Episode 488: John Evans

hello friends! i hope you're al doing well. i had a great weekend of gigs with skyrocket. i got to have mother's day brunch with my girlfriend, her sister and her grandmother on sunday. i ended up taking a 4 hour nap after brunch. i've been digging riding around in my new car. it's working out great! i spent my travel time this weekend listening to the audiobook of "under the big black sun: a personal history of l.a. punk" by john doe with tom desavia and a host of others from the first generation of l.a. punk scene including jane wiedlin and charlotte caffey from the gogo's, mike watt, henry rollins and a bunch more. getting to hear everyone tell their own story makes you feel like you're there. great book. anyway, i'm about to talk to co-author, tom desavia via skype for the show. look for that on friday.
my guest for episode 488 is songwriter/producer/frontman/sideman/band member and one of the coolest most talented guys i know, john evans! his brilliant new album, polyester comes out THIS friday, may 13th. he's also having a couple of release shows this weekend, friday, may 13th at the continental club in austin and saturday, may 14th at raven tower in houston. go to johnevansband.com to find out how to get all of his albums and find out when he'll in a town near you. john came by a few weeks ago and we had a great conversation about picking up the pieces of a shattered heart after losing his daughter, the magic of prince, making polyester, touring with el trio grande, what he does as a producer, the fact that i probably saw his band play "i love rock n roll" when we were in jr high together and much, much more. john is a great hang and a phenomenal talent. i hope enjoy getting to know him as much as i did. 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 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 466: David Messier

hello friends! i hope you're all feeling footloose and fancy free. i'm doing well. i'm just sitting here listening to my first bandmate's new album he made with his wife. it's called, little souvenir and it's really good. their band is called basketcake. they don't play live or anything. they have kids and jobs. they just made an album because they love making music. fortunately, it's available for people to buy and listen to. here's a link to their band camp page basketcake bandcamp page go hear it for yourself!my guest for episode 466 is producer/singer/songwriter, david messier! you might know david as the owner of same-sky productions, producer and sideman, or as the frontman for the early 2000's boston band, papermoon. he is making his official debut as a solo artist with his album, waiting for eldridge, which comes out this friday, february 26th. he's also having a record release show friday february 26th at the townsend in austin, tx. so, if you're in austin, come out to the townsend on friday, see the show and pick up a copy of waiting for eldridge. if you're not in austin, check out davidmessier.com for all of your david messier needs. i hope you enjoy my conversation with david. i sure did. let's get down! ciao! -jg

Episode 463: Tank Washington

hello friends! i hope you're all getting your love jams together for the big "love day" coming this sunday. what are you doing for valentine's day? i have no idea what i'm doing. zuri and i are going to my aunt christina's birthday party saturday in houston. we'll be coming back that night. maybe we'll go to the iron cactus north for the opening of "soul of a musician series"... the townsend is having a thing with sarah sharp... what are you doing?my guest for episode 463 is hip-hop artist, tank washington! a member of the l.n.s. crew, tank just released his first full-length album, "pain" in january. the record is absolutely brilliant. he lost his father while he was making it and it really informed the record's feel. you can find the album on itunes, spotify, soundcloud and on bandcamp. we have a fantastic conversation about turning loss into productivity and deeper art, being a father, the lns crew, growing up in austin, the current hip-hop scene and much, much more. i hope you enjoy getting to know tank. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! jg

Episode 438: The SIMS Foundation Turns 20!

happy thanksgiving everyone! i hope you all have plenty to be thankful for. i'l be missing my family this thanksgiving, but i'll be with my girlfriend's family here in austin and that should be a good time. are you thinking of frying a turkey for thanksgiving? well, my pal, aj vallejo and i have a special thanksgiving edition of "cooking/drinking with johnny and aj" where fry a turkey cajun-style and teach you how to make this delicious and quick way to make your thanksgiving turkey go to our youtube page and learn how to make a fried turkey! i hope you all have a happy thanksgiving!my guests for this very special episode are heather alden, jennifer vocelka and kyle ellison from the SIMS foundation. for 20 years now, the SIMS foundation has provided support for austin musicians and their families. to find out more or just get involved go to simsfoundation.org.  along with the KGSR "live broadcast # 23" release this friday, kyle ellison has produced "friends of SIMS" an album of some of austin's best artists playing some of their favorite covers including, charlie sexton, alejandro escovedo, doyle bramhall ll and many more. we have a great and insightful conversation about mental health care, how SIMS can help and much, much more. i'm thankful for the SIMS foundation. they were there for me when i needed them. i hope you enjoy our conversation. i sure did. happy thanksgiving! ciao! -jg

Episode 429: Big Cat

hello friends! welcome to another episode of "how did i get here?" a podcast where i talk to musicians and other folks in entertainment and art about what, how and why they do what they do. i hope you're all doing well. i want to let you know that my band, skyrocket, will be playing at cedar street courtyard this saturday 10/31, halloween night. we start at 9 or 10 and play til your costume is coming off and your make-up is melting come out and party with us this halloween.my guests for episode 429 are singer, malford milligan and guitarist, dave sebree from austin's newest super-group, big cat! they're self-titled debut album comes out this week and they're playing a fecord release show this thursday 10/29 at the continental club here in austin and they're playing an instore at waterloo records on friday 10/30 at 4 pm. big cat also includes drummer, les fisher, keyboard player, stefano intelisano and bass player, roscoe beck! i had a great time catching up with malford and dave about how they got the band together, making their album and much, much more. i love these guys and i'm sure you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 422: Sphynx Returns... Again!

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. maybe you're celebrating john lennon's birthday. i'll be on 89.9 kutx in austin today at 2:30 along with stephen doster's band and a lot of other folks singing john's songs. tune in. turn on. and freak out! if you're not in austin, tune in to kutx.org to listen. hey gang! if you're in houston, tonight friday, 10/9, come out to the continental club and party with skyrocket. we go on at 10 pm. on that same note, if you're in pflugerville, skyrocket will be at hanover's tomorrow saturday, 10/10 we go on at 10 there too. we have three shows coming out next week, so look for shows on monday, wednesday and friday. my guests for episode 422 are returning for the fifth time. they're one of my favorite bands. they're one of the most energetic, creative and fun bands around. they're sphynx!!!! the guys stop by and talk to me about unicorn sex, the highs and lows of the last year of their lives, their new album, live from earth, touring, their dead van, the magic of french pop, their upcoming cmj showcase and much, much more! these guys have been through a lot over the last year/ they're weary but still going strong. they're beautiful people with a very strong musical and brotherly bond that i love being around and so will you. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 416: Dawn & Hawkes

hello friends! i hope you all are ready for the first day of fall this wednesday. i am! i have a new jean jacket, a new sweater and i'm ready to layer my clothes and feel cool, dry air. guys, i want to let you know that i am playing a tribute to XTC this friday, sept. 25th at strange brew. my friend, jon greene has assembled a great house band and they're having many singers of not including stephen doster, seela, darin murphy, kris nelson, jon sanchez,bruce hughes, miles zuniga and more including yours truly. yes! i will be ther singing as well. the show starts at 8pm and proceeds go to benefit the SIMS foundation. get your tickets here. come out, it should be a good time!my guests for episode 416 are singer/songwriter duo, dawn & hawkes. they have a new album, yours and mine that comes out next friday, 10/2. they'll be playing a waterloo instore that day and playing a special show at the one world theater in austin, tx that night. anyway, i have been trying to get these guys on the show since i saw them on "the voice" last year. they played before skyrocket one night and i really loved their harmonies and their songs. anyway, i talked to them at a show a few months ago, they told me they'd come on when they put out their new album and BOOM! here we are. so, newlyweds, miranda and chris came by a little over a month ago and we sat down and talked about their wedding, their songwriting process, being a romantic/musical duo, their new album, yours and mine, their experience on the voice and much more. i had a great time getting to know these amazingly sweet and talented people. i'm sure you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

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