities we have coming our way through, climate change, surveillance, impending water shortages and much, much more. a lot of us, including myself, would rather watch a funny video on youtube or check twitter than learn about these gigantic issues facing society. well, jesse and the rest of the band are not scared to face these issues, write about these issues and go sing about it all over the world. this is a great conversation, east cameron folkcore is an important band and jesse is a really nice, smart and entertaining guy. i hope you enjoy getting to know him as much as i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg