Episode 252: The South Austin Moonlighters

hello my friends! i hope you're all staying warm. this is a really late winter in most places. of course our miami friends are having their third warmest winter on record. strange weather. i am about to head out to kimmie and gabe rhodes studio this morning as i am going out to add some "crazy sounds" and stuff like that on the tracks we recorded a few weeks ago. if you now me and my albums, you'll know it's my favorite thing to do. so, this will be a fun day. outside of that, this week i'm doing last-minute confirmations for sxsw. i have quite a few interviews scheduled and i'm booking some activities with a couple of guests so that we'll go do something and report on it... new stuff!my guests for episode 252 are the talented and entertaining, phil hurley and lonnie trevino from the south austin moonlighters. you might remember that lonnie was on this show a year or so ago. anyway, they have a new album out called, burn and shine. they recorded this album in an old church converted into a studio here in austin and self-produced an album that showcases their many talents as songwriters, players and singers. you can find out all you need to know about the south austin moonlighter by going to http://www.thesouthaustinmoonlighters.com/  i had a great time talking to them about what they do and how they do it. i'm sure you'll have a great time listening in to this conversation. ciao! -jg

Episode 245: Erin Ivey Returns! / Sphynx checks in from the road again!

"get hip baby! you like metal?"hello my friends!i hope the world is going along with your plans for life. i'm doing well. i had a great night last night. i hosted and played at a benefit here in town for the mccormack family who lost their home in the floods on halloween. it was a great night with bill carter, rosie flores, gabriel rhodes, patricia vonne alejandro escovedo, kacy crowly, matt mccormack, william harries graham, marlon sexton and many, many more came out, played and raised some dough for the family. if you want to find out how YOU can help the mccormack family go to their "go fund me" site http://www.gofundme.com/53iuw8 thank you.my guest for episode 245 is the incredibly talented and entertaining erin ivey! this is erin's 2nd appearance on the show. her brilliant new cd/dvd, whisper of the moon comes out next tuesday, february 11th 2014. she recorded this album live with the tosca string quartet and filmed it. the album is gorgeous and you get to watch it and feel like you're there with the dvd. she's having a release party on thursday february 13th at the belmont in austin, tx. you're in austin i urge you to go see this beautiful production with erin and a string quartet. gorgeous. erin came by and we got to talk and catch up and she talked about how she made the album and challenges and rewards that went along with  working outside the box. i hope you enjoy my conversation with erin. i sure did.ciao! -jg 

Episode 243: Jesse Sublett / Sphynx checks in from the road

hello my friends! i hope you're all doing well. i'm good. i think i'm going for a run this morning... i haven't run since it's been so cold. i hate running in the cold. after my run, i'm heading out to houston to play at the house of blues with skyrocket tonight. i went to a fun party last night and i got to see my dear, old friend, will play. the health alliance for austin musicians (HAAM) was honoring my friend shane matt for all of his work with the organization both raising money and through his dental practice. i want to remind you that i will be playing the mccormack family benefit next thursday, february 6th at strange brew in austin, tx. the event is from 6pm to midnight. special guests include, alejandro escovedo, kacy crowley, bill carter me and many, many more. if you're in austin, come out. here's a link http://holdmyticket.com/event/159592my guest for episode 243 is musician, author, painter and all-around artist, jesse sublett. jesse is one of those guys i've been around a few times over the last 20 years, but i've never really gotten to know him at all. i knew he was in the 70's punk band, the skunks along with jon dee graham and i knew he was an artist and had survived cancer. i had no idea that he wrote documentaries for the history channel or that he had written so many books or that in the 70's his girlfriend had been murdered in their home while he was playing a gig. he is easily one of the coolest people i have ever met. this episode is just part 1 of our conversations. i'm reading his memoir/true crime book, "never the same again" and it's absolutely fascinating. i hope you enjoy my conversation with jesse. i did.ciao! -jg

Episode 242: Kendall Beard

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. things are good here. i've been working on booking interviews for sxsw... it's gonna be nuts! i have a quick announcement to make for those of you in austin....The McCormack family home was severely damaged during the recent floods in the Onion Creek area. Help us help them recover from this loss by joining us for a special evening of music thursday, february 6th 6 pm- 12 am at strange brew in austin, tx. The McCormack Family Benefit special guests include Alajendro Escovedo, Matt McCormack & The Valley Below, Bill Carter, Stephen Doster, Randy Weeks, Phillip Gibbs, Kacy Crowley, Patricia Vonne, Rosie Flores, Matt Munhall, Johnny Goudie, Ryan Carter, Todd Wolfson. here's a link to the event http://holdmyticket.com/event/159592my guest for episode 242 is singer/songwriter and show biz veteran, kendall beard! kendall just released her first album, all around girl, a few months ago, but by the time she released it, she was already a seasoned veteran. she  started singing lessons at 10 years old, by 15 she was working with a professional singing group under the guidance of boyz 2 men in philadelphia, she made it as a semi-finalist on american idol, she started writing honest songs and working with my dear old friend, a.j. vallejo and now she's got all around girl to show where she's been. we had a great coversation. she was honest, entertaining and humble. i hope you enjoy getting to know kendall. i did.ciao! -jg

Episode 241: Steve Bernal

Hello my friends. if you normally listen to this show the day it comes out, i'm sorry it's late. i was coming home from a gig in dallas (i talk about the gig in the intro) with some friends on thursday evening when we hit a full-on texas winter snow and ice storm. it took us 7 hours to get 100 miles so we stopped in temple, texas and got the last two hotel rooms and waited out the storm. it was pretty hairy before we got the rooms. parts of the highway were just a sheet of ice. cars were sliding into each other. it was chaos in a winter wonderland. anyway, my friend darin was at the wheel and we made it home safe and sound yesterday afternoon. thanks darin. i was gonna put this out when i got home but i fell asleep and when i woke up in the evening i just ate some dinner and went back to sleep. i guess i needed it. my guest for episode 241 is bass player/cellist and my dear old friend, steve bernal! steve has an extremely interesting story about his journey into rock and roll as a bass player then learning a new instrument in the middle of his career. the cello. he actually went to school for it, joined an orchestra, toured with bands and has made a few albums. his latest is called, portals. it's an album of just bass, cello and drums. steve plays the bass and cello and the drums are played by the legendary barry "frosty" smith. steve and i talk about his colorful musical history, learning world beat and reggae on the road, playing with joe rockhead and a young bob schneider, being a sideman bass player, the billy white trio, learning cello as an adult, his new album, portals and much, much more. i hope you enjoy our conversation as much as i did. ciao! -jg

Episode 238: Carolyn Wonderland

hello friends! i hope that you are winning, or at least advancing, in your own private revolution. it's such gorgeous weather this week. it's totally inspiring. i went to kimmie rhodes' house yesterday and started writing a new song with her. i just love her. then i went saw her band, middle fanger, last night at the saxon pub. the band is kimmie, bill carter and kimmie's son, gabe. i ended up jumping on stage and playing a couple of songs with them. it was so fun and such an inspiration to play with them. i'm looking forward to more. my guest for episode 238 is the amazing carolyn wonderland! since this show started i have gotten requests from you guys to get carolyn on the show... well, here she is! i can still remember the first time i saw carolyn play in 1991 at zelda's in houston like it was yesterday. think it's because i had never seen anyone like her before. carolyn is the real deal. she has transcended learning and playing the blues to being someone who is CREATING the blues. she is an amazing guitar player, singer, songwriter and whistler. i was really glad she was able to come by and talk. we talk about everything, her husband, a. whitney brown's amazing pepper collection, the houston music/theater/comedy scene, townes van zandt, touring, europe, politics and much, much more. carolyn is not only amazingly talented, she's also an incredibly beautiful person. i hope you enjoy our conversation as much as i did. ciao! -jg

Episode 234: Vincent Ambrosone

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!hello friends! i hope you have a safe & happy new year and an incredible 2014! i would like to thank you all for listening. 2013 has been a great year for the show and i can't wait to see what 2014 brings. do you want to now what i'm doing for new year? i'm playing at rockefeller hall in houston tonight with SKYROCKET! it's our big new years eve show. i've   made some resolutions for 2014, 1. write more songs. 2. quit the smoking 3. eat better... i can do it. hey! i'm playing a solo show on thursday, january 2nd at strange brew in austin, tx. i play early, at 6:30. i'm serious. 6:30 - 7:30. if you're in austin, come out and let me entertain you.  my guest for episode 234 is drummer/glass artist/photographer, vincent ambrosone. i haven't known vinnie very long, but we've become pals over the last couple of years. i like his playing a lot, he's very funny and he's a really nice guy. i knew he was playing a lot with the bleu edmonson band, but i learned a lot through this entertaining conversation. we talked about his hatred of kanye, growing up in corning, ny, being the youngest of 8 kids, documentaries, how he became a glass artist, what brough him to austin and muc, much more. i hope enjoy getting to know vinnie. i did. happy new year!

Episode 232: Gabriel Rhodes

merry christmas everyone! happy holidays and all that stuff too!hello friends! i hope this episode finds you all celebrating the season with loved ones. i am getting my shit together to go see my family for christmas. i'm looking forward to the insanity that is my family. i got my christmas shopping done. i bought everyone music at a local record store. hopefully, they'll all like their presents. i even got the babies albums! well, i hope you and yours have a great christmas!my guest for episode 232 is the incredibly talented multi-instrumentalist/engineer/producer, gabriel rhodes!  i've seen him play a few times and i've always been blown away. i got to chat with him at a gig recently and asked him to be on the show and he said yes. gabe is the son of recent guest, kimmie rhodes, so he grew up in the music world. we had a great conversation about working in willie nelson's studio at age 13,being a skater, his experiences with willie, tom jones, inxs and olivia newton john, learning to record, becoming a producer, making his newest album, the beautiful old and much, much more. i had a great time getting to know gabe. i'm sure you will too. merry christmas!ciao! -jg

Episode 230: Craig Marshall

hello my friends! i hope you're all doing well. things are good here. i'm going to do some christmas shopping today. going to the local record stores and buying music for family members. i'll be getting music that's in their taste range but something they haven't heard or heard of. i hope i can find something that my grandparents will like. it's kind of exciting to do this. i'll let you know how it goes. oh! if you're in austin this friday, december 20th, i'll be playing a solo show at the one-2-one bar from 6-7pm. it's an early show for your friday night. i hope to see you there!my guest for episode 230 is the great singer/songwriter, craig marshall. i've known craig since the 90's when i would see his band, the lucky strikes. the lucky strikes are still out there playing and doing it, but in the early 2000's craig asserted himself as a songwriter and started a solo career to coincide with the lucky strikes. what followed was a series of great solo records that found his songs covered by all kinds of people and started his reputation as a songwriter's songwriter. his latest album, hiding in the doorway was produced by robert harrison (cotton mather, future clouds and radar) and brings in more of a country flavor. anyway, craig came over a while back and we sat down and got into it. it's a great conversation and i hope you enjoy it as much as i did. ciao! -jg

Episode 228: Carter Beckworth

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. i am getting it together to leave town for a mid-week private SKYROCKET! show. this is the last week of SKYROCKET! shows before new years eve. we have three shows this week and i'm playing a songwriter in the round at the one-2-one bar in austin, tx on thursday, december 12th from 7-9 pm. the other songwriters will be drew smith, graham wilkinson and danny matthews. should be a good time. i'm getting back out there. i've booked some solo shows. i have another one next friday, december 20 from 6-7 pm. it's also at the one-2-one bar in austin, tx. i'm really looking forward to playing. if you're in austin, come out and say hi. i'd love to see you.my guest for episode 228 is singer/songwriter, carter beckworth! he's just released his third album, humble heart.  i didn't know carter when he came over, but we sat down (after the dead rat was taken out of my apartment) and headed into "the carter beckworth experience" full-force. turns out he's a really sweet, hard-working guy with some great songs and lady-pleasing looks. he's shared the stage with such acts as ryan bingham, bob schneider, hayes carll and many, many more. if you're in austin this friday, december 13th, he'll be playing with his band at stubb's. you should go check it out! i hope you enjoy getting to know carter beckworth as much as i did. i'm sure you will.ciao! -jg