Episode 500: Live at The Townsend w/ AJ Vallejo, Nakia, Kathy Valentine, Taylor Muse, Suzanna Choffel

hello friends! we did it! we hit 500 episodes and we did it in style. on monday, june 20th i was joined by aj vallejo, nakia, kathy valentine, taylor muse and suzanna choffel at the townsend here in austin, tx. we have a great and crazy conversation aj vallejo and i talk about our cooking show, "cooking/drinking w/ johnny & aj" and being producer of the year. we talk to nakia about his prince shows where he raised $15,000 for the sims foundation and haam. kathy tells about her new book, the movie she got to be in the new bluebonnet songs and videos. taylor muse and his love for chicken wings and star wars and suzanna choffel talks about jem & the holograms, her new album and much, much more! i want to thank juan alsina for recording the show, the townsend for having us and being so supportive of the show and last but not least, all of the people who came out and made it such a special night. let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 499 Part One: The Music

hello friends! i want to remind you that we are recording our 500th podcast live this coming monday, june 20th at 8 pm at the townsend here in austin, tx. my guests will be nakia, kathy valentine, taylor muse (quiet company), suzanna choffel and aj vallejo! come out and celebrate with us! enjoy fine cocktails, delicious snacks and a great conversation with some of he most entertaining musicians around. plus, there's no cover!!!
episode 499 part one: the music is a playlist i put together out of some of the music i've been turned on to by guests over the last hundred episodes. part two will be excerpts of conversations from soem of the last hundred episodes. look for that on tuesday. here's the track listing for episode 499 part one: the music...
 1. "baby when i close my eyes" - sweet spirit
 2. "stop the world" - mike flanigin w/ gary clark jr.
 3. "echo of whoos" - calliope musicals
 4. "no one gonna give you love" - my jerusalem
 5. "down to the ocean" - jeremy nail
 6. "atta blues" - emily wolfe
 7. "withdrawal" - max frost
 8. "september in your eyes" - bruce sudano
 9. "summer samaritan" - los coast
10. "ready for war" - love & chaos
11. "work" - tank washington
12. "heartbreak bugaloo" - the midnight stroll
13. "sweet dreaming" - daniel eyes and the vibes
14. "southern suburbian" - sally allen
15. "one" - moving panoramas
16. "polyester" - john evans
17. "i don't wanna have to lie" - lolo

Episode 492: Los Coast

hello friends! i hope you all had a good weekend. i did. i played a high school graduation party in houston on friday. coincidentally, one of our guests today graduated from the same high school. anyway, the party was great the show was really fun. the young crowd had such a powerful energy that night that it really made us up our energy and it was on. we were locked in a thing with this young crowd and it wore me out. for the rest of the weekend i was tired and kinda out of it. also, here is a link to the event page for our episode 500 live recording on monday, june 20th at the townsend in austin, tx.
my guests for episode are trey privott and john courtney from the funk soul band, los coast! i met and saw these guys during sxsw when they played a showcase i was hosting. i thought they were a fantastic live band. so good in fact, they'll be playing at the acl festival this fall, they'll be playing the free press summe fest in houston on june 5th and they'll be playing c-boys heart & soul here in austin every thursday in june. i have a great conversation with trey and john about being a young band making some big strides. there's some real talent in this band plus, trey and john are really gracious and and a great hang. we even went to lunch afterwards. check out los coast at loscoast.com! let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 477: Bruce Sudano

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well out there in the world. i'm good. i have a busy day of running errands, laundry, writing two songs and of course, this podcast. i'm headed to vegas tomorrow to play a show with skyrocket. should be fun. i'm bringing my recording gear just in case i can interview donny osmond or an elvis impersonator. i hope you guys have a good weekend. 
my guest for episode 477 is legendary singer/songwriter, bruce sudano. i caught up with bruce when he was in town for sxsw promoting his gorgeous new album, the burbank sessions. his illustrious career spans five decades starting with the band, alive n kickin' in the late 60's, then his r&b band in the early 70's, brooklyn dreams hooked up with donna summer and wrote and performed, "heaven knows" with the disco star. he ended up marrying donna summer and going on to write "bad girls" with her among many other songs. he work on and in films like, "thank god it's friday", "american hot wax" and "hollywood knights". his latest album, the burbank sessions is absolutely gorgeous. he's still making music that is relevant because it's honest, the expression is raw and real and he is just a bad-ass songwriter. check him out at brucesudano.com he'll be on tour in may. i hope enjoy getting to know this amazning artist/person. i sure did. let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 476: The Roomsounds

hello friends. i hope you're doing well. it's been a strange weekend. i was knocked out by allergies and spent about 48 hours in bed sneezing, coughing and sleeping. i wrote a song with my friend amy before i crashed on sunday, so i'm still in the songwriting game. i'm actually in two right now. i'll post a link to my soundcloud page on the "how did i get here?" facebok page. 
my guests for episode 476 are dallas' real rock and roll band, the roomsounds! their gorgeous new album, elm st. just came out on friday (3/25) and they're heading out on a southeast, northeast, midwest tour starting this friday, april 1st in tuscaloosa al. go to theroomsounds.com to see if they're coming to a town near you. i caught up with sam and ryan when they were here for sxsw and we had a great conversation about living the underage dream/nightmare in l.a., the drink menu at the double-wide in dallas, recording at fame studios in muscle shoals al, living as a band in rehearsal spaces, condemned houses and a van, having an east coast attitude in the south, following their hearts to the south and much, much more! i hope you enjoy getting to know the roomsounds. i sure did. let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 472: Brannen Temple

hello friends! i hope this episode finds you well. austin, texas is in the depths of sxsw. it's all happening. bands are running around town. pedestrians are in the middle of the road looking at their phones. people are littering. i had a hangover the other day. all signs that sxsw is in full-swing. i got to attend a very special documentary screening last night. it's called "the shopkeeper" and it's about my mentor, musician/songwriter/producer, mark hallman. i had the good fortune of getting to be in it and it was absolutely amazing. my friend rain perry made it. i'll keep you guys up on what's going on with it and when it's going to come out. keep an eye out for "the shopkeeper".
my guest for episode 472 is drummer, brannen temple. you might know brannen from his bands, temple underground, black red black blaze and more. or you might know him from his work with, sheena easton, eric johnson, janet jackson, the dixie chicks, boz skaggs and many, many more. brannen is one of the best drummers and musicians i've ever seen in my life. most people that know him say that too. he's also one of the coolest guys i've meet and have had on the show. we have an in-depth conversation about what music means, what it does, what it can do. brannen's approach to studio and live playing. this is honestly one of my favorite episodes. prepare for a lesson in true cool. enjoy my conversation with this masterful musician and soulful human being. i sure did. let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 468: Lincoln Durham Returns!

hello friends! i hope you're all having a good start to your week. i hope your movie/actor/director etc won. i didn't watch it really. i saw a couple of awards being given out, but i watched vinyl instead. i had the weekend off which was cool. i saw the bluebonnets and miss lavelle white at the townsend. i saw aj vallejo's whiskey rebellion at the moontower saloon. great shows. great times!
the amazing lincoln durham returns for episode 468! his gorgeous new album, lincoln durham's revelations of a mind unraveling comes out on march 25th. the first single, "creeper" is available now. he's starting a west coast tour this week with the reverend horton heat. the tour goes from march 3rd - march 19th and you can go to lincolndurham.com  for more info on the tour and his music. lincoln and i have a great conversation about the ups and downs of being an artist dealing with o.c.d., how creativity can pull you out of a psychological hole, making records as a one-man-band and much, much more. i had a great time getting to know lincoln. i'm sure you will too. let's get down! 
ciao! -jg

Episode 467: Bill Carter Returns!

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well and ready for the weekend! things are good here. i have a week off from skyrocket. no gigs. maybe a movie, see some music, go out to dinner with my cousin megan and of course, the oscars. is anyone having a fabulous oscar party? if you are, invite me.
my friend, bill carter returns to the show for episode 467! his gorgeous new album, innocent victims and evil companions is out today (friday february 26th)! bill is an amazing story teller and poet. his songs and the characters in the songs take you somewhere real, painful and beautiful. innocent victims and evil companions will take you on a colorful journey you can only take with bill carter. you can find it at billcarterandtheblame.com bill came by a few weeks ago and we got to sit down and talk about making the album, touring, writing songs, solar powered radio stations and much, much more! i hope you enjoy my conversation with bill carter as much as i did. let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 458: Daniel Eyes & The Vibes

hello friends! i hope this episode finds you all doing well. i'm good. i have a week off of skyrocket and i'm taking some time to write some songs. we played this weekend at the new antone's here in austin and at the continental club in houston. great shows! the continental club sold out. it was great to play at the new antone's. it's got a great vibe and it's in a great location and the staff there is on their game and super-cool. check it out when you can. welcome back antone's!my guests for episode 458 are the new rock sensations, daniel eyes & the vibes! their imressive debut e.p., sweet dreaming comes out this friday, january 29th and they have a release show on saturday, january 30th at cheer up charlie's here in austin. if you don't live in austin, you can find them at danieleyes.com a couple of years ago i got to work with daniel recording a demo and even though we didn't end up working together, we became good friends and i was very proud of him when i heard this record. so, daniel, dylan and russell came by and we had a great conversation about how they got together and made sweet dreaming, weird uber experiences, working out songs and much more. i hope you enjoy getting to know these guys as much as i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 451: Kev Bev and the Woodland Creatures

happy new year everyone! welcome to 2016! i hope you all had a safe and happy new years eve and spent it with loved ones. i am about to head to houston as i write this to play a new years eve party. should be fun. i'll be with my friends. i have some resolutions i'm going to try to stick to: quit sugar drinks and cookies, eventually quit smoking, be a better person. what are yours? my first guests for 2016 are kevin and candace collins from the 9-piece, soul/funk/reggae/hip-hop extravaganza known as, kev bev and the woodland creatures! their new album, domesticated is out TODAY, jan 1 2016! you can find it and all about them at kevbevandthewc.com domesticated is a celebration of life much like their idols, sly and the family stone. i thought this would be a great way to start out 2016. candace and kevin came a few weeks ago and had a great conversation about handling a 9-piece band, life in a small east coast town, music scenes, kickstarter, vinyl is the hotdog of music?, being a couple on a band and much, much more! i hope you enjoy getting to know candace and kevin as much as i did. let's get down! happy new year!ciao! -jg