Episode 406: Mike Flanigin Returns!

hello friends! i hope this episode of "how did i get here?" finds you happy, healthy and sexually active. things are good here. i'm putting out 3 shows this week. this is the 2nd of the week. i've also been doing a lot of podcasts... i've already done 2 today. anyway, i wanted to let you guys know that if you live in austin, my band, skyrocket! will be playing at the one-2-one bar on friday, august 21st at 10 pm. it's a good time. come out and say hello. i also want to remind you that we're doing a live podcast recording on wednesday, september, 9th from 8-10 pm at the townsend right here in austin. my guests will be, kathy valentine, miles zuniga (fastball), amy edwards and emily bell. here's a link to the facebook event page. come out and get involved!my guest for episode 406 is one of my favorite musicians around, the amazing, mike flanigin! mike has spent the last couple of years touring and playing with the likes of jimmie vaughan, billy gibbons and playing with his own organ trio almost every weekend at the continental club gallery. the whole time he was doing that, he was also making an album, the drifter, (available friday 8/21) where he wrote the songs and found an awesome cast of artists to collaborate with including gary clark jr., billy gibbons, jimmie vaughan, kat edmonson, stephen barber, alejandro escovedo, dominique davalos, clem burke and more! since each song tells it's own story and has a different collaborator, i decided to go through the album song-by-song with mike and have him tell us how each song and collaboration came about. the drifter is an amazing musical statement and mike is a truly talented man. i had a blast hanging out and talking to him about this brilliant album. i'm sure you will too. his release show is at the paramount theater in austinand features special guests, kat edmonson, billy gibbons and more. get your tickets here! let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 284: Live at Strange Brew 3: Charlie Hodge, Graham Wilkinson and Sphynx

hello friends! i hope yore feeling a nice summer weekend coming your way. maybe you'll be going to a bar b que or a pool party or something resembles a little of both. i played in houston last night with SKYROCKET!. we played at this beautiful park downtown called discovery green. it was a lot of fun. my family came and i got to see a bunch of old friends that i haven't seen in a while. plus, it was a gorgeous night. i'm playing outside tonight and tomorrow too. tomorrow is an all day thing, so i might bring back "playing in shorts" like i did in the late 80's. can you wear shorts on stage? can i start wearing a bathing suit to outdoor shows in the summer?my guests for episode 284: live at strange brew 3 are charlie hodge, graham wilkinson and sphynx! this is a GREAT show!!!! we talk about everything, fatherhood, twins and their secret languages, freaky people on tour, paintball karaoke, the scary drug dealer at the nick in birmingham and listen for the impromptu beatbox song at the end. this show was a great time. thank you to the guests, to strange brew and to everyone who came out. we'll book some more soon! let's get down!

Episode 259: Amy Atchley returns!

hello my friends! i hope you're all doing well. things are good here. as usual, it's friday and i'm getting ready to head out of town with skyrocket for a weekend of shows. i have a couple of non-skyrocket shows coming up... monday, march 31st, i'll be playing guitar with sweat and lotion at cap city comedy club in austin for the live charlie hodge show. the show is going to be awesome featuring some of my favorite comics like john tole, lucas molandes, ryan cownie and more! good times! also, i'll be playing a solo show on thursday april 10th at 8pm at the one-2-one bar in austin. come out and say hi! my guest for episode 259, making her second appearance on the show, is talented singer/songwriter, amy atchley! amy and i have been friends since the early 90's when she was in the band, faboo. amy has a beautiful new solo album, where you go, that comes out tuesday, april 1st 2014. if you;re in austin, she has a record release on april 5th at the one-2-one bar. it's a great conversation about where you go and how she made it and lots of life stuff. i hope you enjoy my conversation with amy. i did. ciao! -jg

Episode 253: Kevin Mckinney

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. things are crazy here. i've got sxsw 2014 at my door. i'm trying to confirm the last of the interviews i have. i started getting ready for this sxsw in january. i hope it pays off. i'm worried that i'm meeting a bunch of people downtown and i won't be able to find a quiet place to talk to them. it's hard this time of year. anyway, i'm doing some here at my apartment. mostly, i'm excited to talk to these people, see old friends and get some good conversations for you guys. i'm playing at sam's burger joint music hall in san antonio tonight (friday 3/7) with skyrocket. if you live there, come out.my guest for episode 253 is the incredibly talented and always entertaining, kevin mckinney! i've gotten tweets and emails since i started this show about getting kevin in here. well, i did. i also played a show with his new band, wrenfro with tony scalzo, michael hale and gary newcome. they're great! i got to jam with them about a month ago at their weekly monday night show at strange brew in austin. anyway, kevin came by, we talked about wrenfro, soulhat, the black cat, solo albums, four-tracks and much, much more. i hope you enjoy my conversation with kevin. i did.ciao! -jg

Episode 238: Carolyn Wonderland

hello friends! i hope that you are winning, or at least advancing, in your own private revolution. it's such gorgeous weather this week. it's totally inspiring. i went to kimmie rhodes' house yesterday and started writing a new song with her. i just love her. then i went saw her band, middle fanger, last night at the saxon pub. the band is kimmie, bill carter and kimmie's son, gabe. i ended up jumping on stage and playing a couple of songs with them. it was so fun and such an inspiration to play with them. i'm looking forward to more. my guest for episode 238 is the amazing carolyn wonderland! since this show started i have gotten requests from you guys to get carolyn on the show... well, here she is! i can still remember the first time i saw carolyn play in 1991 at zelda's in houston like it was yesterday. think it's because i had never seen anyone like her before. carolyn is the real deal. she has transcended learning and playing the blues to being someone who is CREATING the blues. she is an amazing guitar player, singer, songwriter and whistler. i was really glad she was able to come by and talk. we talk about everything, her husband, a. whitney brown's amazing pepper collection, the houston music/theater/comedy scene, townes van zandt, touring, europe, politics and much, much more. carolyn is not only amazingly talented, she's also an incredibly beautiful person. i hope you enjoy our conversation as much as i did. ciao! -jg

Episode 225: Kyle Ellison

hello my friends! i hope you all had a great thanksgiving and were able to be with loved ones. i was. so i'm thankful for that. sorry this episode is coming out a couple of days late. i got some kind of stomach virus on tuesday and then thanksgiving came up. i was out of town for a few days and when i got back yesterday, i slept for 14 hours. i feel much better today. it's warm outside and i'm going to hang out with my dogs for a bit and catch up on some more rest. happy sunday!my guest for episode 225 is musician/producer/visual artist and now record label owner, kyle ellison. kyle and i have known each other since about 1990 when he was in pariah and i was in panjandrum. in the years that have passed, he's played with the butthole surfers, the meat puppets, rocky erickson and many more. he's made documentaries for rocky, the arc angels and many more. he's produced records for ainjel emme, popular culture, tristan rudat and is currently working on an album for laura scarborough. he's also just started a label. we have a great conversation about his journey through this business, getting through the loss of his brother, staying open to opportunities and much, much more. i hope you enjoy our conversation. i did.ciao! -jg