Episode 415: Live at The Townsend w/ Kathy Valentine, Emily Bell, Amy Edwards and Miles Zuniga

hello friends! welcome to episode 415: live at the townsend with our guests, kathy valentine, emily bell, amy edwards and miles zuniga! this episode was recorded in front of a live audience on wednesday, sept. 9th. i have great conversations with all of the artists and we have a great group conversation about where we think things are going in the music world. the show was recorded by our friends at werd media labs. i had a blast talking to these great artists. i'm sure you will too. let's get down! ciao! -jg

Episode 410: SaulPaul

hello friends! i hope you're doing well. today is the 10th annual, HAAM day in austin, tx. there is music everywhere from 6 am - 2am. participating businesses are donating a portion of of their income today to HAAM. you can get involved and show your support by supporting participating businesses and/or going to see some music somewhere today. for a complete listing of music, venues and participating businesses got to myhaam.org get out and get involved. HAAM is one of those things that makes austin and the music scene here unique. support it. my guest for episode 410 is rapper/singer/songwriter/author/public speaker and all-around great guy, SaulPaul! i met SaulPaul a month or so ago when we were both on an austin music foundation panel. he seemed like an interesting and talented guy with a lot going on, i was right. saulpaul came by a couple of weeks ago and we talked about losing his mom at 3, prison, college, making unique music that incorporates rap and acoustic guitar, tedtalks, google talks and much, much more. i hope you enjoy getting to know SaulPaul. i sure did. let's get down! ciao! -jg

Episode 408: David Pulkingham / Utopiafest

hello friends! i hope you're all handling the insane stock market fluctuations with a cool hand like e.f. hutton. things are good here. i've been practicing with pal amy edwards and yates hagen for a show we have at the gibson showroom for the austin film society in a couple of weeks. it's been fun working on songs and changing them up to accommodate our stripped down band. speaking of a coupe of weeks... we have a live podcast coming up on wednesday, sept. 9th at the townsend from 8-10 pm. my guests will be kathy valentine, miles zuniga, emily bell and amy edwards. these live shows are really fun and there is no cover. come out and say hi. my guest for episode 408 is one of austin's most "in demand" guitar players, david pulkingham. you might know david through his work as a sideman with such notable artists as, alejandro escovedo, robert plant, patty griffin and many more. well, david has stepped out of his sideman role for his gorgeous new album, little pearl. just released last friday, little pearl features patty griffin, lloyd maines, the tosca string quartet and many more. david stopped by a couple of weeks ago and we had a great talk about growing up in a commune, music school, taking part in the latin explosion, learning rock and roll from alejandro escovedo, playing with robert plant and much, much more. i've always liked david. he's an exceptional musician and great hang. also, travis sutherland from utopiafest (sept. 4th0 sept. 6th) stops and tells what to expect at the 7th annual utopiafest this labor day weekend. more info on utopiafest at utopiafest.com. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 395: The Octopus Project

hello friends! i hope this episode finds you running in slow-motion on a gorgeous summer day through a field of golden wheat into the arms of your lover. i'm doing well. i am getting ready to leave to orlando and play with skyrocket tonight. i'm still recovering from my oral surgery i had on friday. long story, i'll fill you all in on this friday's show. today's show is a special show for me because i went to the werd company podcast studios to try out recording a show in a studio outside of my apartment. well, it was a tremendous success! engineer, juan alsina, (who you'll get to know in the show) did a fabulous job of recording the show and everyone there was totally top-notch, pro. click on the link above if you're looking to find a place to record a podcast. their rates are totally reasonable and i think the show sounds better than ever. thank you, werd!my guests for episode 395 is one of austin's most innovative, creative and musically brilliant exports, the octopus project! their score for the film, kumiko: the treasure hunter comes out this week on vinyl. the movie is amazing and the score is absolutely gorgeous. if you're not a vinyl person, you can find it and all of their other releases on itunes, spotify and by going to their website,  theoctopusproject.com. you can also find their wealth of videos and other content including handmade, stuffed animals. i had a blast sitting down and getting to know this hyper-creative trio and talking to them about everything, keeping a band together for 16 and staying fresh and relevant, creating visual art including videos, one-of-a-kind merchandise, being a couple in a band, the theremin, finding chords that make you cry, how juan the engineer won a scavenger hunt that included the band, scoring films and much, much more. toto, yvonne and josh are three of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet. they also make amazing music and art. i hope you enjoy getting to know the octopus project. i sure did. 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 387: Löwin Returns! / Solstice Festival

yo people who read these transmissions from my sad, little brain! i hope you're all doing well. things are good here. i've been rehearsing, seeing bands, doing podcasts and generally trying to stay cool. on today's show, we get a special visit from and have a quick chat with matt, lauren and adrian from solstice festival. it's a free festival that takes place saturday, june, 20th 2015 from noon to 10 pm at pan am park in austin, tx. the festival features ringo deathstarr, zeale, jazz mills, money chicha, dead love club and many, many more. matt, lauren and adrian fill us in on solstice live, solstice festival, the shows this thursday and friday in 14 clubs and more. you can also go to solticeatx.com and find out line ups and info. my guests for episode 387 are sara and chris from the band, löwin! this is the band's second appearance on the show. they've just released a fantastic, new e.p. called, royal jelly. you can find it on itunes, spotify, soundcloud, select record stores and at their shows. if you live in austin, you can see löwin every saturday in june at the blackheart on rainey st. at midnight. i've seen them they're a great band. sara is a great musician/singer/frontwoman. we have a great conversation about they're new ep royal jelly, kanye west, writing and recording, songs with the names sara and johnny, the current music scene and much, much more! i hope you enjoy getting to know löwin as much as i have. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 386: Darin Murphy

hello friends! i hope you're all finding your way through the maze of life without having to go back to the beginning a bunch of times. things are good here. summer is kicking in and i've been in a bathing suit of some sort since monday... so that's pretty good. i'm going to hit the pool, go to the movies and see some outdoor shows. you know. just some summer stuff. my guest for episode 386 is my dear old friend and skyrocket bandmate, darin murphy! darin came by a few weeks ago and we went on a four-mile walk and we recorded it. it was a great walk and a great conversation with one of my best friends. we talked about his finely-tuned ear, his solo records, getting his ass kicked in the studio, trish and darin, broadway, the fab-fourgeries, skyrocket and much, much more. i hope you enjoy getting to know one of my favorite people to make music and hang out with. i sure have. 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 380: The Big Fix

hello friends! i hope this show finds you all out there, fighting the good fight just like the canadian rock-trio, triumph told you to. i'm good. i have a week off from skyrocket, so i've been working on some songs, getting some podcasts done, working on the show a bit. i have a solo show next thursday, 5/28 at the 502 bar in san antonio. i'll be opening for my friend, joseph king and his band of lunatics from nyc. should be fun. check out the event page for times and address. my guest for episode 380 is my old friend and former bandmate, nathan harlan who has a new band, the big fix. in 2003, i joined a band that nathan co-fronted called, endochine. i left the band in 2004 because my life was literally falling apart. they went on for a few months after but soon called it quits. i didn't see nathan much for the last decade... well, we fixed that with this show. nathan came by and we talked about our time in endochine, his move to new york, wriitng, acting and working on films, the decision to put a new band together, the big fix and much, much more. they have some music up at their site, thebigfix.band i had a great time catching up with nathan. i'm glad he's making new music. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 374: Ethan Azarian

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. i want to remind you about chepofest! tonight, may 1st 2015 at the cactus cafe' in austin, tx my friend, david' garza is heading up an all-star jam in honor of our friend chepo pena who's fallen ill as of late and needs some help with hospital bills. david' brings the party. let's party for chepo!my guest for episode 374 is amazing musician/artist, ethan azarian! we have a great conversation about growing up in rural vermont, moving to austin, the orange mothers, his duo with jeff johnston (they play wednesday night happy hour at the hole in the wall in austin, tx), making art. where all the cows in his paintings come from, fatherhood and much, much more. i hope you enjoy getting to know ethan. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg