Episode 439: Dan Dyer

hello friends! i hope you all had a fantastic thanksgiving! i had a really good one. my girlfriend zuri and i went to her family's house and had a great dinner. of course, i ate too much, tried not to fall asleep watching football after dinner then played a trivia game. good times. today is black friday. i hope you're having a successful one if you're one of the millions that go out and try to get the "super-deals". skyrocket is playing a show tonight (fri. 11/27) in austin at the one-2-one bar. we go on at 10. come out and celebrate the holiday with us! (i just made "black friday" a holiday)my guest for episode 439 is the amazing singer/songwriter, dan dyer! dan and i have known each other for over 20 years. he's a phenomenal talent and a super sweet and real cat. he's a black fret nominee and has the honor of performing at their black ball gala at the paramount theater in austin, tx next friday, december 4th along with a host of other nominees. you can find out all about it at black fret info dan has a new e,p,, singing river sessions available now. go to dandyer.com to find out where to get it and when you can see dan live. dan and i have a fantastic conversation about his journey from breedlove to working with lenny kravitz, jingle singing in new york city, getting into working with his hands and much, much more. i hope you all had a great thanksgiving. i am very grateful for you. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 416: Dawn & Hawkes

hello friends! i hope you all are ready for the first day of fall this wednesday. i am! i have a new jean jacket, a new sweater and i'm ready to layer my clothes and feel cool, dry air. guys, i want to let you know that i am playing a tribute to XTC this friday, sept. 25th at strange brew. my friend, jon greene has assembled a great house band and they're having many singers of not including stephen doster, seela, darin murphy, kris nelson, jon sanchez,bruce hughes, miles zuniga and more including yours truly. yes! i will be ther singing as well. the show starts at 8pm and proceeds go to benefit the SIMS foundation. get your tickets here. come out, it should be a good time!my guests for episode 416 are singer/songwriter duo, dawn & hawkes. they have a new album, yours and mine that comes out next friday, 10/2. they'll be playing a waterloo instore that day and playing a special show at the one world theater in austin, tx that night. anyway, i have been trying to get these guys on the show since i saw them on "the voice" last year. they played before skyrocket one night and i really loved their harmonies and their songs. anyway, i talked to them at a show a few months ago, they told me they'd come on when they put out their new album and BOOM! here we are. so, newlyweds, miranda and chris came by a little over a month ago and we sat down and talked about their wedding, their songwriting process, being a romantic/musical duo, their new album, yours and mine, their experience on the voice and much more. i had a great time getting to know these amazingly sweet and talented people. i'm sure you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 377: Ray Prim Returns!

hello friends! i hope you're all happy and healthy. things are good here. i wanted to tell you about a solo show i'm playing tomorrow, wed, may 13th at the hole in the wall here in austin. i'll be playing from 7-8 pm right after my friends, ethan azarian and jeff johnston. there's no cover and the hole in the wall is a good time. come out and say hi!my guest for episode 377 is signer/songwriter, ray prim! you might know ray from his band, 7 stones in the late 90's, or maybe his "soulwriter" songwriter series at flipnotics that he had for years. you might also know him from the webseries i'm in, "cooking/drinking with johnny & aj". he was also a guest in the early days of this show. ray has spent the last two years making his new album, still here on loungeside records. it's a fantastic album! he has a release show in austin this saturday, may 16th at strange brew loungeside at 9 pm. he'll be playing with a full-band right down to a horn section. we have a great conversation about being in a songwriting group, making still here on his own and learning how to record and mix and all that jazz, the maywether/pacquio fight, learning all aspects of making an album including photoshop and much, much more. i always have a great time talking to ray. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 358: Shivery Shakes / Foster 5

hello friends! i hope you're gearing up for the weekend. america is blanketed in freezing weather. i hope it's not too terrible where you are, just terrible enough to get to stay home for at least a day. austin hasn't seen the sun in 7 days! that sucks. i know there are worse places with less sun and war and famine and things like that, but the missing the sun for 7 days also sucks. okay, just stay warm and remember to listen to "how did i get here?" there are hundreds of episodes to listen to. do it! have a good weekend. i'd like to thank christopher durst and lisa dahl from foster5.org and they talk about this incredible new non-profit helping low-income/at-risk kids with artistic proclivity. check it out!my guests for episode 358 are pop band, shivery shakes! i came across this band while looking for bands to talk to during sxsw. i heard their music, fell in love and invited them on the show. it turns out, i know william from another band he was in years ago called, zipper. anyway, i invited the guys over to talk about their journey, their dreams, their fears and much, much more. they brought me a vinyl copy of their brilliant new album, three waves and a shake, it's awesome. you should get it. they'll be performing 3 times during sxsw 2015, if you haven't seen or heard them, do yourself a favor. here's a link to their site http://www.shiveryshakes.com/ go. get involved. i hope you enloy getting to know shivery shakes. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 347: T Bird And The Breaks

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. things are kinda crazy here today and i guess they will be for a while... i've entered a songwriting game with my friends where we have to write a song every day until february 25th. i wrote one last night and one and a half today. i also did 3 podcast interviews and went to the grocery store. i've had a lot of caffeine and i think you can hear it in the intro of this show. anyway, i'll be playing at gueros in austin tomorrow, wednesday, 1/28/15 at 6 pm and the bluebonnets play at 7. we'll be in the courtyard and the whole thing will be on the radio. come by, check it out.my guests for episode 347 are funk dance party band, t bird and the breaks! they have a new album that comes out today (1/27/15)!!!! it's called harmonizm and it is fucking awesome! if you like funky soul music that makes you feel good, you should buy this album. when momo's was open, we played a lot of shows together and it warms my heart to see their progress. this album, harmonizm, is the culmination of many years of hard work. it's focused. the songs are amazing and it has an overall great vibe. the guys have release shows this week and they're hitting the road for month going to the midwest and west coast find out where they'll be by going to www.tbirdandthebreaks.com i hope you enjoy our conversation. i 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 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 326: Matt Giles

hello friends! i hope you're all keeping warm wherever you are. it's freezing here in austin. i have spent the day running around and rebuilding my pedal board. if you're not a guitar player, it probably doesn't sound terribly exciting. if you are a guitar player, you feel my excitement. i have a pedals just strewn around for the last couple of years since i dismantled my last pedal board. anyway, i've got all the stuff now and after i write this, i'm going to get busy putting it together. rock on, bitches!!!!my guest for episode 326 is the amazing singing, songwriting, guitar player, matt giles! matt has been playing with quite a few people here in austin since the 90's. his most recent project, the drakes, plays every tuesday at the one-2-one bar here in austin, tx. he also is a guitar player for many folks here in town like, amanda pearcy, woodboss, penny jo pullus, the stir and many more. i got to see the drakes a couple of week ago and i loved it. i hope you enjoy getting to know matt giles. i did. let's get down!ciao! -jgciao! -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 319: Johnny Goudie W/ Guest Host: Mark Hallman

hello friends! i hope you all feel a lot better than i look. i have been playing gigs and been in the studio playing on the last parts of the kimmie rhodes album. i had an amazing day yesterday with kimmie, her son, gabe, glenn fukanaga, dony wynn and bradley the patient and sweet engineer. it's been a lot of fun. kimmie has really gone out of her way to make sure i know how good she thinks i am and that just means the world to me. having someone of her caliber bring me in to her world as a collaborator with all the freedom in the world is really special. plus, it really feels like family when you're working with the rhodes clan. what a great time! i'll let you guys know when the album is out. i'm looking forward to it.episode 319 is a bizzarro world episode of "how did i get here?" because i am the guest and mark hallman is the host. we actually recorded this episode in the summer of 2013. there were some weird things that went down with my mom's case, which we thought was over. her murderer got an appeal just a couple of weeks after we recorded this. i was pretty bummed out about the appeal and in his episode, mark and i talk about how great the outcome of the original trial was, but then i felt awful for a couple of months and didn't put this out. well, i came across it the other day and listened to it and decided to put it out. mark did an amazing job of hosting and guiding the conversation. there is a lot of love and history with us in our 32 year friendship/mentorship. i hope you enjoy our conversation. i did. i'd like to thank mark for taking the time and for being my friend. let's get down!