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 459: Emily Bell Returns!

hello friends! i hope you're all getting ready for a fabulous weekend! the weather in austin is unseasonably gorgeous today. i would complain about global warming, but i'll just keep recycling, turning off my lights, walking instead of driving and things of that nature. it's also, my girlfriend, zuri's birthday and i have the weekend off from playing so we're going to hit the town all weekend! i hope you are too!my guest for episode 459 is the amazingly talented and entertaining, emily bell! emily has a fantastic new single out "goddess of destruction", a new band, emily bell & the talkbacks and a new residency! since emily was on the show in 2013, her life has taken many turns, both good and bad. now she's taken all of that energy and put it into a gorgeous/cathartic collection of songs that she will be showcasing with her new band, the talkbacks every other tuesday at stay gold in austin starting this tuesday, feb 2nd. if you don't live in austin, you can find all things emily bell at emilybell.com! i hope you enjoy my conversation with emily. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 447: Calliope Musicals

hello friends! i hope you're all ready for christmas. i am not... yet. i think i'll be able to knock out most of it today. this time of year gets exhausting, doesn't it? i played a solo show at the townsend last night. it was good. i played with brandon kinder from the rocketboys. he has a new solo side project called the wealthy west. he sent me a link to a new album coming out in a few weeks and it's absolutely gorgeous. look for brandon to be on the show soon. my guests for episode 447 are technicolor psychedelic sextet, calliope musicals! they've just finished up a new album due out in april 2016, time owes you nothing, at the legendary sound city studios in los angeles. (the same studio featured in the dave grohl doc, "sound city".) get the skinny on them at calliopemusicals.com. they've taken their colorfully explosive stage show on the festival circuit this year, playing austin city limits festival, joshua tree festival, utopiafest and more. four members of the six-piece made it in and we had a hilarious conversation about how a band so big and so creative makes it happen like they do. i hope you enjoy getting to know calliope musicals as much as i 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 424: Empire Machines

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. it's my birthday so i don't really know how i am. i'm kinda weirded out by the whole thing, but i'm dealing with it. hey! if you live in austin, my band, skyrocket is playing this friday at the one-2-one bar. we go on at 10. should be a good time. we're playing three shows this week. i'm releasing three podcasts this week. i might be old, but i like to stay busy. my guests for episode 424 are modern rock band, empire machines! their new ep animal skin is available now on bandcamp. they're having a release show this saturday, 10/17 at spider house ballroom. the show is brought to you by our friends at solstice live. so, matt and bruce came by and we had a great conversation about the branch davidians, taking a two year break from playing, recording animal skin, nice music teachers, finding rock and roll in waco, tx and much, much more. bruce and matt are great guys. i hope you enjoy getting to know them as much as i did. 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 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 399: Songs From The Podcast

hello friends! i hope you're all enjoyeing summer. when this comes out i'll be getting ready to leave galveston and return to austin for our live recording of episode 400 tomorrow, wednesday, july 29th from 8-10pm at the townsend! my guests will be, aj vallejo, jazz mills, suzanna choffel, nakia and justin elliott! come celebrate 400 episodes with us!welcome to episode 399: songs from the podcast. over the last year i've had well over 100 guests come by the apartment, talk to me at festival, meet me at werd podcast studios and even meeting at undisclosed locations, to talk about where they're at with their music life and music career. often times, these people are coming by during their "press assaults" promoting their latest album or single. sometimes i end up getting turned on to a new band, artist, album or song. in fact, it happens all the time. i love when a podcast is over and the artist's music stays with me and i become a fan. with well over 100 artists on the show over the last year, i got turned on a bunch of music. in this episode i included 15 songs that i loved. there so many more, that i started a playlist on spotify titled, "episode 399: songs from the podcast" you can find a link to it on our facebook page check it out there are a lot of songs on there. so, i get to play d.j. and spin tunes from shivery shakes, little brave, quiet company, billy harvey, migrant kids, the blue bonnets, bob schneider, phranchyze, dwight twilley, t.a.p.e.s., skinny lister, cautiontape, the wind + the wave, LEV and wild adriatic! hopefully, this mix sparks your interest in some of these bands and makes you check out the spotify playlist where you can check out even more music from the podcast. i hope you enjoy listening to this as much as i enjoyed making it. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 387: Löwin Returns! / Solstice Festival

yo people who read these transmissions from my sad, little brain! i hope you're all doing well. things are good here. i've been rehearsing, seeing bands, doing podcasts and generally trying to stay cool. on today's show, we get a special visit from and have a quick chat with matt, lauren and adrian from solstice festival. it's a free festival that takes place saturday, june, 20th 2015 from noon to 10 pm at pan am park in austin, tx. the festival features ringo deathstarr, zeale, jazz mills, money chicha, dead love club and many, many more. matt, lauren and adrian fill us in on solstice live, solstice festival, the shows this thursday and friday in 14 clubs and more. you can also go to solticeatx.com and find out line ups and info. my guests for episode 387 are sara and chris from the band, löwin! this is the band's second appearance on the show. they've just released a fantastic, new e.p. called, royal jelly. you can find it on itunes, spotify, soundcloud, select record stores and at their shows. if you live in austin, you can see löwin every saturday in june at the blackheart on rainey st. at midnight. i've seen them they're a great band. sara is a great musician/singer/frontwoman. we have a great conversation about they're new ep royal jelly, kanye west, writing and recording, songs with the names sara and johnny, the current music scene and much, much more! i hope you enjoy getting to know löwin as much as i have. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 384: Ulrich Ellison Returns! / Austin Music Foundation

hello friends! i hope you're all pulling the magic sword out of the stone of life. i'm doing well. excited to be in my bathing suit. i have a gig tonight, but i'm off the rest of the weekend. looking forward to seeing the brian wilson movie and "san andreas", going swimming, hitting a bar be que and who knows what else. it's summer and i'm in the zone! my guest for episode 384 is austrian blues rocker, ulrich ellison! this is ulrich's second time on the show. he and his band, ulrich ellison and tribe just released a new album, dreamchaser, toured europe and are about to embark on a midwest tour next week! we have a fantastic conversation about the "tribe", touring europe and the u.s., making dreamchaser and much, much more. also, alex and jen from the austin music foundation stop by and fill us in on their function in the austin community, the recent austin music census, wine down tuesdays and all of the events they promote and much more. if you live in austin and are a local, music-based business or a musician, the austin music foundation is there to help you. have a great weekend. let's get down!ciao! -jg