Episode 441: Eve & The Exiles

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. i'm on the mend. i was feeling awful yesterday with a nasty cold. you can hear it in the intro. i feel and sound a lot better this morning which is good because i'm moderating a panel on local, regional and national booking tonight (wed. 12/2) for the austin music foundation. if you would like to go, here's a link "expand you horizons" booking panel artists charlie faye, einar pedersen (kelly clarkson) and booking agent, laura thomas (combo plate booking) will be discussing booking strategies and taking questions. the whole thing takes place tonight! wednesday, 12/2 at 7 pm at st. elmo's soundstage in austin, tx.my guests for episode 441 are two of my favorite musicians/people, eve monsees and mike buck from eve & the exiles! they are releasing their newest album, you know she did, THIS friday 12/4. they're playing an instore at antone's records here in austin on sunday, 12/6 at 3 pm and they're doing a release show at c-boys heart and soul on friday, 12/11. go to eveandtheexiles.com and find out how to get the album if you're not in austin. eve and mike came by almost 2 months ago and we had an amazing conversation about their new album, you know she did, owning antone's record store, growing up on "guitar hero" street, mike's amazingly educational and entertaining sun radio show (mondays 7-9pm 100.1 sun radio) and much, much more! i hope you enjoy getting to know eve and mike. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 433: Ben Balmer / Honky Tonk Heaven: The Story of The Broken Spoke

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. before we get to my conversation with ben balmer, i have a quick chat with michelle faires, producer of "honky tonk heaven: the story of the broken spoke" a documentary about the legendary texas honky tonk. they've just started editing and they've started a kickstarter campaign to finish up their movie. michelle gives us an insight to the story, but you can check it out and give at kickstarter.com/brokenspokefilm do it!my guest for episode 433 is singer/songwriter, ben balmer! i just happened to see ben a couple of months ago when he opened for aly tadros at a house concert. i was blown away by his songs and his performance, so i asked him to come over for a chat. well, he did and we had a great conversation about his newest album loose lips, sunk ships, bruised hips and boozed lips, touring the u.s. and europe, he played a song live on the show and much, much more. i hope you enjoy getting to know ben as much as i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 432: Robert LaRoche

hello friends! i hope you're all easing into fall. getting out those sweaters and jackets and hats. i want to welcome all of the new listeners. i hope that the show is serving you well. informing and entertaining you. please feel free to "like" and leave comments on the episodes here on the podbean page. also, we encourage you to "like" our facebook page and you can follow the whereabouts of our former guests, see what shows are coming up, see pictures of me with the guests and much more. please go there and get involved with the show!my guest for episode 432 is guitarist/singer/songwriter releasing his debut solo album, patient man robert laroche! robert has a record release show THIS friday november 6th at strange brew lounge side in austin, tx! i've known robert for over a decade and i've always had a great time hanging out with him. you might know robert best from being the guitar player for patricia vonne for over 15 years.  maybe you know him from his north hampton, mass band, the sighs which were active from the early 80's through the 90's. anyway, robert has gone through some life changes and struck out on his own with his gorgeous solo album, patient man produced by my pal, darin murphy. i hope you enjoy getting to know robert. i sure did. let's get down!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 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

Episode 408: David Pulkingham / Utopiafest

hello friends! i hope you're all handling the insane stock market fluctuations with a cool hand like e.f. hutton. things are good here. i've been practicing with pal amy edwards and yates hagen for a show we have at the gibson showroom for the austin film society in a couple of weeks. it's been fun working on songs and changing them up to accommodate our stripped down band. speaking of a coupe of weeks... we have a live podcast coming up on wednesday, sept. 9th at the townsend from 8-10 pm. my guests will be kathy valentine, miles zuniga, emily bell and amy edwards. these live shows are really fun and there is no cover. come out and say hi. my guest for episode 408 is one of austin's most "in demand" guitar players, david pulkingham. you might know david through his work as a sideman with such notable artists as, alejandro escovedo, robert plant, patty griffin and many more. well, david has stepped out of his sideman role for his gorgeous new album, little pearl. just released last friday, little pearl features patty griffin, lloyd maines, the tosca string quartet and many more. david stopped by a couple of weeks ago and we had a great talk about growing up in a commune, music school, taking part in the latin explosion, learning rock and roll from alejandro escovedo, playing with robert plant and much, much more. i've always liked david. he's an exceptional musician and great hang. also, travis sutherland from utopiafest (sept. 4th0 sept. 6th) stops and tells what to expect at the 7th annual utopiafest this labor day weekend. more info on utopiafest at utopiafest.com. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 407: Penelope Spheeris & Anna Fox / The Peterson Brothers

hello friends! i hope you're all finding yourselves enjoying your summer. i am. it just cooled off a bit which is nice. i have a great show for you guys today! a double-header, if you will. fist up i have legendary director, penelope spheeris and her daughter/ business partner, anna fox. you might know penelope from the big hollywood movies like "wayne's world" and "black sheep", but you might also know her from her "decline of western civilization" parts 1-3 documentaries. i came up watching part 1: the punk years and part 2: the metal years and loved them. the austin film society is presenting a ver special screening of all three parts plus, penelope's 1983 film, "suburbia" at the marchesa theater on friday, august 28th and saturday, august 29th. penelope and anna will be on hand for a "q & a" after the movies. tickets and more info on the event are available at https://www.austinfilm.org/decline so we have a great phone conversation where we find out what happened to the bands, odin and london from part 2: the metal years, why paul stanley was in bed with three girls during his interview and much more. if you want to own the new decline of western civilization box set, go here shout! factory.my second guests for episode 407 are austin's new generation of blues musicians, the peterson brothers! glenn and alex peterson stopped by to talk to me about their debut, self-titled album that came out earlier this month, being professional working musicians by night and high-school students by day, keeping their weekly continental club residency (mondays @ 6:30 fresh), where they want to take the blues and much, much more. i really enjoyed getting to know these fine, young, talented gentlemen. i'm sure you will too. find out more about the peterson brothers at petersonbrothersband.com 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

Repost Episode:166: The Jitterbug Vipers, Slim Richey

slim richey, 1938-2015hello friends. it is with great sadness that i bring you the repost of this episode of "how did i get here?" episode 166: the jitterbug vipers. yesterday, legendary jazz guitarist and beautiful soul, slim richey, lost his battle with lymphoma. this is a great loss to our community and our tribe. my heart and condolences go out to his family, his lovely wife and musical partner, francie meaux jeaux, his friends and his viper bandmates, sarah sharp and masumi jones. sadly, with this great loss comes a great financial burden with slim having spent a lot of the last couple of months in the hospital and funeral costs. you can help francie and the family by going to their gofundme page and donating what you can. i hope you enjoy this great/crazy conversation and get something out of it. i sure did. slim will be missed.

Episode 355: Wild Adriatic Returns! / Pick With Austin

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. this year is just flying by isn't it. i hope you're finding the time to stop and smell the roses. how did you like the oscars? i always think i'm going to like those things, but i really have more fun just making fun of everything than actually watching the show. especially on twitter. i loved "boyhood" & "birdman". i would've taken either as best picture. i am sad that the drummer guy in "birdman" didn't "qualify" for an academy award. that was one of my favorite things in a movie EVER! i've been doing podcasts every day this week. i have a lot of great shows coming in the next few weeks. plus, SXSW is coming! run for your life!!!!my guests for episode 355 are new york rockers, wild adriatic! this amazing rock and roll band just moved to austin to write songs, taking on a saturday night residency at empire control room and garage. they're releasing a new e.p., never enough on tuesday, march 17th 2015. this is the guys' second appearance on the show. they were on last year while they were here on tour. anyway, we had a great conversation about their recent european tour, how they make songs, life in the van, how spotify helps them spread the word, mateo's love of merchandise, we talk gear and just what the hell they're doing in texas for 6 weeks. i hope you enjoy our conversation. i sure did. plus, laurie hebert from pick with austin stops by and talks about their current instrument drive. let's get down!ciao! -jg