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 431: LOLO

hello friends! i hope you all had an enjoyable halloween weekend. if you live in austin, i hope that you made it through the floods on friday. i had a pretty harrowing 6 1/2 hour trip to houston on friday getting around closed highways etc. i hope all that were affected by the floods are okay. hey gang! tomorrow, tuesday 11/3 at the townsend here in austin, i'll be playing with my rock band, ladyband johnson along with the bluebonnets, eve & the exiles and more. we'll be celebrating dominique davalos' birthday. she plays bass in ladyband johnson and in the bluebonnets and i love her. the shindig starts at 7:30. come out and party on a tuesday!my guest for episode 431 is singer/songwriter/actor and force to be reckoned with, LOLO. you might know her as lauren pritchard star of the hit broadway show, "spring awakening".  she's written the songs for an off broadway play called "songbird". she's just released an e.p., comeback queen on DCD2 records and is currently on "the wilderness politics tour" with andrew mcmahon in the wilderness, new politics and the griswolds. i caught up with LOLO when the tour stopped in austin at emo's last night and we had a great conversation in the backstage courtyard. her e.p. comeback queen is absolutely amazing. and i suggest you go to her website, weaponforsaturday.com and see when she's coming to a town near you. i hope you enjoy getting to know LOLO as much as i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg 

Episode 430: Frank Turner

hello friends! i hope this episode finds you prepared to "fall back" this year. yes! it's time to set your clocks back an hour. plus, it's halloween. if you live in austin and don't have halloween plans, my band, skyrocket, will be playing at cedar street courtyard. we'll be playing around 9:30 or 10. dress up and come out and play. a couple of more announcements as well... sunday, nov. 1st from 4-10pm is jumperfest at the volstead and hotel vegas. there will be tons of bands and artists playing including myself with all proceeds going to the national motorcycle safety fund. click HERE for more info on the event. my guest for episode 430 is the amazing singer/songwriter, frank turner! frank was in austin on tour this week in support of his new album, positive songs for negative people. he's been on tour of the u.s. for over a month with plans to return a lot in the new year. anyway, i met up with frank backstage  at emo's in austin, tx before his instore at waterloo and his show later that night at emo's. frank and i had a fantastic conversation about record stores, the punk ethos, touring the u.s. and much, much more. i had the pleasure of getting to see his solo instore at waterloo and full-band emo's show with his band, the sleeping souls. both shows were amazing and intense. if he comes to a town near you, go see him! i hope you enjoy getting to know frank as much as i did. let's get down! 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 419: Sweet Spirit

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. things are good here. the austin city limits festival is in town the next two weekends and i'm playing out of town both weekends, so i won't be able to go. are you going? are you coming in from out of town for it? i haven't been in a few years... maybe i'm overdue. hey! i have some press to share with you. austin monthly magazine featured the podcast in their october 2015 issue. this is very exciting for us here at "how did i get here?" check it out here! also, i was a guest on my friend, amy edwards' new podcast, "the real show". we have a great chat about podcasting, honesty, insecurity and much more with a lot of laughs. amy is a great host and her show is really good. listen here!my guests for episode 419 are sabrina ellis and andrew cashen for the amazing 9- peice power pop band, sweet spirit! their brilliant new album, cokomo, (produced by mike mccarthy) comes out friday, october 16th on nine mile records! sabrina and andrew were on earlier this year talking about their other band, a giant dog. but 2015 has been a banner year for them. they released their debut e.p., released two songs with britt daniel of spoon, they've spent the year touring on the country with and without spoon, they managed to write, record and are now about to release their debut, full-length album, cokomo and head out on tour of the east coast for the month of october. go to sweetspiritatx.com to find out if they're coming to a town near you and where you can get their amazing new album, cokomo. i love hanging out with sabrina and andrew. we have a lot of laughs, they are really focused and they're poised to do some great stuff. i hope you enjoy getting to know them as much as i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 418: Jesse Sublett Returns!

hello friends! i hope life is treating you well. things are good here. i got to play at an xtc tribute/SIMS benefit on friday night at strange brew lounge side. there was an amazingly well-rehearsed house band led by my pal jon green. there was a host of awesome singers that got up and threw down on the song they sang. i sang a song by the xtc alter-ego band, the dukes of stratosphear called, "collideascope". it was a very special night and i was honored to be a part of it. i played a benefit for big brothers and big sisters with skyrocket in houston on saturday. i actually did the intro for this show in my hotel room between soundcheck and the show. i hope you like it.my guest for episode 418 is musician/author/artist/actor and one of the coolest guys i know, jesse sublett! jesse has a fantastic new non-fiction book out called, "1960's austin gangsters: crime that rocked the capital". the book is about austin's seedy underworld and follows austin's notorious overton gang and all of the outrageous crimes and wild characters in their orbit. it's a fascinating story that takes you through brothels in south austin, bank robbing tours through small towns in the south and midwest, darrel k. royal's u.t. football program, the "dixie mafia", bugged jails and crooked sheriffs and much, much more. go to jesse's website for yourself! i loved this book and in our conversation, jesse takes us deeper into the lives of some of austin's most nefarious and colorful characters. i hope you enjoy this conversation as much as i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 416: Dawn & Hawkes

hello friends! i hope you all are ready for the first day of fall this wednesday. i am! i have a new jean jacket, a new sweater and i'm ready to layer my clothes and feel cool, dry air. guys, i want to let you know that i am playing a tribute to XTC this friday, sept. 25th at strange brew. my friend, jon greene has assembled a great house band and they're having many singers of not including stephen doster, seela, darin murphy, kris nelson, jon sanchez,bruce hughes, miles zuniga and more including yours truly. yes! i will be ther singing as well. the show starts at 8pm and proceeds go to benefit the SIMS foundation. get your tickets here. come out, it should be a good time!my guests for episode 416 are singer/songwriter duo, dawn & hawkes. they have a new album, yours and mine that comes out next friday, 10/2. they'll be playing a waterloo instore that day and playing a special show at the one world theater in austin, tx that night. anyway, i have been trying to get these guys on the show since i saw them on "the voice" last year. they played before skyrocket one night and i really loved their harmonies and their songs. anyway, i talked to them at a show a few months ago, they told me they'd come on when they put out their new album and BOOM! here we are. so, newlyweds, miranda and chris came by a little over a month ago and we sat down and talked about their wedding, their songwriting process, being a romantic/musical duo, their new album, yours and mine, their experience on the voice and much more. i had a great time getting to know these amazingly sweet and talented people. i'm sure you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 415: Live at The Townsend w/ Kathy Valentine, Emily Bell, Amy Edwards and Miles Zuniga

hello friends! welcome to episode 415: live at the townsend with our guests, kathy valentine, emily bell, amy edwards and miles zuniga! this episode was recorded in front of a live audience on wednesday, sept. 9th. i have great conversations with all of the artists and we have a great group conversation about where we think things are going in the music world. the show was recorded by our friends at werd media labs. i had a blast talking to these great artists. i'm sure you will too. let's get down! ciao! -jg

Episode 414: Joe King Carrasco / Clay Liford, Director of "Slash" Stops By

hello friends! i hope this episode finds you embracing the world as if it were your mother. things are good here. today we get a visit from director, clay liford who stops by to talk about his new movie, "slash". he's 95% done with the movie and has launched a kickstarter campaign to finish it. it's a coming of age comedy about a boy who writes "slasher fan fiction" a sub-genre of erotic fan fiction and stars michael ian black, missi pyle, hannah marks, michael johnston and more. clay and i have a great conversation about the sensitive nature of this story and how it's already caused some controversy in the "slasher" world. check out his kickstarter campaign and see what you can give. you have until friday sept. 25th so, get out there and get invovled!my guest for episode 414 is the man, the myth, the legend, the amazing joe king carrasco! joe stopped by a few weeks ago while he was in town promoting his new album, chiliando which he made with his new band, joe king carrasco y los side fx. chiliando is joe's most rocking album to date. he's been living in puerto vallarta for a while now and settled into his new mexican life. we sat down and had a fantastic conversation about, being a star of early mtv, having michael jackson sing back-up on a session, getting banned from saturday night live, his excitement over chiliando, questionable vans breaking down in the mountains while on tour, his dog rescue foundation vivaperros.org, owning his own club in puerto vallarta and much, much more! it was an hnor to have joe king come over and chat. i hope you enjoy it as much as i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 411: Max Frost

hello friends! i hope you've all got your labor day weekend plans in order. maybe you're going to the beach or the lake for one last time this summer. this episode is coming out a little late because i shot another episode of "cooking/drinking with johnny & aj". we shot the episode with willy braun at his gorgeous place and he taught us how to make delicious bbq ribs, coleslaw, beans and a whole lot of tito's and lemonade. it's the best one yet! i'll let you know when it's up! hey! i just want to remind you that we have a live podcast coming up next wednesday, july 9th at the townsend right here in austin, tx from 8-10 pm. my guests will be kathy valentine, miles zuniga, amy edwards and emily bell! find out more about the event here.my guest for episode 411 is the amazingly talented musician/songwriter/producer/rockstar, max frost! i headed over to werd media labs and met up with max. his new single, "withdrawal" is out today. you can get it on itunes or at his website maxfrost.net. he's about to head out on tour for the month of october with austin indie darlings, wild child. so max and i had a fantastic conversation about everything from handling quincy jones' oscar, writing songs with and for people, keeping your integrity whie making pop music, why you should put your songs on soundcloud, discovering himself as an artist and much, much more. plus, he does the best bob schneider imitation ever. max is a very smart and aware person and we had a really great conversation. i hope you enjoy getting to know max as much as i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg