Episode 418: Jesse Sublett Returns!

hello friends! i hope life is treating you well. things are good here. i got to play at an xtc tribute/SIMS benefit on friday night at strange brew lounge side. there was an amazingly well-rehearsed house band led by my pal jon green. there was a host of awesome singers that got up and threw down on the song they sang. i sang a song by the xtc alter-ego band, the dukes of stratosphear called, "collideascope". it was a very special night and i was honored to be a part of it. i played a benefit for big brothers and big sisters with skyrocket in houston on saturday. i actually did the intro for this show in my hotel room between soundcheck and the show. i hope you like it.my guest for episode 418 is musician/author/artist/actor and one of the coolest guys i know, jesse sublett! jesse has a fantastic new non-fiction book out called, "1960's austin gangsters: crime that rocked the capital". the book is about austin's seedy underworld and follows austin's notorious overton gang and all of the outrageous crimes and wild characters in their orbit. it's a fascinating story that takes you through brothels in south austin, bank robbing tours through small towns in the south and midwest, darrel k. royal's u.t. football program, the "dixie mafia", bugged jails and crooked sheriffs and much, much more. go to jesse's website for yourself! i loved this book and in our conversation, jesse takes us deeper into the lives of some of austin's most nefarious and colorful characters. i hope you enjoy this conversation as much as i did. 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 407: Penelope Spheeris & Anna Fox / The Peterson Brothers

hello friends! i hope you're all finding yourselves enjoying your summer. i am. it just cooled off a bit which is nice. i have a great show for you guys today! a double-header, if you will. fist up i have legendary director, penelope spheeris and her daughter/ business partner, anna fox. you might know penelope from the big hollywood movies like "wayne's world" and "black sheep", but you might also know her from her "decline of western civilization" parts 1-3 documentaries. i came up watching part 1: the punk years and part 2: the metal years and loved them. the austin film society is presenting a ver special screening of all three parts plus, penelope's 1983 film, "suburbia" at the marchesa theater on friday, august 28th and saturday, august 29th. penelope and anna will be on hand for a "q & a" after the movies. tickets and more info on the event are available at https://www.austinfilm.org/decline so we have a great phone conversation where we find out what happened to the bands, odin and london from part 2: the metal years, why paul stanley was in bed with three girls during his interview and much more. if you want to own the new decline of western civilization box set, go here shout! factory.my second guests for episode 407 are austin's new generation of blues musicians, the peterson brothers! glenn and alex peterson stopped by to talk to me about their debut, self-titled album that came out earlier this month, being professional working musicians by night and high-school students by day, keeping their weekly continental club residency (mondays @ 6:30 fresh), where they want to take the blues and much, much more. i really enjoyed getting to know these fine, young, talented gentlemen. i'm sure you will too. find out more about the peterson brothers at petersonbrothersband.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 393: Billy Harvey #3

hello friends! i hope you're all getting it back together after the 4th of july weekend of insanity. i had a great weekend. i got to play a lot. i played on thursday at the grand opening of the townsend, a new club in downtown austin. i played some songs by myself then i had today's guest, billy harvey sit in on some songs and i played with the bluebonnets. great time. then friday i played at stubb's with amy edwards and i got to play some songs with the bluebonnets again. look for our new band which we've renamed, ladyband johnson. then sunday, night i played at the william harries graham guitar pull at the continental club gallery with william, noelle hampton and nathan hamilton. great time was had by all. my guest for episode 393 is the amazing billy harvey! billy has a gorgeous new album the comes out this friday, july 10th, called, dear danger. dear danger is my favorite album so far this year. billy is an incredible songwriter that just keeps surprising you with his amazing depth both musically and lyrically. this is billy's third time on the show. on this episode we cover some different topics than before, reading glasses, kickstarter rewards, getting over bullshit as you get older, touring with patty griffin, his new album, what to do with your anger, dear danger and where it came from and much, much more. he's one of the deepest, most talented and funniest people i know and i love him. i hope you enjoy this conversation as much as i did. let's get down! ciao! -jg

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 338: John Morton

hello friends! we are coming to the end of 2014. i hope you're all ready to enter another year and leave, what was a pretty weird year, behind. i am. 2014 was a great year for this podcast. in the last 4 months our subscribers have grown by 10,000 downloads per month! that's our biggest growth yet! thank you so much for making this show such a great part of my life. i feel like i can talk to you guys about my life. it makes me feel better. talking to these guests has made me feel so much better about life and music. so, thank you for another great year of "how did i get here?". i look forward to what we can do in 2015. happy new year! let's get down!!!!my guest for episode is speechwriter/comic/author, john morton! john has just released two books, fire the pretty girl: awkward adventures in business and the elephant on 6th street. he's been a corporate speech writer for over 25 years and wrote speeches for c.e.o.'s of american airlines for 20. i read his book, fire the pretty girl. it is fantastic. he's a great writer, he tells his life story with a sense of humor and self-deprecating honesty that makes it hard to put the book down. my friend, lucas molandes told me about him and i'm so glad we met. i hope you enjoy getting to know my new friend, john morton. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 328: Thee Dollar Shows' Lauren Bruno & Sarah Rucker

hello friends! i hope you're all surfing through life on the "big wave" and owning it! i've gone one week without a cigarette, so i'm going kinda nuts. i'm doing the blu electronic vapor cig... it's okay. i kinda feel like being an asshole but i think i'm doing a good job of curbing my anger and counting to 10. i think i can do it. this time seems o be the easiest of all. i just have to make sure that when i'm out having the cocktails, i don't get cocky and be a;;, "hey man. give me a cig. i can have just one. i have tht kind of power over myself and my addictions..." i don't. that's how i slip back into the smoking. gotta stay away. i can't have just one. my guests for episode 328 are both making their second appearance on the show, lauren bruno and sarah rucker! they have teamed up and started a non-profit called, 3 dollar shows. the point is to have events that connect the arts community with the social issues community. you can find out more at here! $3 shows anyway, lauren and sarah came by a couple of weeks ago and we talked about $3 shows, dating, non-profits, making music, lauren's recent appearance on pbs' "art in context" and much, much more. at the end of the show lauren graces us with a live performance on my piano. good times! i hope you enjoy our conversation. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 304: Joe Salinas

hello friends! i hope you're doing well. hanging in there while facing summer's last stand. big labor day plans? i'll be playing like crazy. skyrocket played last night at steiner ranch steakhouse, we play tonight at hanover's in pflugerville, tomorrow, house of blues houston then sunday afternoon, i play a solo set back in austin at joe's crab shack for balcony tv. if you'd like to see the solo show on sunday, just come on down to joe's crab shack at 3 pm. the show is free. my friend, jazz mills is gonna join me for a couple of songs. i love her. sunday funday. do it!my guest for episode 304 is director/cinematographer/actor/musician, joe salinas! i met joe a coupe of years ago at a comedy show here in austin and since then, i've seen him around and seen tons of videos he's made posted on facebook and twitter. videos by mineral, zookeeper, alejandro escovedo, jason blum and many more. joe came by earlier this week and we chatted about working his way up the texas prison guard system, being in bands, being in "machete kills", making music, making videos mystical mountain trips with alejandro escovedo and much, much more. i'm glad we got together and got to know each other a little better. i hope you enjoy getting to know joe. i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 282: Billy Harvey Returns!

hello friends of the american bald eagle! i hope you are all happy, healthy and sexually satisfied citizens of earth. i am good. i went on the new boardwalk that opened behind my apt. it's fucking amazing! i love not having to run on streets or sidewalks next to streets. it's all very luxurious. i want to remind you guys that we're doing a live podcast recoding this tuesday, june 17th at strange brew in austin, tx. my guests will be the hilarious charlie hodge, amazing singer/songwriter, graham wilkinson and one of america's premier dance/rock bands, sphynx! the festivities start at 8 pm. here's some info https://www.facebook.com/events/717473771653649/  come out and get involved with the show!my guest for episode 282 is one of my favorite songwriters/singers/musicians/producers/actors/friends/poets/funny people, billy harvey!!!!! billy and i have been friends for almost 20 years. he's one of the most all-around talented people i know and a great hang. he was in town on tour with salim nourallah and alex dezen and stooped by for a chat. we talked about his newest album in the works, dear danger, playing with katy sagal on "the sons of anarchy" tour, his collaboration with louise goffin, producing, acting, growing a beard, getting off facebook and much, much more. i totally love billy and by the end of our conversation, you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg