Episode 256: Jolie Goodnight

hello my friends! i hope that you are all doing well. if you were in austin for sxsw, i hope you've made it home safely or are making your way home safely. woah! what an overwhelming experience that was. i am completely exhausted by the experience. this year had a very different feeling than any other. it was very uncomfortable and even before the tragic deaths, there seemed to be a feeling of heaviness in the air. very strange. i interviewed a lot of people. you'll be hearing those shows in the coming weeks. i hope you like them. my guest for episode 256 is the lovely and talented, jolie goodnight! i just met jolie when i was working on her mom's album a month or so ago. her mom is kimmie rhodes (who you might have heard on the show last fall) and her dad was music legend, joe gracey. anyway, i got a copy of her debut album, "goodnight gracey" when i left that day. when i got home and listened to it, i loved it. after i asked her to come on the show, i was looking at some of her videos on youtube and found out that she is also a showgirl and burlesque dancer with the popular troupe, the jigglewatts. anyway, we really hit it off and had a great conversation about everything we could think of. jolie is a great talent and a great hang. i hope you enjoy our conversation. 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

Episode 207: Dana Rossi

what's up my friends? i am okay. i have some kind of cold or allergies or something that's fucking up my head. i've taken dayquill, so i'm a little kooky. that stuff makes me feel like i've taken some low-grade acid which s fine with me. i don't have the fortitude or patience to do acid anymore. i've been reaching out to some folks today to be on the show so hopefully in the months to come, i'll bring you some shows that you have been asking for. look out for those....my guest for episode 207 is podcaster/writer/music fan, dana rossi. dana is the producer and host of the new york city based, soundtrack series podcast! it's a great show! i was on it a few months ago when they recorded a live one here in austin. here's a link to the soundtrack series podcast www.soundtrackseries.com anyway, dana stopped by when she flew in from new york a few weeks ago to record another episode of the soundtrack series and we talked about everything, dating the amish, phili, new york, theater people, acting, singing, what's the right cheese steak place, music, her amazing podcast and much, much more. i had a great time getting to know dana. i'm sure you will too. ciao! -jg

Episode 192: Riders Against The Storm

hello my friends! i hope this podcast finds you enjoying the summer. it's hot in texas. i spent the weekend traveling around texas playing some shows with SKYROCKET!. dallas on thursday, houston on friday and austin on saturday. they were all good shows. i was also on a couple of podcasts. one was austin sessions, that was fun. the other was a "game night" episode of the hodgecast. it's already up. it was really fun. there were 8 people playing a star trek themed mystery game and a lot of booze. hey! speaking of podcasts...
hey folks! do you love "how did i get here?" and wish you could get just a little more involved? well, if you're in austin, tx on july 31st, you totally can! come out to the legendary antone's nightclub and watch me talk to christy hayes and members of western youth and the love leighs. after the live podcast recording @ 7:30, you can stay and hear the bands you just got to know! if you're in austin, come out and join us for this special night. https://www.facebook.com/events/131683847041129/
my guests for episode 192 are the amazing hip-hop duo, riders against the storm. i really love this group and their new, self-titled e.p.. i had been looking forward to having this conversation for a while and i'm glad it finally happened. chaka and tiger came by the apartment and we got right to it. talking about what they're trying to get across with their music and message, how you can work out the heaviest things by singing and dancing, growing up artsy in a law family, growing up haitian in new york, providence, rhode island, theater, performance art, how they met, their music, moving to texas, making their e.p. and much, much more. i thoroughly enjoyed meeting them and talking to them. they're very special people with a beautiful musical vision. i hope you listen and buy this e.p. they have a show on friday, august 3rd at the sahara lounge in austin, tx. the show is called "body rock" and it's a party... here's a link https://www.facebook.com/events/550986244936993/ i'm going. i'll see you there!
ciao! jg

Episode 187: Jesse Dayton

hello my friends! we are currently in the depths of summer and goddammit, it feels good. i've been swimming a lot this week. i play tonight, but i have the rest of the weekend off. i'll be swimming, going to see fitz and the tantrums, grilling and probably seeing a movie. those are some pretty good summer activities. oh!!! quick plug... i'll be playing THIS coming tuesday, july 16th 2013 with the bluebonnets at the continental club in austin, tx! i'm really excited about this. the bluebonnets are and all-female rock and roll band led by my dear friend kathy valentine and they kick your ass. i rehearsed with them this week and it was like garage rock wet dream. if you're in austin next tuesday, come out and join in the rock and roll!!!!
my guest for episode 187 is musician/singer/songwriter/producer/stage actor/film actor/director, jesse dayton!!! i've gotten to see jesse play a couple of times over the last month and it's been great. i've known jesse for almost 20 years and he's always been an intensely creative and prolific artist. a true artist constantly finding new outlets for his creativity. he's also a great hang! we've been talking about doing this for almost two years since i first started this podcast. anyway, we finally got it together and jesse came to the apartment and we got to sit down and talk about his new movie, "zombex", cutting his musical teeth in houston, the three "heys", playing with waylon jennings, johnny cash and willie nelson, johnny clegg & the night creatures, rob zombie and "halloween 2", jesse sings kinky and much, much, much more! i hope you enjoy my conversation with this old friend. i sure did.
ciao! -jg

Episode 178: Conrad Choucroun

hello my friends! i hope you've had a good week. i have. it's been busy. i've been playing gigs, doing podcasts, booking podcasts, booking gigs. speaking of which, i'll be playing a long solo brunch show this sunday. should be interesting. i think i need to start going out and "meeting people". i'm feeling a bit like a shut-in. maybe now that i've chosen my 2013 summer jam ("get lucky" by daft punk), i'll start attending some pool parties and meeting some folks. i saw a cute girl at our show last night. i waved. she waved back. so i guess that's a start...
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

Episode 176: Molly McAleer

if you o.d. at a phish concert, call the JAMBULANCE!
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

Episode 174: The Venus Illuminato

hello friends! i hope this episode finds you happy and healthy. things are going well here in my life. i've been laying low this week. i had some dental work done earlier this week and i've just been recuperating. i've done quite a few podcasts, i've played guitar and piano, listened to an audiobook ("hollywood animal" by joe eszterhas) and watched a couple of movies. i've also booked some shows. i have a solo acoustic show next wednesday, may 29th at 10pm at the saxon pub in austin, tx. if you're in austin, come out and i'll sing you songs and tell you stories. it's fun. also, i have some big news we have a live "how did i get here?" recording coming up on wednesday, june 19th at 7 pm at strange brew. i've reached out to some folks and and so far jazz mills, nakia and the boxing lesson are confirmed!!! i'm very excited about this. i hope that if you're in austin, you'll come out and join the party!
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

Episode 155: SXSW 2013 Part 2 - Howard Kremer, A Fragile Tomorrow, No Way Josie, The Attic Ends

another sxsw has come and gone. i miss having parties to go to at noon.
hello friends! i hope you're well. if you were at sxsw 2013, i hope your life has gone back to normal by now. it's taken on a "las vegas on spring break" sort of intensity. walking down one of the closed off streets feels like walking through a tunnel full of white noise, sunshine and bearded dudes in skinny jeans. it's a lot of days. it used to start on wednesday and end on saturday with a softball game on sunday... now it goes for a week and a half and i swear i saw a band playing a showcase at my 7-11. it's huge. it's just gonna get bigger and longer and add more things. by 2020,  it'll be "the 2020 sxsw music/film/interactive/television/comedy/comic con/podcast/cable news/audiobook/cell phone/music business reenactment/youtube/facebook/pintrest/ mustache - festival"... it just means more parties. is that good, bad or is it just change?
episode 155 is another sxsw mash-up with some of the festival's hottest tickets! up first is comedian/musician/rapper/host of the very popular podcast, "who charted", howard kremer a.k.a. dragon boy suede. i am a huge fan and i was glad he took some time to sit down and chat with me with me. we talk about podcasting, "austin stories", the new dragon boy suede album, "douche minutiae" and much, much more... our second guests are south carolina power pop band, a fragile tomorrow. i just walked in to a show, saw them playing and i was blown away. i had them come outside and talk to me and we talked about having their album produced by the great, mitch easter, some of the album's special guests are, the bangles, susan cowsill and amy ray! great band and great guys... our third guests are brooklyn dance/pop duo, no way josie! andrew and kym rode their bikes to my apartment and we talked about music, life, health, dancing and we laugh our asses off. i just love these guys so much. i had a blast chatting with them... last up, i got to catch-up with new york band, the attic ends. i finally got to see them play and it was fantastic. we had some cocktails and ducked into the driskill hotel bar and talked about their recent album and tour, songwriting, sxsw, being tall and much much more. there is also a lot of laughter on this one. i hope you enjoy these conversations. i really did. sxsw is gone, but i think i kept a little of the vibe on these two mash-up episodes. for pictures and updates, go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/How-Did-I-Get-Here/255200761176138
ciao! -jg

Episode 149: Emmy Robbin

in 2013, let's bring back the house party.
hello folks! how are you? i am doing well on this windy and gorgeous day in austin, texas. i had a good weekend. i played at the house of blues in houston with SKYROCKET! on saturday. it was a great time. it was our first show after our two-week break and it was nice to be back to work. we'll be back in houston this friday, march 1st at rockefeller hall. if you're in houston, come on out. while i'm talking about upcoming shows, my former band, liars & saints in reuniting for a show! we'll be playing wednesday, march 6th at antone's here in austin. if you're in austin, come out. i don't know when we'll be playing again. i'm looking forward to it. i miss those guys.
my guest for episode 149 is actor/singer/masseuse to the stars, emmy robbin. you guys might know emmy from her work in "grindouse: planet terror", "machete", "sin city" or her latest film, "i didn't come here to die", which is available at the red box and on itunes. i've known emmy since her days at ME TV, (austin's 24 music television channel) and we've always been pals. i saw "i didn't come here to die"  a few weeks ago and i asked her to come by for a sit down. so she did and we talked about, growing up in the country, ME TV, her roles in robert rodriguez films, hanging out with quinten tarantino, toplessness in horror films, dating, the southern sirens, her band, dead love club with the vallejo brothers and much, much more. emmy is a great hang and fun person to talk to. i hope you enjoy our conversation. i did.
ciao! -jg