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 367: Gina Chavez & Mother Falcon

hello friends! i hope you all had a wonderful passover/easter weekend. i did. i got to spend some quality time with my grand mother and aunts on sunday morning for breakfast and a general hang. i love hanging out with them. i haven't done an "easter thing" for a long time. in fact, i can't remember when. in my culture you get gifts on easter. isn't that weird? i always thought it was weird. not that i wasn't thankful or grateful, i just always thought it was weird. anyway, episode of "drinking/cooking with johnny & aj" is up! this time we have a guest, emmy robbin and we make her mom's famous king ranch casserole! check it out here the link.my guests for episode 367 are 2014/2015 austin chronicle music poll's "musician of the year", gina chavez and mother falcon's nick gregg! gina has a video release party and big show this saturday, april 11th at the stateside theater in austin, tx with special guests, mother falcon, elizabeth mcqueen. riders against the storm are hosting the show. the show benefits the non-profit, ninas arribas college fund. so, we have a great conversation about what it takes to put a show on in a theater, gina's sweep of the awards, how mother falcon makes it work with such a big group and much, much more. i hope you enjoy our conversation. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 357: Extreme Heat

hello friends! i hope the world is treating you well. i'm good. i have a frantic week of rehearsals with multiple bands, shows with different bands, podcast stuff, dinner with rockers and more. i'm glad because this weather makes it easy to NOT go outside. to NOT got do stuff. and i've had kind of a cold since saturday. woke up this morning feeling much better and i'm ready to rock. are you?my guests for episode 357 are austin soul/funk institution, extreme heat! after 40 years of playing together, bruce spelman and mike barnes stopped by with a box of memorabilia, a quilt made of shirts from venues they've played, vinyl albums and their memories to tell the story of of their band, extreme heat. i've been seeing them for 30 of those 40 years. i still share the bill with them both, solo and with skyrocket and i still love seeing them play. this is a great story. mike and bruce came by and laid it all out, playing the armadillo, the crazy 80's, touring, taking a break, on stage heart attacks and much, much more. i hope you enjoy getting to know these legendary cats. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 341: Elias Haslanger Returns! / Pick With Austin Checks In

hello friends! i hope you're getting into your new year in style and with all the hope you had on new years eve. i spent the day running errands and i had lunch with my old friend, katrina. it was great catching up with her. i want to thank the folks that wrote in about the dwight twilley episode. i am hoping to get dwight in a face-to-face situation where we can really talk. i'm glad we did it. i'm going to try to do more phoners if i can get ahold of folks. do you like them? hey! if you're in austin tonight, friday, jan 9th 2015, SKYROCKET! is playing at the one-2-one bar on south lamar. we go on at 10. come out. say hi.my guest for episode 341 is my old friend and jazz great, elias haslanger! elias was on the show two years ago when he put out his album, church on monday. since he was last on, his "church on monday" shows at the continental club gallery have grown, they released a live album, live at the gallery, that has received amazing critical acclaim 4 1/2 stars in downbeat magazine and climbed to #14 on the jazz radio charts. also, tomorrow, elias and his church on monday band will be playing with alejandro escovedo at the acl moody theater as alejandro's orchestra. eli is a great musician and a real inspiration for staying inspired. i hope you enjoy our conversation. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 337: Greg Williams

hello friends! i hope you all a fantastic christmas! i did. i spent it with my family in houston doing what we do best, hanging out drinking, dancing, eating and celebrating. good times! what do you do the day after christmas? i'm back home. i get back to work playing with skyrocket tomorrow in san antonio. but what should i do today? well, i'll tell you. i got a $75 gift certificate to whole foods and i'm going to go there and spend it. thank you coni, my ex-stepmom. she's nice. i got some good gifts, had a good time, you'll hear all about it in the intro. i hope you all had a great week. my guest for episode 337 is saxophonist and entrepreneur, greg williams! i've played some shows with greg over the years and i've always loved his playing, he's a total pro and we always have a good hang. anyway, i've been wanting to get him on the show to talk about how he makes it happen. he always has a lot of things going on and stays busy and makes a living. that's not an easy thing to do these days. well, check it out, greg is not scared to work. he's learned music and the business inside and out and is now forging some new professional ground with some ideas that are turning heads. check it out. he's a great talent and a great guy. my friend, greg williams. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 336: Bryan Keeling

merry christmas! i hope you're all in some kind of holiday spirit. i know i am. when this comes out, i'll already be at my grandmother's house in houston with cousins, aunts, uncle chuck, my grandmother, a fuck-load of dogs and chaos. i got all of my shopping done and everything wrapped on saturday. hooray for me! i didn't buy music for everyone. i bought about 8 albums at local record stores and bought the rest of my gifts at local bookstores and clothing stores. while didn't only buy music, i did support local shops. partial success. i hope you all have a very happy holiday what ever you do. my guest for episode 336 is rock and roll drummer extraordinaire, bryan keeling. i first saw bryan play in 1989 when he was the drummer of austin art rock band, water the dog. we played together in mr. rocket baby from 1993-1994. we didn't really talk or hang out until our recent mr. rocket baby reunion and it felt great. bryan has spent the last 20 years playing music, he moved to l.a., recorded with pink, played with shooter jennings for years and now plays with eric sardinas and big motor and tours the world. even africa! i had a great time reconnecting with bryan after so many years. playing music can be a healing experience. join bryan and i for coffee as w catch up over the last 20 years. let's get down! ciao! -jg

Episode 334: Wayne Sutton

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well! happy first day of hanukkah! christmas is next week and i haven't even started shopping yet... i'm going to try to do it in two days... is that even possible?  stay tuned and find out. my friend, bill carter has a kickstarter campaign for a new album, play on, with just four days left to fund. bill was on the show a couple of years ago and is due for another visit. anyway, he's one of my favorite songwriters and i would like to see his project get funded. go to bill carter kickstarter donate some cash and get help an amazing artist. my guest for episode 334 is phenomenal guitar player, singer, songwriter and all-around great guy, wayne sutton! you might know wayne sutton best from his band, sister 7 or as they were known in the early days, little sister. their band was pivotal in creating what was known as the "black cat scene" with other bands like joe rockhead, ian moore, soulhat and others. i go to know wayne when that whole scene moved down sixth street to steamboat and became part of the "steamboat scene" which was a bigger club a couple of blocks down sixth st. anyway, wayne has gone on to play with many, many bands and most recently has started a guitar/cello duo with steve bernal that plays at the one-2-one bar on tuesdays. i had a great time talking to wayne. he's a real sweet and entertaining dude. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 323: Ed Jarusinsky

hello friends! i hope you've voted and feel good about the decision you've made as to who will be our leaders. just remember, if it ends up terrible, it's all your fault. just kidding. i hope you're all doing well. i am. i have gotten a slow start with this podcast because i just got behind. that happens. i had a good weekend in houston playing shows with skyrocket and hanging out with my family. this week we're home. we only have one skyrocket show which is this saturday, at hanovers in pflugerville. if you live in the north austin area, come out and experience the madness.my guest for episode 323 is the amazing drummer, ed jarusinsky! you might know ed from him playing with robyn ludwick, kevin mckinney, wrenfro and many, many more. i've known ed for a few years but not very well so i was excited to sit down and have a long talk with him. boy did we have a long talk about everything from a 70's kiss concert on hbo, growing up in conneticut, getting into metal, prog and jazz, the university of north texas, moving to austin and navigating the scene and much, much more. i had a great time getting to know ed. i'm sure you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 317: Bruce Salmon

hello friends! i hope you're all getting the same weather we are here in austin today... gorgeous, cool and windy. ah... like a dream come true. fall is here and i love it! so, if you're reading/listening to this the day it comes out, it's my birthday. yeah. i can't believe it. it's my 4th birthday since i've started the show. i'm going to have dinner tonight with my girlfriend, zuri and her sister and my cousin, emily. maybe i'll do something fun during the day like go play putt-putt golf or drive go-karts or go day drinking... who knows. either way, it'll be a fun day.my guest for episode 317 is absolutely brilliant musician, bruce salmon! i've known bruce for over 20 years and i've seen him go from funk/rock guitar player with joe rockhead to day job working father to synth/noise guys for alejandro escovedo to where he is now... he's just released his first solo album, a barrel of monkeys and he's been touring the united states, playing his songs, in various incarnations, for people. i caught up with him while he was in austin and we had a great conversation about where he's been and where he's going. it was a very enlightening conversation with an underlying message of "keeping it real". i hope you enjoy it. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 310: Will Knaak Returns!

hello friends! i hope you're all "in it" this weekend for summer's last stand. yes, this weekend marks the last weekend of summer. fall starts next week and honestly, i'm ready for fall. my morning runs have been hot and humid festivals of sweat. i'm ready for cool, nice fall morning runs. hey! if you live in austin, today, friday, sept 19th 2014 is "danny crooks day"! no shit! my old friend is being honored by the city for his contributions to the music community. there's a party at the roost at 7 with the showing of a documentary and TONS of bands. i'll be playing some songs at 8. if you went to, or played at steamboat, you should come out and say hi to danny. it's gonna be a great show. i'll be coming back into town to play with skyrocket at 10:30 at the one-2-one bar. we don't do too many shows in the city limits... you should come out. do it!!!!my guest for episode 310 is amazing guitar player/singer/songwriter, will knaak! will making his second appearance on the show. he's just released his first solo album, the only open road and it's awesome! the album was produced by guitar hero, jeff plankenhorn and features brannen temple on drums and yoggi on bass. it's a pretty impressive debut album. you might know will as being a sideman for many country bands here in texas. he spends a lot of time on tour and has pretty much his whole life. he started out playing young and was out playing professionally when he was 12 years old! we have a great conversation about his journey, the courage it takes to make the step from sideman to frontman and the delicate balance, touring, working with jeff and much, much more. i am a huge fan of will's both as a player and as a person. you will be too after our conversation. lrt's get down!ciao! -jg