Episode 356: Tommy Mack & The Lifters

hello my friends! i hope you're all heading into the weekend with awesome plans. maybe you're going to see some music. maybe some music needs you to come see it. i say you look up your favorite local entertainment guide, be it online or even analog newsprint, find yourself a band to see. if you like them, buy their album, cd, download card, t-shirt, sweatshirt or any other merch they have. like their facebook page, follow them on twitter and instagram. what i'm saying is, get out there this weekend and see some music. if you like it, support it. get involved. my guest for episode 356 is the talented and always entertaining, tommy mack! tommy mack & the lifters have ben playing around for a while. they have a couple of rocking albums out. you can find them, their music and when they're playing at thelifetrs.net. i've known tommy for over 20 years and we've been trying to do this podcast for the last two years. we finally got it together and had a great conversation about the hard rock scene in the 80's, the a.r.c. (austin rehearsal complex), the backroom, continental club and much, much more. i hope you enjoy my conversation with tommy mack. i did. 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

Episode 311: Robyn Ludwick Returns!

hello my friends! i hope life is treating you well! summer is now a mere memory. i feel like i didn't really get into summer like i have over the last two years. not one pool party. i went to the beach with the family. so, i guess for one weekend i was fully-immersed in summer and summertime activities. oh well, it's fall now i'll tell you. it's cooler outside. i'm going to run at 9:30 am which is something you can't really do in the summer in texas because it's already too hot by then. however, with this new fall coolness, i'll be doing things after 9 am that i could only dream of doing in august. "seasons change. people change" - expose'my guest for episode 311 is incredibly talented singer/songwriter, robyn ludwick! this is robyn's second time on the show. i saw that she put out a dark and beautiful new album this summer called, little rain so i invited her back in for another round of verbal ballet. it turns out she's been mentoring a young lady from houston, she toured europe this summer... with her family, she toured australia and even played some prisons down there. we talk about all of that and much, much more. i love robyn. she is an amazing songwriter that tells very dark and twisted stories in a beautiful and haunting way. enjoy our talk. i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 310: Will Knaak Returns!

hello friends! i hope you're all "in it" this weekend for summer's last stand. yes, this weekend marks the last weekend of summer. fall starts next week and honestly, i'm ready for fall. my morning runs have been hot and humid festivals of sweat. i'm ready for cool, nice fall morning runs. hey! if you live in austin, today, friday, sept 19th 2014 is "danny crooks day"! no shit! my old friend is being honored by the city for his contributions to the music community. there's a party at the roost at 7 with the showing of a documentary and TONS of bands. i'll be playing some songs at 8. if you went to, or played at steamboat, you should come out and say hi to danny. it's gonna be a great show. i'll be coming back into town to play with skyrocket at 10:30 at the one-2-one bar. we don't do too many shows in the city limits... you should come out. do it!!!!my guest for episode 310 is amazing guitar player/singer/songwriter, will knaak! will making his second appearance on the show. he's just released his first solo album, the only open road and it's awesome! the album was produced by guitar hero, jeff plankenhorn and features brannen temple on drums and yoggi on bass. it's a pretty impressive debut album. you might know will as being a sideman for many country bands here in texas. he spends a lot of time on tour and has pretty much his whole life. he started out playing young and was out playing professionally when he was 12 years old! we have a great conversation about his journey, the courage it takes to make the step from sideman to frontman and the delicate balance, touring, working with jeff and much, much more. i am a huge fan of will's both as a player and as a person. you will be too after our conversation. lrt's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 307: Paul Oveisi

hello friends! i hope you're all dealing with the end of summer with grace and a nice tan. i wanted to swim today, but i've been inside doing a podcast, working on shows i recorded last week and getting ready to run to a session with a guy i'm producing a song for. then later tonight, i'm playing my last "johnny goudie & friends" summer residency at strange brew. i'm going to miss playing there every week. you get spoiled in a room like that. everyone that works there is totally cool, it's artist oriented and it's so nice to play a listening room. anyway, i have a great show tonight, tuesday, september 9th at 8 pm at strange brew lounge side. my guests are, ryan holley, joe reyes and kathy valentine!!!!!! kathy doesn't do acoustic shows so this is a rare treat. come out and see all of these great artists and celebrate my last show of this super fun residency.my guest for episode 307 is my dear old friend, former momo's owner, paul oveisi! momo's and it's owner were an incredibly important part of the music austin scene during the time it was open. paul wasn't just a club owner, he helped form bands, (the heathens, the coveters) he managed bands (dan dyer, the heathens) he encouraged a culture of community around momo's by having late night jams, suggesting collaborations and of course giving musicians work. paul moved to new york around three years ago with his girlfriend, suzanna choffel and his absence and the closing of momo's have left a hole in what some see as a scene that has not changed for the better. he opened a place in manhattan called, zirzamin which was destroyed by hurricane sandy a couple of months after i played there. anyway, he's moved on to restaurants and he's as interesting and entertaining as ever. i hope you enjoy our conversation. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 289: The Mastersons

hello summertime lovers! i hope you're all recovered from 4th of july weekend. i am. i had a good weekend. went to a wedding, played, wrote a song and watched some movies. my residency at strange brew continues tonight at 8 pm. my guests are daisy and graham wilkinson. i'm looking forward to it. i'm excited to play a song with each of them. if you're in austin tonight, tuesday, july 8th, come out to strange brew at 8pm and check out some great songwriters in the flesh. here's the deets... https://www.facebook.com/events/843999768946114/my guests for episode 289 are the amazing duo, the mastersons! you might know chris and eleanor from being members of steve earle's band, the dukes. they've also spent this summer opening for and performing with steve earle and the dukes. their second album, the incredibly gorgeous, good luck charm, comes out today! i highly recommend it. anyway, chris and eleanor came by back in may and we sat down and talked about, making good luck charm in l.a. with jim scott, writing songs, working as a couple as side people and front people, and much, much more. i really liked getting to know the mastersons. i know you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 288: Kelley Mickwee

happy 4th of july my fellow americans! for those of you not in the u.s., happy friday! i hope you're all well and you have great plans for this holiday. i woke up today to the pool at my apartments totally trashed. i saw a bunch of people partying like crazy when i got home from my gig last night at like midnight. now there are beer cans everywhere, tables are turned over and the exercise room is totally flooded because they stopped up the toilets. why am i complaining to you? because i think it's ugly. don't trash public places. i was gonna spend some time at the pool today. now i can't. happy 4th of july!my guest for episode 288 is singer/songwriter, kelley mickwee! you might know her from americana sensation, the trishas. well, the trishas are on hiatus and kelley has taken it upon herself to make a solo album. her self-produced, debut solo album, you used to live here, comes out on july 22nd. you can go to kelleymickwee.com to hear some of it. it's amazing! she's already gotten some great reviews and recognition for making a very special album. kelley came by and we talked about making her record in memphis, writing her first songs after getting a publishing deal, professional songwriting appointments in nashville, inside the trishas' phenomenal rise and much, much more. kelley is super cool and a great hang! i hope you like getting to know her as much as i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 271: Daisy

hello friends! i hope you're having a good workout or commute to work or tour or what ever you're doing while listening to this podcast. i am well thank you. my grandfather's passing was sad. it was a sad week and life is very different now without him in this world. that's just something i'll need to get used to. i have a long week of gigs (thursday-sunday). mostly skyrocket shows but i'm playing solo at a benefit on sunday. i don't know all the deets on it yet, but i'll let you know when i do. my guest for episode 271 is talented singer/songwriter, daisy! i met daisy a few months ago at a benefit i was hosting. she played before the benefit started but i really liked her music and her voice and talked to her about coming on the show. well, her debut e.p., do be do, has just been released. the title song, "do be do" was co-written with one of my favorites, steve poltz. daisy came by a few weeks ago and we chatted about everything growing up religious and being home-schooled, freaking out at college, becoming a social worker, what is burning man?, discovering songwriting, day jobs, folk alliance parties and much, much more. i had a great time getting to know daisy. i'm sure you will to.ciao! -jg

Episode 270: Randy Weeks

hello my friends. my guest for episode 270 is the talented singer/songwriter, randy weeks. you might know him best from his song, "can't let go" on lucinda williams' grammy winning album, car wheels on a gravel road. i saw randy play a couple of months ago at a benefit i was hoisting. we had a great chat backstage and i invited him to be on the show. turns out, he's a really great hang with an interesting story that goes from the 80's underground country/rock/folk scene in los angeles that included such luminaries as pete anderson, dwight yoakam, lucinda williams and many more to now when he's in austin, playing shows and starting a power-trio and much more. i hope you enjoy getting to know randy weeks. i sure did.

Episode 269: Tee Double Returns!

hello friends! i hope you're all doing the very best you can be doing. i am. i'm in houston with my family for a while as we all spend time with my grandfather as he passes from this life. this is a very intense experience. he has been my guy my whole life. he's been my father for pretty much my whole life. i'm glad that we can all be together during this time. he lived a very full life. he's given us all good lives and he and my grandmother created this beautiful family that i have been so very lucky to have been born into.for episode 269 we have the return of prolific rapper/entrepreneur, tee double. we had tee on a couple of years ago and since then, he's released a ton of music and started a non-profit call the urban artist alliance and much more. i ran into him at sxsw and we had a quick chat about what he was up to. i love talking to him. he's got such a great perspective and work ethic. in this episode we talk about everything from the progression and commercialization of music and music festivals to his new non-profit, urban artist alliance. tee double is a great guy and i hope you enjoy our conversation. i did.ciao! -jg