Episode 387: Löwin Returns! / Solstice Festival

yo people who read these transmissions from my sad, little brain! i hope you're all doing well. things are good here. i've been rehearsing, seeing bands, doing podcasts and generally trying to stay cool. on today's show, we get a special visit from and have a quick chat with matt, lauren and adrian from solstice festival. it's a free festival that takes place saturday, june, 20th 2015 from noon to 10 pm at pan am park in austin, tx. the festival features ringo deathstarr, zeale, jazz mills, money chicha, dead love club and many, many more. matt, lauren and adrian fill us in on solstice live, solstice festival, the shows this thursday and friday in 14 clubs and more. you can also go to solticeatx.com and find out line ups and info. my guests for episode 387 are sara and chris from the band, löwin! this is the band's second appearance on the show. they've just released a fantastic, new e.p. called, royal jelly. you can find it on itunes, spotify, soundcloud, select record stores and at their shows. if you live in austin, you can see löwin every saturday in june at the blackheart on rainey st. at midnight. i've seen them they're a great band. sara is a great musician/singer/frontwoman. we have a great conversation about they're new ep royal jelly, kanye west, writing and recording, songs with the names sara and johnny, the current music scene and much, much more! i hope you enjoy getting to know löwin as much as i have. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 385: Growl

hello friends! i hope your hearts are on the verge of exploding with happiness and joy. i'm well. i've been rehearsing with amy edwards (ep. 371) as i'll be playing guitar with her band at a show at stubb's here in austin on july 3rd. we'll be opening for the bluebonnets and it should be a fun night. i'm having a great time playing electric guitar and rocking out. i still haven't seen "love and mercy" that brian wilson movie. i think i'll see it tomorrow or thursday.my guests for episode 385 are indie-garage-pop band, growl! these guys have toured the states a few times, the have many releases on bandcamp and they're a great band. they prove that on their latest release, live at the blue dream which was recorded live by my pal, will from shivery shakes. anyway, we have a great conversation about being r.t.f. majors, classic indie-rock, girls, recording, day jobs, touring and much, much more. if you live in austin you can see them THIS thursday, june 11th 7pm at beats delicious presents: growl in a gallery i'd like to thank the fine folks at beats delicious for hooking me up with this amazing band. i hope you enjoy getting to know growl. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 383: Little Brave Returns! / Texas Music Water

hello friends! i hope this episode finds you being able to shut off the tractor beam on the death star so that you can rescue the princess and go home. i want to let you know that i have a show THIS thursday at the roost in north austin. i received a call last night from my friend that books the place and he said someone dropped out last minute and would i play on thursday at 8. so, i'm playing a solo acoustic show at the roost in north austin at 8 on thursday. come out and say hi to me. i want to also let you know that texas music water is the official water of "how did i get here?". dean wolfe from texas music water stops by the show today to quickly give us the background on texas music water and about the non-profits it supports like HAAM, SIMS, Anthropos Arts, Warrior Cry Music Project and more! find out where you can your texas music water at www.texasmusicwater.com "you hydrate. we donate"Episode 383 finds little brave back in the "hot seat". also known as stephanie macias, this is her second appearance on the show. this past april she put out and amazing new double cd, mythology. this album is absolutely gorgeous. going between electronic pulses and totally organic solo ukelele performances. i urge you to not only buy this album, but go to littlebravemusic.com and buy a physical copy. stephanie stephanie made such a beautiful package that also comes with a beautiful booklet. artists like little brave give me hope. she is a creative force to be reckoned with and we have a great conversation about everything from eating right to designing the gorgeous packing for mythology and everything in between. as always, i had a great time getting to know little brave again. i'm sure you will too. 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

Episode 376: A.J. Vincent

hello my friends! i hope you're all doing well. i just got some horrible news that there is an "allergy tsunami" coming. is that sensationalism or am i in trouble for the coming months and according to the news, coming years as well. yuk! i just got on flonase a month ago. it seems to be working. how do you control your allergies? my guest for episode 376 is one of austin's best, most innovative and entertaining musicians, a.j. vinent! he's just joined austin's hard rock heroes, scorpion child! you might also know aj from his time as the keyboard player for the bright light social hour, or from his insane solo shows. he's won best keyboard player in the austin chronicle music awards. he's got solo music out and it's awesome you can hear it at ajvincent.com. we have a fantastic conversation about  being born and raised in austin, cutting his teeth in a metal/hardcore/indie rock band in high school called, poor man's opera, hearing pink floyd, boston, led zeppelin and tower of power all in one day, we discuss our idea for "speedos" the woman's answer to "hooters", people buy him leslie cabinets, keyboards, joining scorpion child and much, much more. i hope you enjoy getting to know aj. i sure did. let's get down!

Episode 374: Ethan Azarian

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. i want to remind you about chepofest! tonight, may 1st 2015 at the cactus cafe' in austin, tx my friend, david' garza is heading up an all-star jam in honor of our friend chepo pena who's fallen ill as of late and needs some help with hospital bills. david' brings the party. let's party for chepo!my guest for episode 374 is amazing musician/artist, ethan azarian! we have a great conversation about growing up in rural vermont, moving to austin, the orange mothers, his duo with jeff johnston (they play wednesday night happy hour at the hole in the wall in austin, tx), making art. where all the cows in his paintings come from, fatherhood and much, much more. i hope you enjoy getting to know ethan. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 373: Elizabeth McQueen & Jerome Morrison Infinity + Infinity

hello friends! i hope you're all in fine shape and ready for the upcoming pool party season otherwise known as summer...my guests for episode 373 are elizabeth mcqueen and jerome morrison. they're presenting "infinity + infinity" at the museum of human achievement in austin, tx this thursday, april 30th and friday, may 1st with two shows per day at 7 and 9 pm. find out all about it at www.infinityplusinfinity.net so, what is "infinity + infinity"? the intermedia performance features mcqueen's newest ensemble, EMQ. with interactive structures designed and built by designer/visual artist/ man of science, jerome morrison. the work will utilize cutting-edge animation, audience-engaging motion sensor technology and, sophisticated building processes to create interactive, audience-controlled visual environments working in tandem with mcqueen's original music. we have a great conversation and they are able to explain the experience really well. i hope you enjoy our conversation. i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 372: East Cameron Folkcore

hello friends! i hope you're all happy, healthy and kung fu fighting your way through these crazy times.  things are good here. i am about to head out of town to play with SKYROCKET! tonight at a deb ball. should be interesting... if you;re in houston tomorrow, saturday, april 25th we will be playing at the continental club. the show starts at 10. it's always a good time at the continental club. also, if you're in austin this weekend, check out art city austin! it's an amazing art show that's going on saturday, 4/25 and sunday 4/26 with tons of art and artists showing their work. this year there will be music at the black fret stage both days with such notable acts as danny malone, jazz mills, elias haslanger, amy cook, today's guests, east cameron folkcore and many more. just go to artallianceaustin.org  for info and tickets!my guest for episode 372 is east cameron folkcore's frontman, jesse moore! if you live in austin, you might have just seen east cameron folkcore on the cover of the austin chronicle a couple of weeks ago. if you live in europe, you might have seen these guys on their yearly european tours. they've just released their thrid and most intense album, kingdom of fear, on april 7th. these guys are using music to spread a message about waking up to the catastrophic realities we have coming our way through, climate change, surveillance, impending water shortages and much, much more. a lot of us, including myself, would rather watch a funny video on youtube or check twitter than learn about these gigantic issues facing society. well, jesse and the rest of the band are not scared to face these issues, write about these issues and go sing about it all over the world. this is a great conversation, east cameron folkcore is an important band and jesse is a really nice, smart and entertaining guy. i hope you enjoy getting to know him as much as i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg