Episode 536: Craig Dorfman (Author of "Brighter Day: A Jellyfish Story")

Hello friends! I hope you all had a great weekend. Are you a fan of the band, Jellyfish? Do you ever wonder why they only released two albums (Bellybutton - 1991, Spilt Milk - 1993) and broke up? Do you ever wonder what ever happened to the members of the band? Well, for episode 536 I talk to Craig Dorfman, the man who wrote the book about Jellyfish. The book is called, "Brighter Day: A Jellyfish Story" Craig just picked up distribution last week, so it should make its way into some stores in the next few months, but for now you can get it the "Brighter Day: A Jellyfish Story" facebook page. I reached out to Craig and got a copy of the book. I absolutely loved it. Jellyfish is one of my favorite bands and it was great to hear the whole story told by the people that lived it and told in a single narrative that keeps you engaged the whole time. Craig and I have a great conversation about finding the dozens of people involved in the story and interviewing them and working on the book for over 7 years, his love of music and these guys and their life story and much, much more. I hope you enjoy getting to know Craig. I sure did. Let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 516: Free Kittens And Bread

Hello friends! I hope this episode find you well and and having a successful summer. It's been raining since Saturday here in Austin. It's been nice to get rid of the heat for a little bit, but the rain is a little much. Quick plug, Skyrocket, the band i'm in, is playing this weekend. Friday, August 9th, we'll be playing the new Hanovers 2.0 in the North Austin/Round Rock area. Saturday, August 20th, we'll be heading down to Houston to play The Continental Club. find out more details at skyrockettheband.com
My guests for episode 516 are Austin punk/pop band, Free Kittens And Bread! Their brilliant new album, American Miserablist was released recently and they just got off of a tour of the US. Their single, "Brainless" already has over 35,000 plays on spotify. (i accidentally said "35 plays" in the intro, but i meant 35,000. sorry guys.) Chase Spruiell and Mark Hawley came by and we had a great conversation about combining punk music, folk music and power pop to create their sound, meeting in film school at St. Edwards, playing house parties on tour vs. clubs, the genius of Steve Poltz, touring the US and much, much more! I hope you enjoy getting to know these guys. I sure did. Let's get down!
Ciao! -JG

Episode 498: Arthur Yoria

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. i want to invite those of you who live in austin to our live podcast recording of episode 500 at the townsend on monday, june 20th at 8 pm. my guests will be taylor muse (quiet company), suzanna choffel, kathy valentine, a.j. vallejo and nakia. go to our facebook event page for more info. come out and celebrate 500 episodes of "how did i get here?". plus, there's no cover!
see you on monday!
my guest for episode 498 is singer/songwriter, arthur yoria! arthur and i go back a few years and he's always been one of my favorite people to play shows with because i'm such a fan of him and his music. arthur has a new single and video out for the beautiful song, "ruff life" and is currently working on a new album for splice records. find out all about where he's playing and how to get his music by going to arthuryoria.com. arthur came by a few weeks ago. i hadn't seen him in a few years and we had a great conversation about taking a break from from the grind of the biz, meeting his dog rita, working on new music for a new album, dealing with medications and much, much more! i had a great time catching up with my old friend. enjoy! let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 495: Charlie Faye and The Fayettes

hello people! i hope you're all doing well. it seems like it hasn't stopped raining for like a month here in austin. there's flash flooding, you can't go swimming, when it stops raining and the sun comes out, the outside world becomes a steam sauna... it's really kinda gross. i'm playing a couple of shows with skyrocket this weekend and i'm really glad they're both inside shows. speaking of which, we'll be playing at the mercer street dance hall in dripping springs on friday, june 3rd and at the continental club in houston on saturday, june 4th. if you live in those towns are interested, you can find out more about us at skyrockettheband.com
singer/songwriter, charlie faye returns to the show for episode 495! she has a new musical project, a new band and a new album with a fresh take on the 60's girl group sound and look. the self-titled, charlie faye & the fayettes comes out next friday, june 10th. the first single "sweet little messages" is already getting great reviews and has charted on the americana music charts. the core of the group is charlie and her two amazing back-up singers, akina adderly and betty soo, but just like the great girl group records of the sixties, charlie faye & the fayettes is a who's who of amazing studio musicians, including members of elvis costello and the attractions, jellyfish, lone justice and more. go to charliefayeandthefayettes.com to find out where they're playing and how to get the album. i hope you enjoy my conversation with charlie faye. i sure did. let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 486: Jeremy Nail

hello friends! i hope you all had a great weekend. i had a good one. photographer, todd wolfson came a shot some amazing photos of my dogs on saturday. the guys were extremely cooperative and at the end, my dog taylor acted all crazy and vicious for the todd. it was hilarious, i'll post some photos of it on the facebook page. then, saturday night skyrocket returned to our old haunt, cedar street courtyard. the show was really fun. people came and they were excited to see us at that venue again. we'll be back there soon. this weekend i finally got on periscope. i don't quite know what to make of it yet. i periscoped a bit, but i'm not sure what or when to periscope. i want to do some stuff with the podcast. i'll let you know when i do. 
my guest for episode 486 is amazing singer/songwriter and one of my favorite people in the world, jeremy nail! jeremy's profoundly powerful and gorgeous new album, my mountain, comes out tomorrow, tuesday, may 3rd. it was produced by the amazing alejandro escovedo, mixed by rock legend, jim scott. the album features the talents of chris searles, bobby daniel, chris masterson, eleanor whitmore, jazz mills, dana falconberry, stephen barber and me. jeremy and i have a great conversation about what it took to make my mountain, surviving cancer, how he couldn't cut it as a rancher, working with legends and much, much more. you can see jeremy perform my mountain at his record release show this friday, may 6th at strange brew in austin, tx. you can find out where and when he's performing by going to jeremynail.com. i hope you enjoy my conversation with jeremy as much as i did. let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 477: Bruce Sudano

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well out there in the world. i'm good. i have a busy day of running errands, laundry, writing two songs and of course, this podcast. i'm headed to vegas tomorrow to play a show with skyrocket. should be fun. i'm bringing my recording gear just in case i can interview donny osmond or an elvis impersonator. i hope you guys have a good weekend. 
my guest for episode 477 is legendary singer/songwriter, bruce sudano. i caught up with bruce when he was in town for sxsw promoting his gorgeous new album, the burbank sessions. his illustrious career spans five decades starting with the band, alive n kickin' in the late 60's, then his r&b band in the early 70's, brooklyn dreams hooked up with donna summer and wrote and performed, "heaven knows" with the disco star. he ended up marrying donna summer and going on to write "bad girls" with her among many other songs. he work on and in films like, "thank god it's friday", "american hot wax" and "hollywood knights". his latest album, the burbank sessions is absolutely gorgeous. he's still making music that is relevant because it's honest, the expression is raw and real and he is just a bad-ass songwriter. check him out at brucesudano.com he'll be on tour in may. i hope enjoy getting to know this amazning artist/person. i sure did. let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 476: The Roomsounds

hello friends. i hope you're doing well. it's been a strange weekend. i was knocked out by allergies and spent about 48 hours in bed sneezing, coughing and sleeping. i wrote a song with my friend amy before i crashed on sunday, so i'm still in the songwriting game. i'm actually in two right now. i'll post a link to my soundcloud page on the "how did i get here?" facebok page. 
my guests for episode 476 are dallas' real rock and roll band, the roomsounds! their gorgeous new album, elm st. just came out on friday (3/25) and they're heading out on a southeast, northeast, midwest tour starting this friday, april 1st in tuscaloosa al. go to theroomsounds.com to see if they're coming to a town near you. i caught up with sam and ryan when they were here for sxsw and we had a great conversation about living the underage dream/nightmare in l.a., the drink menu at the double-wide in dallas, recording at fame studios in muscle shoals al, living as a band in rehearsal spaces, condemned houses and a van, having an east coast attitude in the south, following their hearts to the south and much, much more! i hope you enjoy getting to know the roomsounds. i sure did. let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 454: Burgess Meredith Returns!

rest in peace starman.my guests for episode 454 are power pop band, burgess meredith! josh king and jesse hester came by couple of weeks ago and we caught up about member changes, a new 7", playing lots of shows, we bonded over some of our favorite pop music and much, much more. you can find there new 7", double-a-side and their first release, banana moon at their website burgessmeredithmusic.com. i had a great time getting to know josh and jesse. i'm sure you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 451: Kev Bev and the Woodland Creatures

happy new year everyone! welcome to 2016! i hope you all had a safe and happy new years eve and spent it with loved ones. i am about to head to houston as i write this to play a new years eve party. should be fun. i'll be with my friends. i have some resolutions i'm going to try to stick to: quit sugar drinks and cookies, eventually quit smoking, be a better person. what are yours? my first guests for 2016 are kevin and candace collins from the 9-piece, soul/funk/reggae/hip-hop extravaganza known as, kev bev and the woodland creatures! their new album, domesticated is out TODAY, jan 1 2016! you can find it and all about them at kevbevandthewc.com domesticated is a celebration of life much like their idols, sly and the family stone. i thought this would be a great way to start out 2016. candace and kevin came a few weeks ago and had a great conversation about handling a 9-piece band, life in a small east coast town, music scenes, kickstarter, vinyl is the hotdog of music?, being a couple on a band and much, much more! i hope you enjoy getting to know candace and kevin as much as i did. let's get down! happy new year!ciao! -jg

Episode 450: Paco Estrada

hello friends! i hope this episode finds you well. it's the last week of he year. are you okay with this year? did you have a good one? i think i had a good one. things are going well. i'm healthy and happy and in love. did you have a good christmas? i had a good one. no matter how weird it got, i was still surrounded by my loving family and i wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. my guest for episode 450 is talented and beloved singer/songwriter/bandleader, paco estrada! paco and i have been trying to get together for a podcast since i started the show. well, we finally did it! i went out to orb recording studios a few weeks ago, tucked away in one of their gorgeous cutting rooms and had this great conversation. we talk about growing up a preacher's son, learning songs for dual cassette recordings, making e-books along with records, his newest album, bedtime stories, the uncertainty of labels and managers, the two corys and much, much more! i hope you enjoy getting to know paco as much as i did. let's get down! ciao! -jg