Episode 421: Aly Tadros

hello friends! i hope you're all living the dream, feeling fancy and avoiding all of life's jive turkeys. i'm doing well. i've realized that i might have been doing too many podcasts lately because i have more shows than i have release slots. my solution, three shows a week every other week until the level balances out. is that okay with you guys? i hope so. look for three shows next week. hey guys! quick skyrocket announcement: we are playing at the continental club in houston on friday, october 9th and we'll be at hanover's in pflugerville on saturday october 10th. ...and that's my weekend. my guest for episode 421 is new york based singer/songwriter, aly tadros! aly played in austin a few weeks ago and i got to see her play and do a podcast while she was in town. i had heard her music, but i was blown away by her performance. she's not only an amazing singer/guitar player and songwriter, she's a great performer and, as you can tell from this podcast, a great hang. we have a great conversation about growing up in laredo, moving to new york, writing, performing, being sober and much, much more. i had a great time getting to know aly. i'm sure you will too. 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 391: Ali Holder

hello friends! i hope this episode finds you getting ready for the 4th of july by eating as many hot dogs and as much apple pie as you can without dying. also, fireworks. i am coming to you from my apartment whee i am frantically trying to prepare for tonight's taping of "cooking/drinking with johnny & a.j.", the cooking webseries that i co-host with a.j. vallejo. it's a good time, but i've been out of town for a few days playing shows and my place is a mess. i have to get it cleaned up before i mess it up again cooking with aj and the yanez sisters... check the "how did i get here?" facebook page for photos and an update when the show comes out. in fact go to  how did i get here on facebook and "like" it if you haven't. there's all kinds of stuff on there. get involved then let's get down!my guest for episode 391 is singer/songwriter, ali holder! ali came over a while back and we got to have an incredible conversation about her journey both personally and musically from small town texas to becoming a real musical force here in the austin scene. she is currently in oxford, mississippi recodring the follow-up to her brilliant, debut album, in preparation for saturn's return. the new album is due out this september. you can find out all about ali and her music at aliholder.com i want to thank ali for being so candid during our conversation. i know it made her a bit uneasy, but that's what makes her so cool. i hope enjoy getting to know ali. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 383: Little Brave Returns! / Texas Music Water

hello friends! i hope this episode finds you being able to shut off the tractor beam on the death star so that you can rescue the princess and go home. i want to let you know that i have a show THIS thursday at the roost in north austin. i received a call last night from my friend that books the place and he said someone dropped out last minute and would i play on thursday at 8. so, i'm playing a solo acoustic show at the roost in north austin at 8 on thursday. come out and say hi to me. i want to also let you know that texas music water is the official water of "how did i get here?". dean wolfe from texas music water stops by the show today to quickly give us the background on texas music water and about the non-profits it supports like HAAM, SIMS, Anthropos Arts, Warrior Cry Music Project and more! find out where you can your texas music water at www.texasmusicwater.com "you hydrate. we donate"Episode 383 finds little brave back in the "hot seat". also known as stephanie macias, this is her second appearance on the show. this past april she put out and amazing new double cd, mythology. this album is absolutely gorgeous. going between electronic pulses and totally organic solo ukelele performances. i urge you to not only buy this album, but go to littlebravemusic.com and buy a physical copy. stephanie stephanie made such a beautiful package that also comes with a beautiful booklet. artists like little brave give me hope. she is a creative force to be reckoned with and we have a great conversation about everything from eating right to designing the gorgeous packing for mythology and everything in between. as always, i had a great time getting to know little brave again. i'm sure you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 368: Anna Vogelzang

hello friends! i hope this episode finds you all healthy and happy and dancing a jig. i'm doing well. i went to the eye dr. yesterday and found out not only do i need reading glasses, but i also need glasses to wear while driving at night. so, i when i get my glasses next week, i'll post a pic on the facebook page and you guys can call me "four eyes" and things like that. while i'm on the subject, don't forget to "like" our facebook page  and see pictures of the guests and receive updates on former guests, their releases and their whereabouts. my guest for episode 368 is madison, wisconsin based folk singer, anna vogelzang! i caught up with anna while she was here for sxsw and had a fantastic conversation. she's currently on tour and plans to record her 5th studio album this summer after her tour. you can find out where she is and what she's up to as well as pick her latest e.p., driftless. anna and i had a great talk about everything from ian's pizza in madison to being married and on the road a lot of the year. plus, she teaches me "the pizza song" i had a great time getting to know anna. i'm sure you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 352: Brennen Leigh & Noel Mckay / Foster 5

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well and you're ready for the weekend and excited about president's day. anyway, things are good. i am getting some songs together for a show i have on march 6th at lambert's in austin. i'm playing with my all-lady band, johnny in the ladies room. it should be super fun. members of the bluebonnets and me playing garage rock. yes! i'm really looking forward to this. we haven't played a whole show together in almost 5 years. i've gotten to sit in with the bluebnnets a few times over the last few years but, we're finally doing the BAND again. i'll fill you in as it gets closer. my guests for episode 352 are amazing solo artists individually and they come together to do the close-harmony duo, brennen leigh & noel mckay! brennen and noel are both prolific songwriters that split their time between austin and nashville and the road. i love their solo work but i also totally love their duo stuff. we got to sit down a couple of weeks ago and talk about, nashville, songwriting, the road and much, much more. i hope you enjoy getting to know brennen and noel. i sure did. plus, christopher durst and lisa dahl stop by and tell us about their new non-profit, foster5. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 346: Amy Cook Returns!

hello friends! i hope you are all doing well and ready for the weekend. i am. SKYROCKET! is back to regular work this week. we're going to houston tomorrow and then lake charles, la on saturday. saturday is supposed to be some crazy mardi gras costume ball, so that should be fun. i hope you guys have enjoyed the three-show-week. we actually got a shout out from KUTX 98.9 here in austin today for our cautiontape show from yesterday. check it out http://kutx.org/austin-music-minute/how-we-shine it's nice to get the recognition.my guest for episode 346 is the amazingly talented and ultra-cool, amy cook! this is amy's second time on the show. amy just won a black fret grant, she is one of the 10 artists that won $10,000 in the inaugural group of grant recipients. we have a great conversation about everything, recording with robert plant, the magic of david garza, butt implants and much, much more. i love talking to amy, she is one of the coolest people i know. she'll be one of the coolest people you know after you listen to this show. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 343: Guy Forsyth

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. things are good here. i spent the day recording vocals for skyrocket's new demos with my old pal darin. i had a great time. tomorrow, i'm going to my pal kyle's house to record some keyboards for those same demos. yes. two studios are being utilized. it's going well. it's like a little assembly line. people going in and out singing at one place and playing at another. good times. anyway, we have the weekend off and i'm looking for some stuff to do. i'm sure i'll find something.my guest for episode 343 is the extremely talented and interesting, guy forsyth! now, i've know and seen guy play since 1991, but i have never really sat down and talked to him, so this was a treat. guy is an amazing musician that started out in the midwest and made his way to austin 20 years ago and since then has put out a bunch of albums, toured the united states and europe, been a part of a couple of a mazing bands, had a great solo career, became a dad and much, much more. this conversation is loaded with great tangents. i hope you enjoy getting to know guy forsyth. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 318: Penny Jo Pullus

hello friends! it's fall and i'm loving it! i'm taking a break from working on a song for the new kimmie rhodes album. i'm going into the studio on monday to play on the basic tracks for the album. i did some songs earlier this year and it was a blast. her son, gabe is producing and playing on the album and the rest of the band is amazing. anyway, i'm looking forward to doing that on monday. this weekend, i'll be playing with skyrocket. we're playing in fredericksburg on saturday and playing a wedding in san antonio on sunday. busy, busy. you'll hear all about it on the show on tuesday.my guest for episode 318 is singer and songwriter, penny jo pullus! i've known penny jo and we've been friends for nearly 20 years. she's an amazing singer who was born to sing. i sang with her at a show a couple of months ago with john bush and i was curious about her story. although we've been friends for years, i didn't really know her whole story. well, she cam over and we talked about her growing up in syracuse, ny doing musical theater, then broke off into punk rock and eventually found her way to austin and the singer/songwriter scene. i had a great time getting to know penny jo. i know you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 312: Jimmy LaFave / Suzanna Choffel Checks In

hello friends! i hope you're all accepting the entrance of fall like a female minx during mating season. i am. i have enjoyed the cool weather like nobody's business. i just got home from a gig at steiner ranch with skyrocket. it was really fun. my old friend, dan, came out. we've been buddies since 4th grade. what a great guy. anyway, good times were had. jams were jammed. if you live in austin, we'll be at the roost tomorrow, saturday, 9/27. come out. it's a party.my guest for episode 312 is legendary singer/songwriter, jimmy lafave! i've seen jimmy play and heard his music for the last 22 years. i have always loved his voice and his songs so much. i finally asked to come on the show. mostly, so i could get to know him better. i'm glad i did. we had a great conversation about oklahoma, the red dirt scene, weird record deals, starting a label, owning a studio, touring europe and much,  much more. you're gonna like getting to know jimmy lave. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg