Episode 349: Aaron Behrens and The Midnight Stroll

hello friends! i can't believe it's already february... can you? i hope you're doing well. things are good here. still doing this "song a day" thing. it's pretty hard to keep up. i fell behind over the weekend and now i'll be writing songs every day until feb 27th. all good. i need it pretty badly. do you write songs? what do you do to get everything kickstarted? do play some games? do you do something special? share it with us at the facebook page . we'd love to know.my guests for episode 349 is ghostland observatory frontman and now leader of aaron behrens and the midnight stroll, the amazing aaron behrens! i have been a fan of ghostland observatory for years, then i saw aaron did a solo project, i checked it out and reached out to him. he knew the show and was happy to come by and chat. we have a great conversation about growing up in a small town, finding music, ghostland observatory, touring like mad, being a dad, opening his own studio and much, much more. i had a great time getting to know aaron. i'm sure you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 346: Amy Cook Returns!

hello friends! i hope you are all doing well and ready for the weekend. i am. SKYROCKET! is back to regular work this week. we're going to houston tomorrow and then lake charles, la on saturday. saturday is supposed to be some crazy mardi gras costume ball, so that should be fun. i hope you guys have enjoyed the three-show-week. we actually got a shout out from KUTX 98.9 here in austin today for our cautiontape show from yesterday. check it out http://kutx.org/austin-music-minute/how-we-shine it's nice to get the recognition.my guest for episode 346 is the amazingly talented and ultra-cool, amy cook! this is amy's second time on the show. amy just won a black fret grant, she is one of the 10 artists that won $10,000 in the inaugural group of grant recipients. we have a great conversation about everything, recording with robert plant, the magic of david garza, butt implants and much, much more. i love talking to amy, she is one of the coolest people i know. she'll be one of the coolest people you know after you listen to this show. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 345: Cautiontape

hello friends! as you can see, we have THREE shows this week! a busy week here at "how did i get here?" headquarters. things are good here. i had a long rehearsal with skyrocket today. it was good and very productive. we recorded some songs over the last couple of weeks and now we have to work some new parts into old songs. how are you? don't forget that you can like our facebook page, "how did i get here?" and find out what shows are coming up, see pictures and keep up with bands that have ben on the show.my guests for episode 345 are synth-pop band, cationatape! caytiontape just released their debut e.p., how we shine and they have a release show tonight, jan 22nd, 2015 at the spiderhouse ball room in austin, tx. jason and brit stopped by a couple of nights a go and we had cocktails and got to know each other. we had a fantastic conversation about how the band got together, making how we shine with producer robert harrison, dating, pop music, the fact that i have four robes and much, much more! i really had a great time getting to know jason and brit. i'm sure you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 344: Lincoln Durham & Matt Ott w/ Black Fret

hello friends! i hope this episode finds you slaying the evil dragons of life and rejoicing afterwards. things are good here. i've ben trying to figure out what i'm going to play next wednesday. i haven't done any solo shows since last september. i might need to figure it out soon. also, i'm looking for band people for a new band. i don't know exactly what i want to do, but i'm willing to try some new shit. we'll see. i'll keep you posted. i feel like i've had some false starts over the last couple of years. time to jam.my guests for episode 344 are matt ott from black fret and one-man-band gothic rocker, lincoln durham. lincoln is one of the recent recipients of black fret's $10,000 grants. we have a great three-way conversation about black fret and how it works from one of it's founders (matt) while getting an insider's view to what it's like to have won a grant. all the while learning about lincoln durham and his amazing and unique musical journey. great guys, great conversation. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 339: Bang Feather Bang

happy new year friends!!! i hope you're all ready for it. i'm not. i am sick. i have some chest thing. it's awful and when i cough it's gross. i had a good NYE playing with skyrocket in houston. we had a great show and we played, "bohemian rhapsody".... in it's entirety. i think it went well. it was a lot of work for us, but we did it. i'm glad we have the weekend off so i can get better... happy new year! let's do some crazy shit in 2015!my guests for episode 339 are los angeles/austin based blues rock duo, bang feather bang! esther and chili stopped by a couple of weeks ago before chili headed back home to australia and they took a little break. they've been a band for only a year. during that year esther discovered a tumor in her chest, has been treated for cancer all year and had a collapsed lung. all the while, writing songs, developing a sound, touring, recording and being a non-stop bad ass. i had a great time talking to esther and chili, they're great people and they've started something really cool and just run with it. it's raw and it's powerful. i really enjoyed getting to know bang feather bang. i'm sure you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 332: Ian Moore Returns!

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. i've had an emotionally draining week. big ups, big downs and all-arounds. i feel like our music community lost one of our elders. someone we could look to as a beacon of what we can elevate ourselves to as musicians and people. ian mclagan was that guy in our community and now he's gone. he touched a lot of people in this community and his loss is felt. big time. the big ups this week had to do with the mr. rocket baby reunion. after more than 20 years of not playing together, we reunited and played a show. it was an extremely cathartic experience. it was really fun playing those songs again. it was good being around those guys again. it was great! there was some real healing through rock and roll going on there. i'm proud and honored to have been a part of that experience. crazy, right?my guest for episode 332 is my dear old friend, making his second appearance on the show, the amazingly talented songwriter/singer/musician, ian moore! ian and i have been friends for around 30 years. i got the chance to tour with him 7 years ago when he released his album, to be loved. he's in town this week because he's on a christmas tour. which stops in austin, galveston and houston this week. find out if he's coming to your town y going to ianmoore.com to find out when he's coming to a town near you. ian is amazing artist who's followed his heart and and worn it on his sleeve for for the past 3 decades. if you like this episode and want to hear our conversation for episode 10 go to http://howdidigethere.podbean.com/e/episode-10-ian-moore/ hear about how he got started and our tour together and much, much more. i hope you enjoy my conversation with ian. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 330: A Giant Dog

hello friends! i hope you all had a fantastic thanksgiving! i had a mellow one. stayed home. my friend, jake cam by and we did the intro together after some thanksgiving drinks. hey! if you're in austin tonight, friday, november 28th and want to see skyrocket!, we'll be playing at the one-2-one bar tonight at 10. also, if you're in houston tomorrow, saturday, november 29th, we'll be at the house of blues bronze peacock room. come out and say hi. good luck with your christmas shopping!my guests for episode 330 are sabrina and andrew from a giant dog! a giant dog will be opening for spoon starting in a week! sabrina and andrew stopped by a couple of weeks ago and we talked about their upcoming tour with spoon, being a sexy barista, making fun of famous headliners they open for, crazy homelessness in new york and much, much more! i hope you enjoy getting to know andrew and sabrina. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 328: Thee Dollar Shows' Lauren Bruno & Sarah Rucker

hello friends! i hope you're all surfing through life on the "big wave" and owning it! i've gone one week without a cigarette, so i'm going kinda nuts. i'm doing the blu electronic vapor cig... it's okay. i kinda feel like being an asshole but i think i'm doing a good job of curbing my anger and counting to 10. i think i can do it. this time seems o be the easiest of all. i just have to make sure that when i'm out having the cocktails, i don't get cocky and be a;;, "hey man. give me a cig. i can have just one. i have tht kind of power over myself and my addictions..." i don't. that's how i slip back into the smoking. gotta stay away. i can't have just one. my guests for episode 328 are both making their second appearance on the show, lauren bruno and sarah rucker! they have teamed up and started a non-profit called, 3 dollar shows. the point is to have events that connect the arts community with the social issues community. you can find out more at here! $3 shows anyway, lauren and sarah came by a couple of weeks ago and we talked about $3 shows, dating, non-profits, making music, lauren's recent appearance on pbs' "art in context" and much, much more. at the end of the show lauren graces us with a live performance on my piano. good times! i hope you enjoy our conversation. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 322: Not In The Face

hello friends! happy halloween. i hope all of you little goblins are enjoying the weirdest day of the year. i am in houston with skyrocket this weekend. we're playing several shows. i'll be hanging out with my family when i'm not playing. i'm looking forward to it. i got a new pedal board in the mail and i am having the time of my life putting it together. i have to make a mr. rocket baby board, then after that show, i'm going to figure out what my next band is gonna be. i'll let you know.my guests for episode 322 are rock and roll band, not in the face! i've been trying to get these guys on for about a year and a half. i am a huge fan of their music and it turns out they're really cool guys. i go to go to their rehearsal space/home and we sat on the porch and talked about working with bob ezrin, staying hungry, working hard, touring with X, traditional rock and roll and much, much more. i really love this band and i had a great time getting to know them. you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 320: Chris Frenchie Smith Returns!

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. things are good here. i've had a busy week... i played with SKYROCKET!, recorded with kimmie rhodes, did a couple of podcasts and went to a party. it's been a good week. i'm about to hit the road to houston for a show tonight. so yeah. busy times. speaking of busy times, i have a couple of solo shows this week. tomorrow, sunday october 26th, i'll be playing a fundraiser at the spider house ballroom at 4 pm. come out and support the children. on tuesday, october 28th, i'll be playing a celebration of the volstead act at the volstead here in austin. i play at 8:30. also on the bill, nathan harlan! come out and say hi.my guest for episode 320 is musician/producer/label owner and now manager, chris frenchy smith! you might know frenchy as the musician behind sixteen deluxe and young heart attack or as producer or as owner of the bubble. this is frenchy's second appearance on the show. he was on in the summer of 2013. anyway, we got together last week and caught we talked about everything from the foo fighters vs. U2 and the way they're releasing their albums, spotify, buying music, his new adventure as co-manager of the band purple, frenchy smith records and much, much more. frenchy and i have been friends for 23 years and i always have a great time talking to him. i hope you enjoy it. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg i did.