Episode 447: Calliope Musicals

hello friends! i hope you're all ready for christmas. i am not... yet. i think i'll be able to knock out most of it today. this time of year gets exhausting, doesn't it? i played a solo show at the townsend last night. it was good. i played with brandon kinder from the rocketboys. he has a new solo side project called the wealthy west. he sent me a link to a new album coming out in a few weeks and it's absolutely gorgeous. look for brandon to be on the show soon. my guests for episode 447 are technicolor psychedelic sextet, calliope musicals! they've just finished up a new album due out in april 2016, time owes you nothing, at the legendary sound city studios in los angeles. (the same studio featured in the dave grohl doc, "sound city".) get the skinny on them at calliopemusicals.com. they've taken their colorfully explosive stage show on the festival circuit this year, playing austin city limits festival, joshua tree festival, utopiafest and more. four members of the six-piece made it in and we had a hilarious conversation about how a band so big and so creative makes it happen like they do. i hope you enjoy getting to know calliope musicals as much as i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 445: The Welch Family (Kevin, Dustin & Savannah) / Dwight Twilley Checks In!

hello friends! i hope you all had a great weekend! i did. i was back in the saddle with skyrocket. we went to houston and played a corporate christmas party. it was good, but i didn't feel well during the show. like the whole show. i soldiered through though. came back to austin on saturday, did this podcast with the welches took a two-hour nap and played hanover's with skyrocket. i felt much better. we had a good time. i'm struggling with wearing earplugs on stage... i hate it.episode 445 is a super-sized episode loaded with extra goodness! first up, i have a quick skype conversation with power pop legend and one of my heroes, dwight twilley! dwight is playing a solo acoustic show THIS thursday, december 17th at the hole in the wall here in austin, tx. here's some more info on the show twilley @ the hole in the wall anyway, dwight and i catch up since our last chat (around a year ago) about playing solo shows, his art book, smoking and more! it's a good time. next up, we're joined by kevin, dustin and savannah welch! they're taking their "welch family throwdown" around texas this week. they'll be in wimberley, the woodlands and ft. worth. find out more here welch family throwdown we have a fantastic conversation about making music as a family, dustin's non-profit, soldier songs, kevin's songwriting retreats, nashville then vs. now, broadway faces and much, much more! i love the welches. i'm sure you will too. let's get down! ciao! -jg

Episode 443: My Jerusalem

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well out there in podcast land. things are good here. i got to go to the back fret black ball gala on friday. it was a fantastic event held at the paramount theater here in austin. black fret is a non-profit that gives grant to musicians to help them further their careers. on friday, black fret gave out $150,000 in grants to artists! i talked to some folks on the red carpet but unfortunately, it was way too loud and the recordings came out crappy. but, i got a couple of minutes with black fret founders, colin kendrick and matt ott and you'll hear that on the intro to this show. congratulations to those guys for two years of supporting artists!!!! check out black fret at blackfret.orgmy guest for episode 443 is amazing frontman jeff klein from the band, my jerusalem! my jerusalem just finished recording an album that should be out next spring. they're on the road this week in texas playing thursday, 12/10 at empire control room and garage, friday, 12/11 at the doublewide in dallas and saturday, 12/12 at paper tiger in san antonio. you can find out where they're playing and how to get their music by going to thisismyjerusalem.com jeff and i go back around 15 years. we spent 10 of those not speaking. in those 10 years jeff put out several critically acclaimed albums, toured the world with the twilight singers and the gutter twins, lived in new orleans, opened for X, the psychedelic furs and much, much more. i had a great time catching up with jeff. i'm sure you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 442: Narc Twain / Sam Means

hello friends! i hope you've all had a great week and are heading into the weekend with purpose. i'm good. still stopped up from having a cold but i feel a lot better. i had a great time moderating the austin music foundations's "expanding your horizons" booking panel on wednesday. i recorded it for a podcast, but there was so much interaction with the audience, who didn't have microphones, that  we can't put it out. next time. anyway, it was informative and i suggest that if you're a musician here in austin, you check out the austin music foundation. they can help you find your way.episode 422 is a double-header skype show! first up, i have a great chat with tommy siegel from brooklyn based band, narc twain. their new e.p. is out today. check them out on soundcloud. we have a great conversation about the band and how they came together, his other bands, drunken sufis and jukebox the ghost, what the brooklyn scene is like and much, much more. next up i talk to phoenix, arizona'a own sam means! sam's newest album, "10 songs" produced by steven macdonald from redd kross, doesn't come out until january 22nd, but you can check out some tunes from the album and find all things sam at sammeansmusic.com. sam and i have a great conversation about his old band, the format with nate ruess from the band, fun.,  scoring movies, his company hellomerch,com, how he's not fronted a band live but is willing to try and much, much more! i had a great time talking to these guys. i'm sure you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 438: The SIMS Foundation Turns 20!

happy thanksgiving everyone! i hope you all have plenty to be thankful for. i'l be missing my family this thanksgiving, but i'll be with my girlfriend's family here in austin and that should be a good time. are you thinking of frying a turkey for thanksgiving? well, my pal, aj vallejo and i have a special thanksgiving edition of "cooking/drinking with johnny and aj" where fry a turkey cajun-style and teach you how to make this delicious and quick way to make your thanksgiving turkey go to our youtube page and learn how to make a fried turkey! i hope you all have a happy thanksgiving!my guests for this very special episode are heather alden, jennifer vocelka and kyle ellison from the SIMS foundation. for 20 years now, the SIMS foundation has provided support for austin musicians and their families. to find out more or just get involved go to simsfoundation.org.  along with the KGSR "live broadcast # 23" release this friday, kyle ellison has produced "friends of SIMS" an album of some of austin's best artists playing some of their favorite covers including, charlie sexton, alejandro escovedo, doyle bramhall ll and many more. we have a great and insightful conversation about mental health care, how SIMS can help and much, much more. i'm thankful for the SIMS foundation. they were there for me when i needed them. i hope you enjoy our conversation. i sure did. happy thanksgiving! ciao! -jg

Episode 437: Star Parks

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. the weather in austin has been gorgeous the last couple of days and that's always a good thing. i hope wherever you are, it's gorgeous too. fall is the best! i'm playing a solo show on tuesday, november 24th at the volstead here in austin. i'll be opening for the big fix which should be a good time. come out. the volstead is a rad bar and the have a fantastic patio. other than that, i'm heading to fredericksburg tomorrow with skyrocket tomorrow to play at the crossroads. those are always lively and interesting shows with at least three bachelorette parties in the audience. each party thinks their bachelorette is the best and as they drink more, they become more and more competitive. should be lively and interesting. i'll let you know how it goes on tuesday's show.my guest for episode 437 is andy bianculli from the band, star parks. their album, don't dwell will be available in january 2016, but for now you can go to starparks.bandcamp.com to hear some jams. andy came by back in early october and we had a fantastic conversation about touring with a cajun band, the legitimacy of john cusack as brian wilson, making lo-fi pop music on your own and much, much more. i hope you enjoy getting to know andy. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 435: The Lonely Wild

hello friends! i hope you're all having a great week. hopefully where ever you are, you're enjoying the cool fall weather that we're enjoying here in austin. so, i had an eventful week... i deleted two podcasts i recorded on tuesday. right after i finished the second one with dan dyer (a podcast i've tried to book for over 4 years BTW), i went to turn off my machine as dan and i chatted and i didn't "save" my interviews and they were deleted. it was that easy. i did it once before in summer of 2012 after i talked to comedian, john tole. anyway, this time i deleted dan dyer's and a band that is on tour from los angeles. luckily, i was able to get the band from l.a. to come by the next morning be fore they left town and looks like dan will be back in next week... i hope. my guests for episode 435 are los angeles indie rock band, the lonely wild! we actually had this conversation twice. yes. they're the band from l.a. who's interview i deleted the day before, but they were nice enough to come by and do it again. anyway, the lonely wild is currently on tour in support of their gorgeous new album, chasing white light. they'll be on tour through november 23rd in the midwest and east coast with indie rockers, young buffalo. go to thelonelywild.com to find out if they're coming to a town near you and find out where to get chasing white light. i want to thank the band for coming by twice and being so cool about everything including me deleting their first podcast. i hope you enjoy getting to know the lonely wild as much as i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 434: Laurie Gallardo Returns!

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. i had a crazy weekend of shows. hey! speaking of shows, i'm playing a solo show next tuesday, november 17th at the townsend. the show starts at 8 and i go on at 9. there will be a special guest playing from 8-9. i'll post a link on our facebook page when i have all the details. i'm looking for an old drum machine that's reasonably priced and is from the 70's. do you know of one. write me on our facebook page. my guest for episode 434 is the voice of KUTX 98.9 fm in austin, laurie gallardo! this is laurie's second time on the show. we sat down a month or so ago and caught up on her various endeavors including her d.j. shift on KUTX 98.9 monday-thursday 8-11pm, her support of local music and touring bands with her "austin music minute" heard daily on KUTX and "the good music club" which can be found at thegoodmusicclub.com/ and much, much more! laurie has been a great friend and tireless supporter of the podcast and my music career. i have a genuine respect for her. i see her out at a lot of shows and music functions. she's definitely an important part of this crazy austin music scene. i hope you enjoy our conversation as much as i did. let's get down! ciao! -jg

Episode 427: Moving Panoramas / Honky Tonk Heaven: The Story of the Broken Spoke

hello friends! i hope you're all flying high again! things are going well here at la casa de johnny. i have a great big show for you guys today. before we get to my conversation with moving panoramas, 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 guests for episode 427 are the amazing dreamgaze trio, moving panoramas! their gorgeous new album, one came out earlier this month. you can find one and fin out all about them at movingpanoramas.com leslie and rosie from the band came by a few weeks ago and we had an amazing conversation about leslie's life-changing, traumatic few months, turning heartache and confusion into beautiful art, teaching rosie music and becoming bandmates, fear of numbers, school of rock, shoegaze vs. dreamgaze, the making of one, custom earplugs vs. $1 earplugs and much, much more! leslie's story is harrowing, but what she was able to do musically not only made her feel better but it made the world a more beautiful place and for that i thank her and the rest of the band. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 425: Freddie Steady Krc

hello friends! i hope this episode finds you all happy and healthy. i am a bit hungover as i celebrated my birthday last night. it was a blast. saw the wonderful dawn & hawkes play, then i had a fabulous dinner, then went to se my old pal aj play and met up with a bunch of friends. great night! if you're in austin tonight, october, 16th and looking for something to do, skyrocket will be playing at the one-2-one bar at 9 pm. come out and party with us.my guest for episode 425 is singer/songwriter/drummer/guitar player/renaissance texan and texas music hall of famer, freddie steady krc! freddie has been a staple on the austin scene since the 1970's when he played drums with the likes of b.w. stevenson, jerry jeff walker, carole king and more. he went on to start the new wave/power pop band, the explosives in the late 70's. then a string of great country and garage rock bands including freddie steady 5, shakin' apostles, freddie steady's wild country and many more. freddie continues to write and play with his many bands, he owns a record label and now runs the austin chapter of the musicians union. freddie and i have an awesome and long conversation about his journey. i hope you enjoy getting to know freddie steady as much as i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg