Episode 406: Mike Flanigin Returns!

hello friends! i hope this episode of "how did i get here?" finds you happy, healthy and sexually active. things are good here. i'm putting out 3 shows this week. this is the 2nd of the week. i've also been doing a lot of podcasts... i've already done 2 today. anyway, i wanted to let you guys know that if you live in austin, my band, skyrocket! will be playing at the one-2-one bar on friday, august 21st at 10 pm. it's a good time. come out and say hello. i also want to remind you that we're doing a live podcast recording on wednesday, september, 9th from 8-10 pm at the townsend right here in austin. my guests will be, kathy valentine, miles zuniga (fastball), amy edwards and emily bell. here's a link to the facebook event page. come out and get involved!my guest for episode 406 is one of my favorite musicians around, the amazing, mike flanigin! mike has spent the last couple of years touring and playing with the likes of jimmie vaughan, billy gibbons and playing with his own organ trio almost every weekend at the continental club gallery. the whole time he was doing that, he was also making an album, the drifter, (available friday 8/21) where he wrote the songs and found an awesome cast of artists to collaborate with including gary clark jr., billy gibbons, jimmie vaughan, kat edmonson, stephen barber, alejandro escovedo, dominique davalos, clem burke and more! since each song tells it's own story and has a different collaborator, i decided to go through the album song-by-song with mike and have him tell us how each song and collaboration came about. the drifter is an amazing musical statement and mike is a truly talented man. i had a blast hanging out and talking to him about this brilliant album. i'm sure you will too. his release show is at the paramount theater in austinand features special guests, kat edmonson, billy gibbons and more. get your tickets here! let's get down!ciao! -jg

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 401: Continental Drift

hello friends!  hope you're all doing well and taking the last weeks of summer in stride. i'm trying to. i'm getting my shit together after a couple of whirlwind weeks of podcasts, shows, the beach, new york, connecticut and the 400th podcast... whew! i had a great time doing everything, but it was utterly exhausting. hey! if you live in austin or not, i'll be on 93.7 KLBJ tonight at 11. i'll be on "local licks" with loris lowe talking about the podcast and stuff. check it out at www.klbjfm.com. also, tomorrow, wednesday, august 5th, i will be moderating a panel for the austin music foundation's, "the music business is dead" panel. we'll be discussing the implications of the austin music census findings with a great panel of musicians and music business folks. you can find out more and rsvp here http://austinmusicfoundation.org/. come out and find out where this community is headed and what you can do to sustain a career in this day and age.my guests for episode 401 are jedidiah and david from the ten piece, afro beat/psych band, continental drift. these guys are about to release their debut ep in a few weeks. i had the pleasure of sitting down with these cats yesterday and chatting about west african music, what is psychedelic music, maintaining order in a 10-peice band, recording live, working out songs at shows and much, much more. these guys are amazing musicians with a great vision and i really enjoyed getting to know them. i'm sure you will too. let's get down!ciao! jg

Episode 398: Lemonade - Hanging Out With The Gang At WERD When The Scheduled Guests Cancel.

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. i am running around trying to close down shop at my ex's place (where i've been staying for the last 7 days), get my shit together for my skyrocket show tonight while packing and getting my affairs in order before zuri and i leave for a mini-vacation to the beach with my family. the summer beach house vacation to galveston, tx has been a tradition in my family for over 30 years. zuri and i got to go last summer for a few days and had a blast. i'm looking forward to it. i've been getting everything squared away for episode 400. next wednesday, july 29th from 8-10 pm at the townsend in austin, tx. my guests will be aj vallejo, jazz mills, suzanna choffel, nakia and cocktail guru, justin elliott! justin will be presenting some of his cocktail creations including a new drink called "how did i get here?". come on out and celebrate 400 episodes with us! here's the facebook invite with all of he info. hope to see you there!so, i had the werd podcast studio and "juan, the engineer" booked for a podcast recording with a band i really like. well, they canceled 5 minutes before we were supposed to start. juan and i were already working on stuff for the show, so when they canceled, juan and i decided to carry on. i had booked the time. i needed a show. so,we walked the halls of the werd company asking everyone if they wanted to come talk to us. we were joined by joel, drew and ali and the 5 of us had a great conversation about all kinds of stuff. i want to thank everyone for being such great sports and helping me make lemonade. i had a great time shooting the shit with these guys. i bet you will too. 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 388: Tapes / Texas Music Water Returns!

hello friends! i hope this episode finds you slaying the dragons of life. i'm doing well. i'm running around, doing laundry, getting this show together before i leave to corpus christi to play with skyrocket tonight. i'm hustling back tomorrow to make it back in time to cover the solstice festival going on here in austin tomorrow, sat. june 20th at pan-am park from noon to 10 pm. a lot of great artists on the bill including, ringo deathstarr, jazz mills, money chicha, zeale, dead love club and more! find out all about it at solticeatx.com . my guests for episode 388 are the incredibly dreamy, electro-instrumental band, tapes! i came across these guys about a month ago and freaked out. they're a new band that just released two gorgeous albums. they're both available on itunes, spotify, soundcloud and of course, bandcamp go HERE to hear and buy these amazing albums! i got to see the band on friday and it was amazing. they make the most beautiful music. anyway, carlos and sergio came by the other night and w had a great chat about growing up in laredo, crazy high school bands, film school, forming tapes, you get a free lesson in spanglish, a peek into how they're gonna make their next record and much, much more. i hope you enjoy getting to know these guys and their music. i sure did. plus, dean wolfe from texas music water and american music water stops by again and tells us how we can support our community through music non-profits like SIMS, HAAM and more by just drinking water find out more at texasmusicwater.com and americanmusicwater.com "you hydrate. we donate" 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

Episode 385: Growl

hello friends! i hope your hearts are on the verge of exploding with happiness and joy. i'm well. i've been rehearsing with amy edwards (ep. 371) as i'll be playing guitar with her band at a show at stubb's here in austin on july 3rd. we'll be opening for the bluebonnets and it should be a fun night. i'm having a great time playing electric guitar and rocking out. i still haven't seen "love and mercy" that brian wilson movie. i think i'll see it tomorrow or thursday.my guests for episode 385 are indie-garage-pop band, growl! these guys have toured the states a few times, the have many releases on bandcamp and they're a great band. they prove that on their latest release, live at the blue dream which was recorded live by my pal, will from shivery shakes. anyway, we have a great conversation about being r.t.f. majors, classic indie-rock, girls, recording, day jobs, touring and much, much more. if you live in austin you can see them THIS thursday, june 11th 7pm at beats delicious presents: growl in a gallery i'd like to thank the fine folks at beats delicious for hooking me up with this amazing band. i hope you enjoy getting to know growl. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

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