Episode 424: Empire Machines

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. it's my birthday so i don't really know how i am. i'm kinda weirded out by the whole thing, but i'm dealing with it. hey! if you live in austin, my band, skyrocket is playing this friday at the one-2-one bar. we go on at 10. should be a good time. we're playing three shows this week. i'm releasing three podcasts this week. i might be old, but i like to stay busy. my guests for episode 424 are modern rock band, empire machines! their new ep animal skin is available now on bandcamp. they're having a release show this saturday, 10/17 at spider house ballroom. the show is brought to you by our friends at solstice live. so, matt and bruce came by and we had a great conversation about the branch davidians, taking a two year break from playing, recording animal skin, nice music teachers, finding rock and roll in waco, tx and much, much more. bruce and matt are great guys. i hope you enjoy getting to know them as much as i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 422: Sphynx Returns... Again!

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. maybe you're celebrating john lennon's birthday. i'll be on 89.9 kutx in austin today at 2:30 along with stephen doster's band and a lot of other folks singing john's songs. tune in. turn on. and freak out! if you're not in austin, tune in to kutx.org to listen. hey gang! if you're in houston, tonight friday, 10/9, come out to the continental club and party with skyrocket. we go on at 10 pm. on that same note, if you're in pflugerville, skyrocket will be at hanover's tomorrow saturday, 10/10 we go on at 10 there too. we have three shows coming out next week, so look for shows on monday, wednesday and friday. my guests for episode 422 are returning for the fifth time. they're one of my favorite bands. they're one of the most energetic, creative and fun bands around. they're sphynx!!!! the guys stop by and talk to me about unicorn sex, the highs and lows of the last year of their lives, their new album, live from earth, touring, their dead van, the magic of french pop, their upcoming cmj showcase and much, much more! these guys have been through a lot over the last year/ they're weary but still going strong. they're beautiful people with a very strong musical and brotherly bond that i love being around and so will you. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 421: Aly Tadros

hello friends! i hope you're all living the dream, feeling fancy and avoiding all of life's jive turkeys. i'm doing well. i've realized that i might have been doing too many podcasts lately because i have more shows than i have release slots. my solution, three shows a week every other week until the level balances out. is that okay with you guys? i hope so. look for three shows next week. hey guys! quick skyrocket announcement: we are playing at the continental club in houston on friday, october 9th and we'll be at hanover's in pflugerville on saturday october 10th. ...and that's my weekend. my guest for episode 421 is new york based singer/songwriter, aly tadros! aly played in austin a few weeks ago and i got to see her play and do a podcast while she was in town. i had heard her music, but i was blown away by her performance. she's not only an amazing singer/guitar player and songwriter, she's a great performer and, as you can tell from this podcast, a great hang. we have a great conversation about growing up in laredo, moving to new york, writing, performing, being sober and much, much more. i had a great time getting to know aly. i'm sure you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

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 415: Live at The Townsend w/ Kathy Valentine, Emily Bell, Amy Edwards and Miles Zuniga

hello friends! welcome to episode 415: live at the townsend with our guests, kathy valentine, emily bell, amy edwards and miles zuniga! this episode was recorded in front of a live audience on wednesday, sept. 9th. i have great conversations with all of the artists and we have a great group conversation about where we think things are going in the music world. the show was recorded by our friends at werd media labs. i had a blast talking to these great artists. i'm sure you will too. 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 412: Three Bones

hello there friends! i hope you all had a great labor day weekend and you're on your way to an easy four-day week. i've had a good labor day weekend. i played shows, went to shows, went to the mall, cleaned out my closet and did a podcast with aly tadros. eventful! not a lot of "normal" labor day weekend stuff, but i don't lead a "normal" life. hey gang! we have a live podcast tomorrow, wednesday, sept. 9th at the townsend from 8-10 pm. my guests will be kathy valentine, miles zuniga, amy edwards and emily bell! there is no cover for this event and you can find out all about it here.my guests for episode 412 are dalt and victoria from the lo-fi/soul band, three bones! their new album, haven't you heard comes out today and they're celebrating with a record release show with special guests, tele novella and ringo deathstar at the chicon collective. it's brought to you by solistice live and you can find out more about it here. dalt and victoria came by lat week and we had a fantastic conversation. i had a great time getting to know three bones. i'm sure you will too. 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 406: Mike Flanigin Returns!

hello friends! i hope this episode of "how did i get here?" finds you happy, healthy and sexually active. things are good here. i'm putting out 3 shows this week. this is the 2nd of the week. i've also been doing a lot of podcasts... i've already done 2 today. anyway, i wanted to let you guys know that if you live in austin, my band, skyrocket! will be playing at the one-2-one bar on friday, august 21st at 10 pm. it's a good time. come out and say hello. i also want to remind you that we're doing a live podcast recording on wednesday, september, 9th from 8-10 pm at the townsend right here in austin. my guests will be, kathy valentine, miles zuniga (fastball), amy edwards and emily bell. here's a link to the facebook event page. come out and get involved!my guest for episode 406 is one of my favorite musicians around, the amazing, mike flanigin! mike has spent the last couple of years touring and playing with the likes of jimmie vaughan, billy gibbons and playing with his own organ trio almost every weekend at the continental club gallery. the whole time he was doing that, he was also making an album, the drifter, (available friday 8/21) where he wrote the songs and found an awesome cast of artists to collaborate with including gary clark jr., billy gibbons, jimmie vaughan, kat edmonson, stephen barber, alejandro escovedo, dominique davalos, clem burke and more! since each song tells it's own story and has a different collaborator, i decided to go through the album song-by-song with mike and have him tell us how each song and collaboration came about. the drifter is an amazing musical statement and mike is a truly talented man. i had a blast hanging out and talking to him about this brilliant album. i'm sure you will too. his release show is at the paramount theater in austinand features special guests, kat edmonson, billy gibbons and more. get your tickets here! let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 405: Emily Wolfe Returns!

hello friends! i hope you're all staying cool in the dog days of summer. i'm enjoying a slow and relaxing sunday morning. i've been playing the last three nights with skyrocket. they were all great shows. we had a drummer subbing for our drummer and he did a great job. our how in houston at house of blues on friday was sold out. that was good. hey! we have a live podcast recording coming up on wednesday, september 9th from 8-10 pm at the townsend right here in austin, tx. my guests will be kathy valentine, miles zuniga (fastball), amy edwards and emily bell! if you're in austin and would like to come, check out our facebook event page.my guest for episode is the amazingly talented, emily wolfe! emily was on the show a couple of years ago and since her last appearance her life has changed drastically and we get into it. she has a new single, "cigarette burns" and is currently working on a new album. anyway, we met up at the werd company podcast studio and had a great conversation about recovery, staying sober, writing music, working with the great mike mccarthy, her plans for the next year and much, much more. emily is such a great talent and i want to thank her for being so brutally honest with me about what she's been going through lately. that stuff is never easy. i hope you enjoy our conversation as much as i did. let's get down! ciao! -jg