Episode 419: Sweet Spirit

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. things are good here. the austin city limits festival is in town the next two weekends and i'm playing out of town both weekends, so i won't be able to go. are you going? are you coming in from out of town for it? i haven't been in a few years... maybe i'm overdue. hey! i have some press to share with you. austin monthly magazine featured the podcast in their october 2015 issue. this is very exciting for us here at "how did i get here?" check it out here! also, i was a guest on my friend, amy edwards' new podcast, "the real show". we have a great chat about podcasting, honesty, insecurity and much more with a lot of laughs. amy is a great host and her show is really good. listen here!my guests for episode 419 are sabrina ellis and andrew cashen for the amazing 9- peice power pop band, sweet spirit! their brilliant new album, cokomo, (produced by mike mccarthy) comes out friday, october 16th on nine mile records! sabrina and andrew were on earlier this year talking about their other band, a giant dog. but 2015 has been a banner year for them. they released their debut e.p., released two songs with britt daniel of spoon, they've spent the year touring on the country with and without spoon, they managed to write, record and are now about to release their debut, full-length album, cokomo and head out on tour of the east coast for the month of october. go to sweetspiritatx.com to find out if they're coming to a town near you and where you can get their amazing new album, cokomo. i love hanging out with sabrina and andrew. we have a lot of laughs, they are really focused and they're poised to do some great stuff. i hope you enjoy getting to know them as much as i did. 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 414: Joe King Carrasco / Clay Liford, Director of "Slash" Stops By

hello friends! i hope this episode finds you embracing the world as if it were your mother. things are good here. today we get a visit from director, clay liford who stops by to talk about his new movie, "slash". he's 95% done with the movie and has launched a kickstarter campaign to finish it. it's a coming of age comedy about a boy who writes "slasher fan fiction" a sub-genre of erotic fan fiction and stars michael ian black, missi pyle, hannah marks, michael johnston and more. clay and i have a great conversation about the sensitive nature of this story and how it's already caused some controversy in the "slasher" world. check out his kickstarter campaign and see what you can give. you have until friday sept. 25th so, get out there and get invovled!my guest for episode 414 is the man, the myth, the legend, the amazing joe king carrasco! joe stopped by a few weeks ago while he was in town promoting his new album, chiliando which he made with his new band, joe king carrasco y los side fx. chiliando is joe's most rocking album to date. he's been living in puerto vallarta for a while now and settled into his new mexican life. we sat down and had a fantastic conversation about, being a star of early mtv, having michael jackson sing back-up on a session, getting banned from saturday night live, his excitement over chiliando, questionable vans breaking down in the mountains while on tour, his dog rescue foundation vivaperros.org, owning his own club in puerto vallarta and much, much more! it was an hnor to have joe king come over and chat. i hope you enjoy it as much as i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 413: January May

hello friends! i hope you've had a great week! i have had a pretty eventful and busy week. not all has been awesome, but what in life is awesome all the time? i want to thank the townsend, werd media labs, my guests and everyone who made it out to our live podcast on wednesday. it was a pretty interesting show. people got into it. it wasn't as funny as live ones tend to be, but i've gotten a couple of emails telling me how informative and deep it was. so, look for that next week. if you're in houston tonight, 9/11/15, skyrocket will be playing at the continental club at around 10 pm. come out and party down with us!my guests for episode 413 are k.g., matthew and adam. otherwise known as the pop band, january may! these kids moved here from missouri last year when they released their debut full-length album, trouble made. they have had no problem putting themselves out there and when they have, it's really paid off. they've won grants, gotten to record and perform at full sail university after winning one of their contests and they have teamed up with the women's clothing company, belk to help promote the band and offset expenses so they can stay on the road. these guys have a clear head and they really handle themselves ell in this business. they're also, very sweet and a great hang. i hope you enjoy getting to know january may as much as i did. let's get down! ciao! -jg

Episode 409: Wiretree / Croy And The Boys

hello friends! i hope this episode finds you winning the race. i'm doing well. i have the weekend off from skyrocket, so i'll be going to my friends joe's to swim on saturday then to see a screening of penelope spheeris' 1983 film, "suburbia". i'll be doing the weekend stuff that everyone always gets to do when i'm on my way out of town to a gig or going to an early load in and soundcheck somewhere. exciting huh? hey! don't forget we have a live podcast coming up wednesday, sept. 9th  from 8-10 pm at the townsend here in austin, tx. my guests will be miles zuniga (fastball) kathy valentine, amy edwards and emily bell! there's no cover. check out the facebook event.my guest for episode 409 is kevin peroni from austin's indie pop band, wiretree! they've just rereleased the album that put them on the map, 2007's bouldin, on vinyl. kevin stopped by a couple of weeks ago and we talked about growing up in corpus christi, getting to austin, discovering pop music, starting wiretree, playing festivals in japan and europe, getting songs placed in movies and tv shows and much, much more. kevin was also nice enough to give us a brand new wiretree song, "let it go" to debut on the show. you can hear it at the end of the show. kevin is an amazing songwriter and artist, wiretree is an amazing band. i hope you enjoy getting to know kevin as much as i did. plus, corey baum from croy and the boys calls in to talk about their kickstarter campaign that ends next saturday, 9/5. check out croy and the boys kickstarter and see what you can do. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 394: Migrant Kids

hello friends! i hope you're all out there walking on sunshine this summer. i'm good... well, not good. i'm anxious because i have to go to the dentist today to have tooth pulled and to put in an implant post. sounds freaky, right? jeez. it stresses me out to be out of it and in pain and just confined to my apartment. all of those thoughts give me anxiety. hopefully, it won't be bad. i'm no stranger to the dentist, but i still get psyched out by that shit. at least they're nice. wish me luck.my guests for episode 394 are dream pop, shoe-gazer, rock trio, migrant kids! they've just put out a new single, "thread", produced by bright light social hour they're incredibly cool guys who make really beautiful and powerful music. they stopped by a couple of weeks ago and we had a great chat about their sound, how they make music as a trio, playing bass and drums at the same time, not forgetting where you and your people came from, working with bright light social hour and much, much more. i had a great time getting to know migrant kid, i'm sure you will too. 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 380: The Big Fix

hello friends! i hope this show finds you all out there, fighting the good fight just like the canadian rock-trio, triumph told you to. i'm good. i have a week off from skyrocket, so i've been working on some songs, getting some podcasts done, working on the show a bit. i have a solo show next thursday, 5/28 at the 502 bar in san antonio. i'll be opening for my friend, joseph king and his band of lunatics from nyc. should be fun. check out the event page for times and address. my guest for episode 380 is my old friend and former bandmate, nathan harlan who has a new band, the big fix. in 2003, i joined a band that nathan co-fronted called, endochine. i left the band in 2004 because my life was literally falling apart. they went on for a few months after but soon called it quits. i didn't see nathan much for the last decade... well, we fixed that with this show. nathan came by and we talked about our time in endochine, his move to new york, wriitng, acting and working on films, the decision to put a new band together, the big fix and much, much more. they have some music up at their site, thebigfix.band i had a great time catching up with nathan. i'm glad he's making new music. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 379: Moms That Rock w/ Co-host, Suzanna Choffel feat. Jazz Mills, Elizabeth McQueen, Raina Rose & Savanna Welch!

hello and welcome to this unique episode of "how did i get here?". a few weeks ago i went to visit suzanna choffel and her new baby, lulu. we got to talking about continuing to rock once you've entered motherhood. wondering how you balance being an performing/touring/creative artist and a mother... well, we decided to turn it into a podcast. i asked suzanna to put together a group of women she sees as her support team and to co-host the show. we have a wonderful group of extremely talented mothers. savanna welch, jazz mill, raina rose and elizabeth mcqueen share their experiences as moms that rock. we get a great insight into the writing/recording/touring/backstage life with a child. my thanks to suzanna and lulu for putting together the panel of guests and co-hosting. thanks to raina and benny, savanna, elizabeth and jazz. we had a great conversation, passed babies around and laughed. i hope you enjoy our chat. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 378: Danny Malone Returns!

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. i just found out about the loss of b.b. king. sad to see such a beautiful cat go. b.b., you will be missed. the thrill is gone indeed.my guest for episode 378 is the amazingly talented, danny malone! this is danny's second appearance on the show. we recorded a live one at hotel vegas 3 years ago in may of 2012. anyway, i am a huge fan of danny malone. he has a gorgeous album out now called, speedreamer. he made the album on my favorite medium, four-track cassette. he is a recent black fret grant recipient. we have a great conversation about, house parties, four-track cassette recording, we compare neurosis, europe and much, much more! danny is a great hang. i love talking to him. enjoy! let's get down!ciao! -jg