Episode 532: Shmu

Hello friends! I hope you all had a great weekend. I had a good weekend. i did spend some of it worried that was too sick to play. I can't tell if I have a lingering cold or just really bad allergies, because it seems like one day, i'm better and the next i'm totally sick again. Anyway, I had a good time singing at the John Lennon birthday show at Threadgill's here in Austin on Sunday. Lots of cool folks joined Stephen Doster's #9 Orchestra to pay tribute to John on his birthday.
My guest for episode 532 is Samuel Chown musically known as Shmu! Shmu's latest album Shhh!!! is absolutely fantastic! Sam and I have a great conversation about growing up in Canada, going to Berklee College of Music, making shoe-gazer/dream pop meets psychedelic glitch music, his label, GTZ Records and much, much more! I hope you enjoy getting to know Sam/Shmu as much as I did. Let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 520: Kady Rain Returns!

Hello friends! Welcome to the last days of summer 2016. Labor day weekend is upon us. I hope you have fabulous plans to close out the summer. I don't really have plans. Does anyone have a boat they want to take on? I'm playing with Skyrocket on Friday at Cedar Street Courtyard in Austin and Saturday, we'll be at Mercer Street Dance Hall in Dripping Springs. Come out and start your Labor Day weekend off with some sweet jams provided me and my pals.
Kady Rain and Ben Bazzrea return to the show for episode 520! Their new awesome e.p., "All I Ever Wanted" came out last Friday! You can find it on itunes, Spotify and of course at kadyrain.com. They'll be playing at The 36th Annual Fall Pecan Street Festival on Sunday Sept. 25th at 7pm go to pecanstreetfestival.org for a complete listing of bands and times. Kady, Ben and I have a great conversation about writing songs, making "All I Ever Wanted", the state of pop music in Austin and the world, making it work as a couple and musical partners, lava lamps and much, much more! I hope you enjoy our conversation. I sure did. Let's get down!
Ciao! -jg

Episode 514: Patrick Husband

hello friends! i hope you're all holding up in this insane heat. some days i feel like i'm gonna melt. hey! if you're listening to this show the day it comes out. skyrocket will be playing tonight, friday august 12th at sam's burger joint in san antonio. come on out and join the party. on the original music front, i'm going to be writing with the members of my band, ladyband johnson next week. we have a show coming up in november. i'll be sure to let you know when that happens. 
my guest for episode 514 is the amazingly talented, patrick husband! i met patrick around a month ago at a listening party for his gorgeous new e.p., simple house. i got hear the album and see the brilliant video for his single, "if you want it". needless to say i was blown away by patrick's songs and the great production by same sky productions' andre cantave and david messier. patrick and i have a great conversation about a tough upbringing after losing his mother at a really young age, how music saved his life, finding his sound, recording simple house and much, much more. i had a great time getting to know patrick. i'm sure you will too. stay cool out there... literally. let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 513: Drop Out Vegas

hello friends! i hope this episode finds you all happy and healthy. if you're a musician in austin and are planning on releasing music in the form of a single, e.p. or full-length album, i have a panel for you. the austin music foundation and arlyn studios present: releasing your music, a panel sovering distribution channels, release shows, traditional and grassroots marketing, d.i.y. publicity and much more. it all takes place wednesday, august 10th from 7-10 pm at arlyn studios in austin, tx. here's a link to the event details. austinmusicfoundation.org come out. it's informative, it's free and i'll be moderating. 
my guests for episode 513 are houston pop duo, drop out vegas! these super-talented guys have just released a new single, "sleep alone" on their own and they've gotten a ton of press for it and believe me, it's well-deserved. i came a cross these guys on social media a little over a month ago. they looked cool, so i went and listened to their music and fell in love. skylar and jason came by my hotel when i was in houston a few weeks ago and we had a great conversation about growing up in the church music programs, writing songs together and apart, the woodlands vs kingwood, making pop music in houston and much, much more. i had a great time getting to know skylar and jason. i'm sure you will too. 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 494: The Midnight Stroll / Kady Rain Stops By!

hello friends! i hope everyone had a great memorial day weekend. i did. i played some gigs with skyrocket, zuri and i laid low on sunday and i actually did a couple of podcasts yesterday. i want to let you guys know about that skyrocket will be playing in the hill country this friday, june 3rd at mercer street dance hall in dripping springs and friday, june 4th, we'll be playing at the continental club in houston. come out, it's a good time. kady rain stops by in the intro of the show to talk about the gofundme page they started to finish their e.p., make a video, hire a publicist and make some new merch. they're very close to reaching their goal. you can help them make it. 
ghostland observatory frontman, aaron behrens and producer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist, jonas wilson collectively known as the midnight stroll, return to the show today for episode 494! they've both been on before on their own, now they back together to talk about the gorgeous new midnight stroll album, heartbreak bugaloo, which comes out tomorrow, wednesday, june 1st! you can find it at all the regular online places including their bandcamp page. we have a great conversation about how they wrote and recorded heartbreak bugaloo together, ghostland observatory's summer schedule, jonas's solo albums, we try to figure out who the new rock heroes are and much, much more! i love hanging out and talking to these guys. i'm sure you will too. let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 482: Kady Rain

hello friends! floods are taking over today here in texas. houston has been hit hard and i hope all of our houston friends are safe and dry. i was in houston this weekend playing a couple of shows with skyrocket. i spent record store day there. i went to cactus music and sig's lagoon. i didn't get any "special releases", but i scored some good vinyl and got some gifts for folks. i hope you got to get out to some mom and pop record stores this weekend too. you can find my record store day pics at our facebook page.
my guests for episode 482 are pop music geniuses, kady rain and ben bazzrea! they have a brilliant new single dropping this week called, "can't save us" you can hear it at the end of the show. kady and ben stopped by a couple of weeks ago and we had a fantastic conversation about writing pop songs, how to be a pop band in austin, crazy parties when kady was my neighbor, internet trolls and much, much more!
you can hear their music and find out when they're playing by going to kadyrain.com. i hope enjoy getting to know kady and ben. i sure did. let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 480: Calliope Musicals Return!

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. i'm good. i'm getting ready to make a yummy cuban chicken recipe i found on pinterest a couple of weeks ago. it's pretty easy. you just get a rotisserie chicken, shred the breasts, marinate them in lime, lemon or any citrus you like for a couple of hours, fry it up with some onions until it's crispy then serve it with rice, black beans and sliced avocado. i'll let you know how it went on friday's show.
my guests for episode 480 are austin's own calliope musicals! they were on the show last fall and now they're back and their new album, time owes you nothing comes out this friday, april 15th and they're having a very special record release show on friday here in austin at central presbyterian church. go to calliopemusicals.com. we have a great conversation about sxsw, being black fret nominees, the evils of facebook, making time owes you nothing, keeping it up when you're playing two shows a day for a week and much, much more! i love these guys and i'm sure you will too. let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 479: Eric Dingus Returns!

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. i'm good. very tired. i played last night with my band, ladyband johnson at the townend here in austin. we had a great time. i wish we could have played longer. heading out to houston today to play some private events with skyrocket. looking forward to that. also, we'll be staying in my favorite hotel, so that's always a plus. i'm not sure you keep up with the cooking webseries i have with my old pal, aj vallejo, called, "cooking/drinking with johnny and aj". we made a crazy bloody mary last week with "bloody revolution" bloody mary mix and tito's vodka. well, both companies saw it and we have cases of both now. thanks to bloody revolution and tito's vodka! check out our show here .
my guest for episode 479 is producer/dj/beat maker/label owner, eric dingus. eric was on the show 3 years ago when he was 17 and making beats in his room for rappers. well, since then he's created a label called, dream sequence records, produced a song for drake, toured europe, the u.s. and canada dj-ing and much, much more. i had a great time catching up with this thoughtful, humble and extremely talented artist who is bringing a new sound to hip hop and electronic music. i hope you enjoy getting to know eric dingus again. i sure did. let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 478: Wonderbitch Returns!

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well and enjoying the spring. i am. i was in las vegas this weekend playing a show with skyrocket. i don't get all vegas-y. i didn't gamble, i only had two drinks and i didn't freaky deaky with any prostitutes. a guy asked me if i was looking for "party favors"  while i was walking through the casino at my hotel. so at least i still look like i party even though i was just a nerd heading to his hotel room to do his podcast intro. quick plug. i'm playing some songs tomorrow with the bluebonnets at the townsend here in austin for my friend steven's birthday show. should be a good time.
my guests for episode 478 are austin's psychedelic, 80's dance band, wonderbitch! wonderbitch was on the show a few months ago when they were the austin music foundation's band of the month. now they're back with the worlds premier of their new single, "miracle drive" which drops later this week but you can hear it first on this show. they having a single release show saturday, april 9th here in austin at swan dive. you can find out where they're playing and hear their music by going to wonderbitch.com. we have a great conversation about recording their new song, "miracle drive", social media and how to "michael bay" your career, redefining their sound, finding the best 80's synth sounds and much, much more. i had a great time talking to these guys again. dig it! let's get down!
ciao! -jg