Episode 299: Songs From The Podcast

hello friends! welcome to episode 299: songs from the podcast! i get turned on to a lot of amazing music through this podcast. i get to hear some great music for the first time from doing this show. well, i would like to share some the music that i got turned on to through the podcast over the last hundred episodes. there is so much music that i can't put it all in the mix so i chose some songs that i have been listening to since i first heard them on the podcast. i hope you dig it. the playlist has music from ume, dana falconberry, salim nourallah, scorpion child, joseph king, leopold and his fiction, dupree, the mastersons, the soft white sixties, arp, spanish gold and sheboygan. i made a spotify playlist called, "how did i get here?" here's a link spotify playlist i want you guys to make your own spotify playlists and share them on our facebook page. i hope you enjoy this playlist i made for you. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 296: Chasca

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. i am on my way to "beach weekend 2014" with my girlfriend, zuri and my family. i have been looking forward to this for months. anyway, i'll be back on tuesday for my strange brew show which by the way, is going to be super-fun this week. my guests are kurt neumann from the bodeans and cory glaeser from sheboygan, skyrocket and he's the author of our theme song, "needle hits the groove". here's some info on the show info on the show . come out. it will be fun!my guest for episode 296 is theater/prog/art/glam-rock band, chasca! i saw them online and i was intrigued so i listened to their e.p., bedtime for bedlamites i was really impressed so i reached out to them. j.t. and junior came to the apartment and we had an entertaining conversation about everything being from san marcos, grown men wearing make-up, thinking outside the box, working with the great frenchie smith and much, much more. great guys. great conversation. let's get to know chasca.ciao! -jg

Episode 286: Angus Clark

hello universal soldiers! i hope you're all living the american dream. i'm good. i played with skyrocket last night at this place called, the roost. it was good. sometimes it just takes us being together and making each other laugh to make it a good show. we're lucky like that. i'm starting a residency this coming tuesday 7/1 at strange brew in austin, tx. i'll be playing every tuesday in july and august while my friend, jeff plankenhorn, is on vacation. it's called, "johnny goudie and friends". i'll have one person playing a 30 minute set before me, then i'll join them for their last song. after that song, they'll leave the stage and i'll stay up and play my set. then i'll be joined by the last person for my last song and i'll leave the stage and that person will play their set. i'm trying to make it a seamless show which should be fun for the audience. my guests on tuesday will be joseph king and jeremy nail. here's the event page https://www.facebook.com/events/1470709166502528/my guest for episode 286 is the phenomenally talented guitar player, angus clark! angus is friend of mine i met through playing with song division, but you might know his from trans siberian orchestra, "rock of ages" on broadway, daredevil squadron or any of his instructional videos on youtube. needless to say, he's an accomplished player. i met up with angus when i was in new york a few weeks ago. he came to my hotel room in brooklyn and we talked about everything, growing up in new york city, finding david gilmore, bending strings in tune, touring with kitaro, the amount of production involved in a trans siberian orchestra tour and much, much more. i had a great time getting to know angus. i'm sure you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 285: Otis The Destroyer

hello friends! i hope this week has met you with open arms and you feel like you're swimming downstream... with the current. i'm good. i'm sitting in with jeff plankenhorn, brannen temple, yogi musgrove and malford milligan tonight. that should be fun. i'm going to be taking over plankenhorn's tuesday night residency for the summer while he goes to canada. it's called, "johnny goudie & friends", it's at strange brew and it starts next tuesday, july 1st 2014. my first guests will be jeremy nail and joseph king. here's more info https://www.facebook.com/events/1470709166502528/ so, if you're in austin on any tuesdays in july and august, come out and see some music. cheers!my guest for episode 285 is taylor wilkins from the amazing rock band, otis the destroyer. i got to see otis the destroyer the night before we had this conversation and i am really glad i did. the band is so great. they have great songs, they're really loud when they have to be, taylor is a great singer and they go into these prog-informed jams that really take you somewhere. taylor was on once before with his old band, the couch. anyway, we had a great conversation about the band, touring, making their e.p. dark arts and much more. i hope you enjoy my conversation with taylor. i did. 

Episode 274: Casual Strangers

hello party people of the internet! i hope you are all feeling good and strong. i woke up this morning in a panic. it's may 16th and i have still not found and announced my summer jam 2014. they're even talking about it on the today show so i must be running behind. i'm going to spend the day putting together some episodes of this podcast and booking a residency i'm taking over in july at strange brew in austin. i'll fill you guys in on this as i book it. i am very excited to get going on this. my guests for episode 274 is new psychedelic family band, casual strangers. you might know some of the members who are also in the boxing lesson. anyway, they've been playing shows and recording an album with the great frenchy smith. in fact, they have a show tonight friday, may 16th at the mohawk in austin, tx. if you live here, get out and see them. if you don't live here, you should check out their soundcloud. the band came by a few weeks ago and we had a very spirited conversation about how they do their thing. it's a great conversation and i hope you enjoy it as much as i did. ciao! -jg

Episode 265: The Crookes / Baby In Vain / Dead Stars

hello my friends! welcome to the "extra show" this week. we'll be putting out three shows this week and next week as a celebration of having a lot of shows in the can. i spent the day rehearsing with SKYROCKET! yesterday. i can't believe that we get along like we do after we have been playing together for so long. i started playing with them on valentine's day 2002. we didn't have the schedule that we have now until like 2006 or 2007. it's kinda fuzzy as to when this became full-time. but it's nice to know that i love my friends and it's fun to hang out and play with them.episode 265 is a triple-header recorded during sxsw 2014! first up, we have the crookes from sheffield, uk. their new album, soapbox came out tuesday, 4/15/14 on modern outsider records. we have a great conversation about their journey as a band, recording in italy, touring europe, sheffield's rich musical history and much more. next up is danish rock trio, baby in vain! i had no idea how young these ladies were when i heard them. they're absolutely amazing and we have a great talk on street corner about their plans for world domination. last, but not least, we have brooklyn's own dead stars. we talk about the band's self-released e.p.'s, the chaos that is sxsw and their new e.p. all great conversations. i hope you enjoy them as much as i did. ciao! -jg

Episode 241: Steve Bernal

Hello my friends. if you normally listen to this show the day it comes out, i'm sorry it's late. i was coming home from a gig in dallas (i talk about the gig in the intro) with some friends on thursday evening when we hit a full-on texas winter snow and ice storm. it took us 7 hours to get 100 miles so we stopped in temple, texas and got the last two hotel rooms and waited out the storm. it was pretty hairy before we got the rooms. parts of the highway were just a sheet of ice. cars were sliding into each other. it was chaos in a winter wonderland. anyway, my friend darin was at the wheel and we made it home safe and sound yesterday afternoon. thanks darin. i was gonna put this out when i got home but i fell asleep and when i woke up in the evening i just ate some dinner and went back to sleep. i guess i needed it. my guest for episode 241 is bass player/cellist and my dear old friend, steve bernal! steve has an extremely interesting story about his journey into rock and roll as a bass player then learning a new instrument in the middle of his career. the cello. he actually went to school for it, joined an orchestra, toured with bands and has made a few albums. his latest is called, portals. it's an album of just bass, cello and drums. steve plays the bass and cello and the drums are played by the legendary barry "frosty" smith. steve and i talk about his colorful musical history, learning world beat and reggae on the road, playing with joe rockhead and a young bob schneider, being a sideman bass player, the billy white trio, learning cello as an adult, his new album, portals and much, much more. i hope you enjoy our conversation as much as i did. ciao! -jg

Episode 236: Sphynx Returns

hello friends! i hope you're getting back to a normal life after the holidays. i've started booking interviews for sxsw. i know. it seems early, but this year, i'm gonna have it all booked before it shows up this year. i think you'll all be very happy with the results. i'm still not smoking. seven days... pretty good right? i'm still nuts, but i'm one week in. is there a chip for that?my guests for episode 236 are making their second appearance on the show, they're one of my favorite bands, sphynx! i heard sphynx for the first time about a year ago and i was sold. i had them on the show last march and since their last appearance, they've toured the u.s. a few time and and made a new album. they're about to head out on a u.s. tour from jan. 21st - feb 8th hitting the pacific northwest, idaho, colorado, new mexico, arizona, wyoming, el paso and marfa. it all starts in austin with a free show at the mohawk on thursday, jan 9th. i'll be there. find out more about their tour and new album (they let us play a piece of a new song before the interview) at sphynxmusic.com. i really love this band and i love hanging out with them. i 'm sure you will too. welcome back my friends, sphynx.ciao! -jg

Episode 214: Van Wilks

welcome to guitarland!hey gang! i hope you're all doing well. i'm good. i did something i've never done yesterday... i played in a golf tournament! also, i've only played like twice in my life. i get the "golf thing" now, but i think you have to be kinda wealthy to get into it. i had a great weekend, i saw the movie "don jon". it was really good. i played with SKYROCKET! on saturday. we have a few shows this week including a big show at the house of blues in houston on friday, october 25th for their 5th anniversary. here's the info, https://www.facebook.com/events/491731977601277/my guest for episode 214 is legendary guitar player, van wilks! van has been a staple of the austin music scene since the 70's. he has put out several album over the course of his career and toured all over the united states and europe extensively. i first heard van almost 30 years ago when he put out his "boystown" e.p. in the 80's. since then, i've seen van play and i've hung out with him from time-to-time. he's always been super nice and very supportive so i was glad when he agreed to do this show. i went out to his studio dubbed, "guitarland" and we sat down and talked about his journey from a young musician in lubbock to the texas music hall of fame and more! i hope you enjoy our conversation. i did. ciao! -jg

Episode 198: Joseph King / Halaska

hello people of the world! i hope this episode finds you well. i'm going to take this moment to thank you for listening to this show and for writing me or coming up to me and letting me know that you get something out of it. that means a lot to me. you guys mean a lot to me. thank you for letting me be a part of your life. we're almost to 200 episodes! can you believe it? which episode is your favorite? who was your favorite guest? have you had a favorite moment that touched you or made you laugh? let me know. we have a "how did i get here?" facebook page. you should like it. here's a link https://www.facebook.com/pages/How-Did-I-Get-Here/255200761176138 go to the page. "like" it, and let us know your favorite episode/moment/guest. thanks!episode 198 is a double-header! first up, one of my best friends making his 3rd appearance on the show, joseph king. you might remember that joseph was in a band called, deadbeat darling from new york. they have disbanded since their last appearance on the show and joseph has embarked on a solo career. he was in texas playing some shows and promoting a new kickstarter campaign for his new solo album, "wanderlusting". here's a link to the kickstarter, http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/josephking321/joseph-king-records-his-debut-solo-ep-wanderlustin go to it. get involved. give him some money to finish and put out his album. we always have a good time together and i think that comes through in this conversation. my second guests are deter and logan from the progressive rock/math rock band, halaska! i don't get to talk to many bands that are working at this level. these guys are making music that challenges themselves and their audience and i like it! i'm glad there are musicians out there still trying to shake it up and that's what these guys are doing. we had a great talk about their music and music in general. i hope you enjoy our conversation. i did. ciao! -jg