hello my sun kissed angels of summertime! it’s here! i went to a badass pool party on sunday at my friend, joe’s place on sunday. amazing time. salt water pool. dance party in his apt after the pool portion. i had such a good time, i left my 70’s party towel and my hat there. saturday i went to barton springs. i love it! i have no gigs this weekend so i’m going find this week’s party. maybe joe will have one. maybe you’re having one and you should invite me.

don’t forget… tomorrow!!!! wednesday, june 19th 2013 we’re doing a live podcast at strange brew in austin, texas at 7pm! my guests will be nakia, jazz mills, aj vallejo and the boxing lesson. we’ll be giving away some prizes and taking some questions form the audience. if you’re in austin, come out and be a part of the show!!!

my guests for episode 181 are jamey cummins and andy rappel from the parish festival. they started the band about 8 years ago in davenport, iowa. their self-titled e.p. is coming out in july. andy and jamey came by the apartment and we talked about iowa, making the move to texas, forming and reforming, recording at home and much, much more. i really liked meeting these guys. plus, i made new friends. i hope you enjoy our conversation. i did.

ciao! -jg

my guests for episode 180 are andre’ moran and noelle hampton of the belle sounds. andre’ and noelle have ben playing together for years and they’ve been married for years. they stopped by to talk about their latest musical musical offering, the belle sounds. we talk about the belle sounds new album and making their new album in nashville. we also talk about their journey. meeting in california, playing music together, getting married, moving to texas, andre’s engineering and guitar prowess and much, much more. i really enjoyed our conversation. i hope you do too.

ciao! -jg

my guest for episode 179 is producer/guitar hero, chris “frenchie” smith! you might know frenchie from the bands he’s been in, sixteen deluxe and you heart attack. you might also know him from one of the 200 albums he’s produced including, and you will now us by the trail of dead, the toadies, the meat puppets, built to spill, jet and many, many more. i’ve been friends with frenchie since 1991 when were both employees at whole foods, so it was great to sit down and talk to him about everything including growing up in oklahoma, moving to austin, glaze, producing, sixteen deluxe, young heart attack,the bubble, frenchie smith records, shopping with justin from the darkness and much, much more. i had a great time catching up with him. i bet you will too.

ciao! -jg

my guest for episode 178 is amazing drummer, conrad choucroun! you might know conrad from his work with bob schneider, nrbq, banana blender surprise, ian mclagan, bruce and charlie robison, kelly willis and many, many more. conrad came by a few weeks ago and we got to sit down and talk about everything… joining banana blender surprise when he was 15, the black cat lounge, playing with greats, learning, touring, making albums and much, much more. i really enjoyed my conversation with conrad. i hope you do too.

ciao! -jg

we have a special live podcast coming up wednesday, june 19th at 7pm at strange brew in austin, tx. guests will be, nakia, jazz mills, aj vallejo and the boxing lesson! if you’re in austin, come out and join on the fun! here’s a link to the event page https://www.facebook.com/events/378483682257752/?ref=22

my guest for episode 177 is producer/engineer/musician/singer/songwriter, jonas wilson! i’ve known jonas since he was a teenager. we’ve played together, made an album together and spent a christmas together. he’s a great guy and he’s got a great story… starting out as a teenage blues player, getting out of being a teenage blues singer, building studios, his many bands, losing a studio in the bastrop fires of 2011 and rebuilding, making his first solo album under the name, the plastic habit and much more. i hope you enjoy our conversation. i did.

ciao!-jg

hello friends! i hope you’re all doing well. i am. i’ve had a good week. i just went running and did some laundry. pretty productive, huh? i played a solo show this week at the saxon pub here in austin… i had a great time. i was joined on stage by my friends, todd v. wolfson (on kazoo), jeremy nail and kurt neumann from the bodeans! it was great. i had a blast playing my songs and i’m looking forward to doing more. hey! we have a live podcast coming up on june 19th at strange brew in austin, tx. my guests will be nakia, jazz mills, the boxing lesson and more! if you’re here, you should come out! we’re going to be giving away some prizes and taking some audience questions. also, these are all very entertaining people who you can count on for a good time. seriously, come out!

my guest for episode 176 is molly mcaleer. molly is an internet personality, a writer for the cbs comedy hit, “two broke girls” and co-founder of the extremely popular website, hellogiggles.com. i met molly through a co-worker of hers while she was in town writing. we hit it off, became fast friends and had some great hangs while she was here. the day before molly left, i went to her apt and we sat down and talked about her life. she has a great story and she is an extremely entertaining person. i wish she lived here. i hope you enjoy our conversation. i did.

ciao! -jg

hey austin friends! i’ll be playing a solo acoustic show at the saxon pub THIS wednesday, may 29th at 9 pm. click here for info https://www.facebook.com/events/550503158326310/ if you’re in austin, come on out! i’d love to see you.

my guest for episode 175 is lauren bruno from the band, les rav. i saw les rav like a year ago. i thought they were really good and best of all, really different, dramatic and epic. i got to talk to lauren that night and we really hit it off. anyway, now they’re about to go into the studio to start recording an album. they’ve got and indie gogo going until june 12th. you can donate some money and help them realize their dream by going to http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-les-rav-spread-the-light-and-record-the-debut-album . anyway, lauren came by and we talked about her journey, her music, her time at berklee college of music, living with illness and staying strong. i hope you enjoy my conversation with lauren. i did.

ciao! - jg

my guest for episode 174 is the talented, entertaining and eccentric frontman from the venus illuminato, rob franco. rob is a modern renaissance man, he’s a musician, actor and vegan food truck owner. rob is also very handsome. i’ve been friends with rob for around a decade. at some point like 8 years ago, i produced an album for his old band, dragonfly jones. i’ve always found him to be incredibly entertaining. always “on” and very funny. he’s also a very talented singer and songwriter with an adventurous soul. rob came by the apartment last week and we talked about growing up in small town texas, going to new york, acting, traveling, kung fu, living in a tee pee, fighting monkeys, los angeles, food trucks and much, much more. i hope you enjoy our conversation. i sure did.

ciao! -jg

hello my friends! i hope you’re all doing well. i’m good. i had some dental work done and i’m feeling better, but had to take some vicodin because the pain was getting to me. i played in houston this weekend with skyrocket. we played at a rich person’s house. rockstar chef, monica pope made and served us our food. that was cool. she was really nice. i’ll post a picture on the facebook page. i’m going to try to get her on the the show. i went to my grandmother’s 90th birthday party. it was nice to see the whole family. my grandmother had a great time. it’s nice to see her so happy. happy birthday abita!

our guest for episode 173 is kurt mcmahan from the band, king corduroy! i met kurt a few years ago when he was the door guy at momo’s here in austin. we reconnected when we played a show together a couple of months ago and i asked if he’d be interested in coming to the apartment and telling me his story. he came over to the apartment a couple of weeks ago and he told me all about it. growing up in alabama on a steady diet of soul, blues and rock, selling vacuum cleaners door-to-door, giving up alcohol, going to recording school, his various musical projects and the new king corduroy album, “austin soul stew” and much, much more. kurt is a great guy. i hope you enjoy our conversation. i did.

ciao! -jg

ciao! -jg

we have  special themed show today called, “the kids are alright”. in this episode i talk to 18 year old electronic musician and hip-hop beat maker, eric dingus and i also talk to the even younger, second generation musicians, william harries graham & finley sexton. william and finley are into organic music.  i’ve known finley all of her life and i’ve seen her play. she’s amazing. she writes beautiful songs and plays and sings very well. i’ve seen william play some, he’s very good. he’s also incredibly industruious. he curates and hosts an extremely popular teen music night called, proper nang night, at maria’s taco express, he writes for the austin chronicle and he’s putting together a teen music festival that will be held this summer. also, he’s 14. first up, i talk to eric dingus. eric has been making electronic music in his bedroom studio and releasing it on bandcamp and soundcloud. he’s incredibly prolific. he’s also been making beats and selling them to underground rappers that he’s met on the internet.  these are stories from new musicians that have completely different approaches and styles. i hope you enjoy my my conversation with them. i sure did.

ciao! -jg

hello friends!!!! i hope you are all living the proverbial dream today. i am back! we had some technical difficulties this week here at the studio. lost a whole episode in all of the confusion… it was a great conversation with one of my favorite comics, john tole. we’ll do it again and i don’t think it will happen again. is anyone out there a garageband specialist? i’m thinking about getting a new laptop and changing the way i record these podcasts and i could use some help/direction. other than that, i’ve been doing a lot of podcasts. i have some good shows for you guys…

my guest for episode 170 is my mentor, producer/mixer/mastering guy/musician, mark hallman! i’ve known mark for over 30 years. he’s the guys that brought me into this whole “music career”. he put me in his band when i was 16. (i’ll post some videos on the “how did i get here?” facebook page.) mark’s been in the game for a long, long time, he owns the congress house studio here in austin. he’s produced such luminaries as, carole king, ian matthews,  eliza gilkyson, will sexton and many, many more, he spent some years touring with dan fogelberg, he started a mixing and mastering career and has a thriving studio in a time when studios are dying off. we talk about all that stuff and so much more. i love mark dearly and owe him a great deal of thanks and acknowledgement for being so supportive, being such a great role model and teaching me music. enjoy!

ciao! -jg

hello my friends! i hope you are all doing well. i’m good. i’ve had some equipment failure this week making this podcast come out a day late. sorry about that. i’ve fixed the situation and we’re back online. i had a great show this last monday at the saxon pub. i’m looking forward to my other shows this month. you can find them on my facebook page. also, we hope to see you this coming monday, may 13th 7 pm at the saxon pub in austin, tx  for a live podcast recording with the edison chair and david cotton… do it!!!!

our guest for episode 169 is author/assistant d.a./blogger, mark pryor. i met mark because he was the lead prosecutor on my mom’s murder trial. after that intense experience we stayed in touch and have become friends. he just released his third book, the crypt thief , this week. in fact, this is the third book he’s released since october! an amazing feat. anyway, mark came by the apartment and we talked about everything, growing up in the country, boarding school, journalism, moving to the u.s., being a lawyer, riding with cops, my mom’s trial and much, much more. i hope you enjoy our conversation. i did.

ciao! -jg

hello my friends! can you believe my show got cancelled last night because of wind and cold? it’s may in texas!!!!! anyway, i’m sure i’ll get over it. i ended up falling asleep before 10 which is why i’m up so early. before i fell asleep, i saw “silver linings playbook”. it’s good. no one ever talks about the “dirty dancing” sub-plot… i thought that was kind of weird. that jennifer lawrence has a nice butt too. no one ever told me about that either. it was a nice surprise. it was also nice to see robert deniro acting again and not just making that “robert deniro” face for a paycheck.

speaking of making a face for a paycheck, i’ll be playing a solo acoustic show THIS monday, may 6th at 7pm at the saxon pub in austin, tx opening for bob schneider. then, the next monday, may 13th at 7 pm at the saxon pub in austin, tx, i’ll be doing a live podcast with the band, edison chair and austin treasure, david cotton. come out and support! let’s get down!

my guest for episode 168 is rock and roll guitar legend, david holt! you might know david from his work with carlene carter, joe ely, bill carter and the blame, the mavericks, storyville and many, many more! david is amazing guitar player, from a region that spawned amazing guitar players. he was even born in the same hospital as stevie ray and jimmie vaughan in dallas! he came by a couple of weeks ago and we got to talk about everything… his upbringing in lubbock, being mentored by jesse taylor, joining joe ely’s band, nashville, the mavericks, his partnership with david grissom, his solo efforts, his new band, the eighty-sixxed and much much more. i’ve been friends with david for a round 20 years and we’ve always gotten along. he’s sweet, funny and tells great stories. i really enjoyed my conversation with this incredible talent. i hope you do too.

ciao! -jg

hey! quick reminder… i’m playing a solo show next monday, may 6th at the saxon pub in austin, tx at 7pm opening for bob schneider. the next monday, may 13th, i’ll be doing a live podcast at the saxon pub at 7pm before bob schneider’s show. my guests will be the edison chair and austin treasure, david cotton. i’d love to see you all there!

my guest for episode 167 is drummer/composer, brian lee sebastian. i’ve known brian for almost 30 years. he’s an amazing drummer/composer/producer. we get into a long talk about his life, his travels, the bands he’s played in, the choices he’s made in his life and career and best of all, beating cancer. he’s a beautiful person with a wonderful soul. i hope you enjoy our conversation. i did.

ciao! -jg

my guests for episode 166, is the prohibition-era jazz band,  jitterbug vipers. i don’t always have whole bands on the show, but to get the idea of this wonderfully talented group of kooks, you need them to be together. luckily, we were able to pull it off. it was early, i was hungover, but we got to business… masumi and sarah sharp meeting at the berklee college of music, slim and francie’s 15 marriages to each other, slim’s hit and run. their new album featuring mostly songs written by sarah, their show on may 4th at the one world theater and much, much more. we laugh a lot on this one. these are some crazy, talented folks and i really enjoyed my conversation with them. i hope you do too.

ciao! -jg

hello friends!!!! summer is coming. pools are starting to sparkle with that inviting sparkle they have. i’m looking forward to it. i picked up my badge for the moontower comedy festival today. i’m only going to be able to go for two of the four days, but i’m going to get see everyone i want to see. i’m looking forward to that. if you’re in austin this friday, april 26th, SKYROCKET! will be playing at cedar street courtyard. we play at 9:30. oh! while i’m promoting shows, i’m playing a solo acoustic show at the saxon pub in austin, tx on monday, may 6th at 7 pm opening for bob schneider. okay… enough promo.

my guest for episode 165 is singer/songwriter corey baum. corey moved to austin a few years ago from bowling green, ohio. i met him when he was bar tending at momo’s and i had a residency there. we always got along well. then i heard his music and i was blown away. he has such a great depth and sense of humor in his songs. anyway, one of his bands, dumb, just released a cassette (yes. i said cassette), he plays a show every tuesday at the clive bar, he’s about to head out on tour with leo rondeau this summer and he’s getting buff from landscaping. i hope you enjoy our conversation. i did.

ciao! -jg

hello friends! i hope you are all doing well. it’s been a pretty intense week. tomorrow is 4/20.. they’re having a reggae festival tomorrow here in austin. that seems pretty apropos for austin. there’s actually a slogan, “keep austin weird”. hey man. i get it. but if you have to focus on that, how weird are you gonna be? what kind of worthwhile weirdness is forced and premeditated? “hey everyone! before you leave the house, don’t forget to be weird. check your clothes. how weird do you look?” maybe they should make the cops wear tie-dyed uniforms. make the city council wear those weird wigs. half of the town already has zz-top beards or wax mustaches. isn’t that weird enough? also, i think i’m naturally pretty weird. i’d actually like to be more normal.

my guest for episode 164 is singer/songwriter extraordinaire, robyn ludwick! robyn has been a critically acclaimed artist since since the release of her first album just under a decade ago. her last album, “out of these blues” was in the top 10 of most texas top tens… produced by gurf morlix (our guest on episode 123 ) and featuring a slew of great guests including my SKYROCKET! bandmate, trish murphy. anyway, she just went back into the studio with gurf and she took some time to stop by the apartment and have a chat. we talked about her triumphant journey. from her humble beginnings as a poor kid in bandera, tx, growing up the little sister of texas music legends, charlie and bruce robison, marrying young, working in bars, going to college, becoming an engineer, becoming and being a mom and finally, stepping out of the shadow of her family as a late-blooming, yet fully-formed songwriter. i had a great time getting to know robyn. i’m sure you will too. she has a great story.

ciao! -jg

hello my lovelies! i hope this episode finds you happy and healthy. i think i’m happy and healthy. i am running out the door to tape an episode of the hodgecast. the hodgecast is a podcast hosted by my friend, charlie hodge. he and his co-host, matt sadler have been guests on this show and i have been on their show many, many times. i’m looking forward to it. i bet it will be up tomorrow. i’m thinking about making t-shirts… would you want a t-shirt? tweet at me. let me know. maybe i should put someone in charge of it. shit! i need an intern. i’m terrible at getting these kinds of things done. then when i get them done, i’m terrible at keeping up with them. let’s see what happens.

my guest for episode 163 is stand-up comic and part of the whiskey brothers podcast, rob mungle. i’ve known rob for a few years. he comes out to the SKYROCKET! shows in houston. we usually talk and hang for a bit. he’s a great guy. he’s a very funny guy. the whiskey brothers podcast was just at #38 on the itunes comedy podcast chart. that’s quite an accomplishment. he came by my hotel when i was in houston a few weeks ago and we sat down and talked about the comedy scene, podcasts and much, much more. i hope you enjoy our conversation. i did.

ciao! -jg

hey!!!! we’re working on our live shows… talking to SPACE about an “invite only” live podcast event. look for that soon!!!!

my guest for episode 162 is extremely funny comic/writer, lucas molandes. lucas won austin’s funniest person in 2010, he has appeared on comedy central’s “live at gotham”, austin’s moontower comedy festival (i saw him open for marc maron @ last years festival) , montreal’s “just for laughs” festival, written for mtv and much, much more. i’ve gotten to hang out with lucas and see him perform a few times over the last couple of months and i really like him and i think what he’s really, really funny. if you’re in austin this weekend, he’ll be doing two shows on saturday, april 13th at the velveeta room. he’ll also be at the moontower comedy festival (just got my badge yesterday!!!). you can also find him doing stand up somewhere in austin almost every night of the week. find out more about lucas at lucascomedy.com . i hope you enjoy our conversation. i did.

ciao! -jg