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 362: The Accidentals

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. i am in the midst of sxsw 2015... i actually went out again yesterday after my interviews. go tot see kendall beard, the cringe, dead love club, partied at the rachel ray house and said hi to cops and the bass player from green day. the podcasts are going well. i've gotten to talk to bands/musicians from all over the world! it's been a real treat. i'm glad i'm doing them here in the apt. the conversations are longer, better and free from distractions. if you're here at sxsw, i want to invite you to an event tomorrow, the merch cat indie showcase at the lucky lounge, sat 3/21/15 at 12:30 pm! there will be bands, d.j.'s and the event will be hosted by ME! here's a link, check it out! https://www.facebook.com/events/770427789699691/my guests for episode 362 are traverse city, michigan's very own, the accidentals! the accidentals are a young three piece that i met here during sxsw 2015. i heard their music a couple of months ago and invited them to do the show during sxsw. well, they came by, they're young (late teens) but total seasoned pros. they've played over 500 shows over the last three years, toured the states, written songs, got picked up by marshall crenshaw's production company, finally put school on hold to tour full time and much, much more. these are some super talented/hardworking musicians. they're also some of the funnest dorks you'll ever meet. i hope you enjoy getting to know the accidentals as much as i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 360: Mandy Rowden / Ashley Monical

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. if you live in austin, sxsw 2015 is upon us. i'm getting my head around this whole week. i'm playing with skyrocket tonight and tomorrow, then sunday i'll doing the beats delicious festival and things won't stop for me until next sunday... i'm gonna be talking to a lot of people. tune in over the next month to hear my conversations with bands from all over the world. ashley monical stopped by the other day to talk to me about her kickstarter campaign for her new album which ends on april 8th 2015. here's a link, check it out. ashley's kickstarter.  ashley's a great artist, help her reach her goal!my guest for episode 360 is singer/songwriter/girl guitar school founder, mandy rowden! mandy just put out a new album called, these bad habits, produced by the great joe carroll. she'l be heading out on tour soon, so look for her coming to a town near you. mandy stopped by the other day and we had a great conversation about her new album, how she was almost a juror on my mom's murder trial, girl guitar, my gay socks, growing up a home-schooled baptist and much, much more. i hope you enjoy getting to know mandy. 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 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 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 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 325: Jason McMaster Returns!

hello chosen people of podcast land! i hope you're all doing well and settling into fall. maybe you've already had the first fire of the season... the holidays are coming and i hope you're prepared. maybe you've made your plans. i think i've made mine. i'm not going to thanksgiving with my family like normally do. sadly, shows have prevented that from happening this year. oh well. i'l have christmas with the family. hey! i want to let you now that one of our favorite guests and one of my dear friends, suzanna choffel has a pledge music campaign and it's coming to a close in 6 days. you can help her put that album out by going to her pledge music campaign page and getting involved with her album.my guest for episode 325 is rocker, jason mcmaster! jason is making his second appearance on the show. you might know jason from his many, many bands including, watchtower, dangerous toys, gahdzilla motor company, broken teeth, evil united and many, many more. his band, evil united just put out a fantastic new album, honored by fire. he's been putting out hard rock for four decades and he's recently released a single called, "xmas time" that is a total departure from what we know jason for. he's a great artist with a ton of musical output and he's a really sweet guy and i've enjoyed his friendship for over 20 years now. i hope you enjoy our conversation. i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg