Episode 403: Ocean Of Stars

hello friends! i hope you're all braving the extreme heat that is upon us. i'm doing well. just working on some music, booking a live podcast for sept. 9th (details coming soon), prepping for 3 podcasts i'm doing tomorrow etc. so, i listened to the american top 50 chart on spotify this morning while i was running. i probably heard about 15 to 20 songs on shuffle. i wasn't very moved by anything which made me kind of sad. then i realized that there is so much non-mainstream music out there, so much of it comes through this show. i'm really lucky to be in the position to have so much music coming through and getting turned on to so much stuff. it gives me hope. go find some new music. it feels good.my guest for episode 403 is ocean of stars leader, danny grochow! this is danny's second time on the show. he was on a couple of years ago talking about some solo material he was releasing and now he's back with with a new e.p. from his band, ocean of stars. danny is a great guy who is out there playing bass and guitar as a sideman but still makes the time to write, record and perform his original instrumental-prog-rock. we have a great conversation about four track cassette recording, the rpm challenge, finding musicians, writing complex instrumental music, answering want ads and much, much more. i i hope you enjoy our conversation. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 402: Jamie Wellwarth

hello friends! i hope you're all enjoying the this last month of summer. i am. it's really, really hot here in austin. over 100 every day. that gets a little old... but i'll make it! i got to moderate an austin music foundation panel last night on sustaining a career in music. all of the panelists, the amf folks, the one-2-one folks and the audience were all really nice. i had a great time and met a lot of really nice people. i'm looking forward to doing more. my guest for episode 402 is continental club (austin) production manager, member of the nomad sound team and front of house soundman for jane's addiction, jamie wellwarth! people have been hitting me up for a long time about getting jamie on the show. people said we would be total friends and it would be a great conversation. well, that was an understatement. jamie and i had an amazing conversation, running sound for your idols, being a survivor, the continental club, microphones, living sober and much, much more! i really loved getting to know jamie. i'm sure you will too. let's get down! ciao! -jg

Episode 400: Live at The Townsend! With Suzanna Choffel, Justin Elliott, Nakia, A.J. Vallejo and Jazz Mills

hello friends! welcome to episode 400 recorded live at the townsend in austin, tx. my guests for this show are suzanna choffel, justin elliott, nakia, a.j. vallejo and jazz mills! i would like to thank all of my guests, the townsend for hosting us so graciously, the werd company for coming out and recording it so beautifully and most of all the crowd that came out and made it so fun. this is a great show! we talk about periscope, amazing cocktails including one called, "how did i get here?", aj asks me to smell his finger, french trips, more cocktails and much, much more. i hope you enjoy it as much as we did. thank you for listening to this show. i feel like the last 400 episodes have been life-changing for me. i can't wait to see what the next 400 episodes hold. thanks again for listening. it makes me happy. 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 390: Kalu James Returns!

hello friends! i hope you are living life like an angel of love and happiness. i am well. i am working on some guitar stuff for a gig i'm playing next friday with amy edwards. it's really fun to just play electric guitar and be loud and not even have to sing. i'm looking forward to it. also, i wanted to let you guys know that i'll be playing some songs with the bluebonnets next thursday at the grand opening for the townsend which is a new, swanky club opening here in austin. also, while we're on the subject of gigs.. i'm playing song swap with william harries graham on sunday, july 5th at the continental club gallery. come out and say hi!my guest for episode 390 is talented singer/songwriter, kalu james! this is kalu's second time on the show. he's had a couple of life changing years since he was last on the show a couple of years ago. i saw him play a month or so ago and was reminded what a great artist he is and what a genuine and nice person he is. so, we did it again. we have a great conversation about, the magic in the continental club gallery, becoming the man of the family, re-prioritizing life, writing songs about nothing, über adventures, american racism, a live album in the can and much, much more! i want to thank kalu for coming in and being so honest and real about where he is in his life. kalu is a great artist and a great guy. i hope you enjoy our conversation. i did. let's get down! ciao! -jg

Episode 384: Ulrich Ellison Returns! / Austin Music Foundation

hello friends! i hope you're all pulling the magic sword out of the stone of life. i'm doing well. excited to be in my bathing suit. i have a gig tonight, but i'm off the rest of the weekend. looking forward to seeing the brian wilson movie and "san andreas", going swimming, hitting a bar be que and who knows what else. it's summer and i'm in the zone! my guest for episode 384 is austrian blues rocker, ulrich ellison! this is ulrich's second time on the show. he and his band, ulrich ellison and tribe just released a new album, dreamchaser, toured europe and are about to embark on a midwest tour next week! we have a fantastic conversation about the "tribe", touring europe and the u.s., making dreamchaser and much, much more. also, alex and jen from the austin music foundation stop by and fill us in on their function in the austin community, the recent austin music census, wine down tuesdays and all of the events they promote and much more. if you live in austin and are a local, music-based business or a musician, the austin music foundation is there to help you. have a great weekend. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Repost Episode:166: The Jitterbug Vipers, Slim Richey

slim richey, 1938-2015hello friends. it is with great sadness that i bring you the repost of this episode of "how did i get here?" episode 166: the jitterbug vipers. yesterday, legendary jazz guitarist and beautiful soul, slim richey, lost his battle with lymphoma. this is a great loss to our community and our tribe. my heart and condolences go out to his family, his lovely wife and musical partner, francie meaux jeaux, his friends and his viper bandmates, sarah sharp and masumi jones. sadly, with this great loss comes a great financial burden with slim having spent a lot of the last couple of months in the hospital and funeral costs. you can help francie and the family by going to their gofundme page and donating what you can. i hope you enjoy this great/crazy conversation and get something out of it. i sure did. slim will be missed.

Episode 381: Mark Proct

hello friends! i hope you all had a good memorial day weekend. there was crazy rain, flooding and general old-testament-style devastation here in austin. i want to tell you guys about some solo shows i have coming up this week. tonight, tuesday, may 26th i'll be playing at the volstead in austin. i'll be playing at 10 right after last friday's guest, the big fix and right before one of my favorite people, kayce laine from nyc. thursday, may 28th, i'll be playing at 502 bar in san antonio at 9pm opening for one of my best friends, joseph king from nyc. and friday, 5/29, SKYROCKET! will be rocking hanover's in pflugerville at 10 pm. my guest for episode 381 is music business veteran, mark proct! mark shares his journey through 40 years in this business working as a roadie, soundman, tour manager, manager and everything in between with the likes of willie nelson, asleep at the wheel, jerry jeff walker, the fabulous thunderbirds, stevie ray vaughan, the vaughan brothers, the arc angels, storyville, vallejo and more. that whole time, mark had a camera and was documenting his exciting trip with all of these legendary musicians and has just put out an amazing and gorgeous book, "home today gone tomorrow", which is a collection of candid photos and stories spanning a 40 year career in this crazy business. mark and i sat down last week and went through the book and his life for 2 whole hours and here it is. i hope you enjoy it. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 377: Ray Prim Returns!

hello friends! i hope you're all happy and healthy. things are good here. i wanted to tell you about a solo show i'm playing tomorrow, wed, may 13th at the hole in the wall here in austin. i'll be playing from 7-8 pm right after my friends, ethan azarian and jeff johnston. there's no cover and the hole in the wall is a good time. come out and say hi!my guest for episode 377 is signer/songwriter, ray prim! you might know ray from his band, 7 stones in the late 90's, or maybe his "soulwriter" songwriter series at flipnotics that he had for years. you might also know him from the webseries i'm in, "cooking/drinking with johnny & aj". he was also a guest in the early days of this show. ray has spent the last two years making his new album, still here on loungeside records. it's a fantastic album! he has a release show in austin this saturday, may 16th at strange brew loungeside at 9 pm. he'll be playing with a full-band right down to a horn section. we have a great conversation about being in a songwriting group, making still here on his own and learning how to record and mix and all that jazz, the maywether/pacquio fight, learning all aspects of making an album including photoshop and much, much more. i always have a great time talking to ray. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 375: The Sideshow Tragedy Returns Again!

hello friends! happy cinco de mayo! i hope you're well. i had a great weekend i went to infinity+infinty, saw bottlerocket, went to chepofest, i've been staying with my dogs... good times. my guests for episode 375 are the incredible rock and roll duo, making their 3rd appearance on the show, the sideshow tragedy! their incredible new album, capital comes out today. they'll be playing a release show here in austin at the continental club on may 9th and then they'll be heading out on tour may 15th-may 30th. go to thesideshowtragedy.com to find out when they'll be coming to a town near you. we had a great conversation about everything, the long-term dangers of football, making capital, touring europe vs. touring the u.s., the lessons learned on tour, "the kenny loggins" drink at the double-wide in dallas is no longer called "the kenny loggins" and much, much more. i love talking to these guys. enjoy!ciao! -jg