Episode 428: Autumn

hello friends! i hope you're all living it up this weekend. i'm good. i'm playing an F1 party with skyrocket tonight here in austin. i guess the town is gearing up for this huge car race. there's a special event in austin every weekend isn't there? wild. this is a giant worldwide car race and i hear it's very exciting. maybe someday i'll go. my guest for episode 428 is jazz/soul/funk singer, autumn! autumn just released her self-titled, debut album in september. she is also a vocalist in the nightowls who play out around austin a lot. i heard about autumn through my friends at the austin music foundation. she was their artist of the month for september. anyway, autumn came by and we had a fantastic conversation about growing in oklahoma in a conservative family, growing up singing in church, dating, making music with someone you're involved then not involved with, working in the oil business, beyonce'-esque outfits and much, much more. i really enjoyed getting to know autumn. i'm sure you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 420: Keeper

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. i hope that if you have come to austin for acl or live in austin, you're enjoying this beautiful weather and avoiding the vicious traffic. if you're anywhere else in the world, i hope it's all good there. i got to spend a great day in the studio yesterday with my friends, gabe rhodes and einar. we recorded a song gabe and i wrote called, "the man who tried to have everything" it turned out really good. we had a blast working together. and we really worked together. everyone was playing stuff and throwing out ideas. i'll let you know when it's mixed and i'll probably put it up on soundcloud. my guests for episode 420 are synth-soul, vocal trio, keeper! their debut, full-length album, moonhigh came out yesterday 10/1! the album is fantastic and available on itunes, spotify and other music outlets. go to keepermusic.com for all of your keeper needs. these ladies are also the austin music foundation's band on the month for october. so these talented and entertaining ladies and i have a great conversation about, growing up in choir, being weird kids, finding their harmony sound, dj culture, a "psychic friends" moment about soul ll soul, how they made their brilliant new album, moonhigh, collaborating with other artists and much, much more! i hope you enjoy getting to know keeper 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 399: Songs From The Podcast

hello friends! i hope you're all enjoyeing summer. when this comes out i'll be getting ready to leave galveston and return to austin for our live recording of episode 400 tomorrow, wednesday, july 29th from 8-10pm at the townsend! my guests will be, aj vallejo, jazz mills, suzanna choffel, nakia and justin elliott! come celebrate 400 episodes with us!welcome to episode 399: songs from the podcast. over the last year i've had well over 100 guests come by the apartment, talk to me at festival, meet me at werd podcast studios and even meeting at undisclosed locations, to talk about where they're at with their music life and music career. often times, these people are coming by during their "press assaults" promoting their latest album or single. sometimes i end up getting turned on to a new band, artist, album or song. in fact, it happens all the time. i love when a podcast is over and the artist's music stays with me and i become a fan. with well over 100 artists on the show over the last year, i got turned on a bunch of music. in this episode i included 15 songs that i loved. there so many more, that i started a playlist on spotify titled, "episode 399: songs from the podcast" you can find a link to it on our facebook page check it out there are a lot of songs on there. so, i get to play d.j. and spin tunes from shivery shakes, little brave, quiet company, billy harvey, migrant kids, the blue bonnets, bob schneider, phranchyze, dwight twilley, t.a.p.e.s., skinny lister, cautiontape, the wind + the wave, LEV and wild adriatic! hopefully, this mix sparks your interest in some of these bands and makes you check out the spotify playlist where you can check out even more music from the podcast. i hope you enjoy listening to this as much as i enjoyed making it. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 379: Moms That Rock w/ Co-host, Suzanna Choffel feat. Jazz Mills, Elizabeth McQueen, Raina Rose & Savanna Welch!

hello and welcome to this unique episode of "how did i get here?". a few weeks ago i went to visit suzanna choffel and her new baby, lulu. we got to talking about continuing to rock once you've entered motherhood. wondering how you balance being an performing/touring/creative artist and a mother... well, we decided to turn it into a podcast. i asked suzanna to put together a group of women she sees as her support team and to co-host the show. we have a wonderful group of extremely talented mothers. savanna welch, jazz mill, raina rose and elizabeth mcqueen share their experiences as moms that rock. we get a great insight into the writing/recording/touring/backstage life with a child. my thanks to suzanna and lulu for putting together the panel of guests and co-hosting. thanks to raina and benny, savanna, elizabeth and jazz. we had a great conversation, passed babies around and laughed. i hope you enjoy our chat. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 367: Gina Chavez & Mother Falcon

hello friends! i hope you all had a wonderful passover/easter weekend. i did. i got to spend some quality time with my grand mother and aunts on sunday morning for breakfast and a general hang. i love hanging out with them. i haven't done an "easter thing" for a long time. in fact, i can't remember when. in my culture you get gifts on easter. isn't that weird? i always thought it was weird. not that i wasn't thankful or grateful, i just always thought it was weird. anyway, episode of "drinking/cooking with johnny & aj" is up! this time we have a guest, emmy robbin and we make her mom's famous king ranch casserole! check it out here the link.my guests for episode 367 are 2014/2015 austin chronicle music poll's "musician of the year", gina chavez and mother falcon's nick gregg! gina has a video release party and big show this saturday, april 11th at the stateside theater in austin, tx with special guests, mother falcon, elizabeth mcqueen. riders against the storm are hosting the show. the show benefits the non-profit, ninas arribas college fund. so, we have a great conversation about what it takes to put a show on in a theater, gina's sweep of the awards, how mother falcon makes it work with such a big group and much, much more. i hope you enjoy our conversation. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 365: Laura Reed

hello friends! i hope this episode of our crazy little podcast finds you happy, healthy and actively making love while you listen to it. i'm doing well. i got to see my pal, paco estrada play last night. he had a record release show last night here in austin. was a great show. the album, bedtime stories is out now. you should go get. plus, i'm on it. i just watched that hbo scientology documentary, "going clear"... what a great movie and a freaky fucking cult. i recommend seeing this documentary.my guest for episode 365 is the talented and entertaining, laura reed! someone on twitter reached out to laura and me and suggested we do a podcast while she was in town for sxsw, so i checked out her music, thought she was great and invited her to be on the show. we had a great conversation about going from south africa to north carolina, making music and writing nashville, touring with george clinton, working with producer, shannon sanders and much, much more. laura is a powerhouse of talent and energy and i really had a great time getting to know her. i'm sure you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 347: T Bird And The Breaks

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. things are kinda crazy here today and i guess they will be for a while... i've entered a songwriting game with my friends where we have to write a song every day until february 25th. i wrote one last night and one and a half today. i also did 3 podcast interviews and went to the grocery store. i've had a lot of caffeine and i think you can hear it in the intro of this show. anyway, i'll be playing at gueros in austin tomorrow, wednesday, 1/28/15 at 6 pm and the bluebonnets play at 7. we'll be in the courtyard and the whole thing will be on the radio. come by, check it out.my guests for episode 347 are funk dance party band, t bird and the breaks! they have a new album that comes out today (1/27/15)!!!! it's called harmonizm and it is fucking awesome! if you like funky soul music that makes you feel good, you should buy this album. when momo's was open, we played a lot of shows together and it warms my heart to see their progress. this album, harmonizm, is the culmination of many years of hard work. it's focused. the songs are amazing and it has an overall great vibe. the guys have release shows this week and they're hitting the road for month going to the midwest and west coast find out where they'll be by going to www.tbirdandthebreaks.com i hope you enjoy our conversation. i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg