Episode 369: Paper Aeroplanes with Elen Roberts from Music Wales

hello friends! we have a lot of new listeners coming to the podcast this week. welcome. i hope you enjoy these candid conversations between folks in the biz. i have all kinds of musicians on the show. scroll through the archives here on the podbean page. or subscribe on itunes, stitcher or via the podcast app for iphones. we have new shows coming out every tuesday and friday. so, twice a week you get a peek into the lives of musicians and other people in the entertainment biz through candid conversations hosted by your truly. if you like what you hear, "like" our facebook page and you'll get photos of guests, updates from former guests, pictures of me with the guests and much more. my guests for episode 369 are welsh dream/pop band, paper aeroplanes and sitting in with them is elen roberts from music wales who was hosting a show for paper aeroplanes during sxsw at the brittish music embassy. i caught up with them during sxsw and we got to chat about the state of music in wales, what music wales does for welsh artists all over the world, paper aeroplanes new album, "joy" and much, much more. i hope you enjoy getting to know these fine folks. i sure 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 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 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 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 295: Christopher Durst / Cautiontape Checks In

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. i'm good. i'm up early, about to go running before it gets to 100 degrees. zuri and i had a great time last night. we went to dinner at some old friends' house for dinner. i saw other old friends. it was so fun. it made me realize that people need to have more dinner parties. it's nice to see old friends and it's nice to have a get together outside of a performance place or a bar. i'd like to thank adam and christy for the lovely dinner and amazing hang. if you're in austin tonight, tuesday, july 29th 2014, come out to strange brew. i'll be opening for the great steve poltz tonight instead of the regular residency show. come out! steve is amazing!my guest for episode 295 is photographer, christopher durst! i met chris a couple of months ago at a photo shoot for "music and mutts". i knew his work and seen a bunch of it online and was a fan already, but getting to know him has been a real pleasure. he's a class act. he's shot everyone from willie nelson to jane's addiction, traveled the world with bands and shot festivals around the world. his experience has been genuinely exciting because he's a real artist and he gets into the heart and soul of his subjects and brings that out in the some of the most beautiful visuals i've seen in a long time. the guy is a true talent. today he's launching a new company, music imagery inc.! it's a revolutionary business model set up to help musicians get the best images without having to pay out of pocket. find out more at christopherdurst.com i had a great time getting to know christopher. i'm sure you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 294: Museum Of Magnetic Sound Recording - Martin Theophilus

hello my friends! i hope you're hitting your summer stride. maybe you've had a vacation or gone to the movies or found the right pool with the right pool guests. indoors or out, beating them or joining them, i hope the summer is yours. the summer of YOU! i haven't truly taken advantage of summer. i've only gone swimming once, no pool parties, just announced my summer jam last week. well, i'm making up for it next week. on august 1st, i'm heading out to the beach for "beach weekend 2014"! yes. i'm going to galveston to stay in a beach house with my family for a few days. they're gonna meet my girlfriend, zuri. zuri's gonna meet them... it's all going down next week. i can't wait!my guest for episode 294 is martin theophilus from the museum of magnetic sound recording! yes. i said the museum of magnetic sound recording. have a look for yourself MOMSR.ORG. i saw martin on the news last saturday morning talking about the museum and how they've started an indiegogo campaign to get some storage because martin and his wife, chris, house over 180 tape machines and hundreds of microphones in their home. anyway, i looked them up, reached out to them and martin and chris came over to tell me what the museum is about and what they need to make this dream a reality. i would love to have this museum in austin. i would go there all the time. i know a lot of my engineer, producer and audio-nerd friends would absolutely LOVE it too. i had a great time talking to martin and getting to know about the museum. i'm going to look at their collection soon. i'll post pictures on the facebook page. i hope enjoy my conversation with martin. i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 269: Tee Double Returns!

hello friends! i hope you're all doing the very best you can be doing. i am. i'm in houston with my family for a while as we all spend time with my grandfather as he passes from this life. this is a very intense experience. he has been my guy my whole life. he's been my father for pretty much my whole life. i'm glad that we can all be together during this time. he lived a very full life. he's given us all good lives and he and my grandmother created this beautiful family that i have been so very lucky to have been born into.for episode 269 we have the return of prolific rapper/entrepreneur, tee double. we had tee on a couple of years ago and since then, he's released a ton of music and started a non-profit call the urban artist alliance and much more. i ran into him at sxsw and we had a quick chat about what he was up to. i love talking to him. he's got such a great perspective and work ethic. in this episode we talk about everything from the progression and commercialization of music and music festivals to his new non-profit, urban artist alliance. tee double is a great guy and i hope you enjoy our conversation. i did.ciao! -jg

Episode 259: Amy Atchley returns!

hello my friends! i hope you're all doing well. things are good here. as usual, it's friday and i'm getting ready to head out of town with skyrocket for a weekend of shows. i have a couple of non-skyrocket shows coming up... monday, march 31st, i'll be playing guitar with sweat and lotion at cap city comedy club in austin for the live charlie hodge show. the show is going to be awesome featuring some of my favorite comics like john tole, lucas molandes, ryan cownie and more! good times! also, i'll be playing a solo show on thursday april 10th at 8pm at the one-2-one bar in austin. come out and say hi! my guest for episode 259, making her second appearance on the show, is talented singer/songwriter, amy atchley! amy and i have been friends since the early 90's when she was in the band, faboo. amy has a beautiful new solo album, where you go, that comes out tuesday, april 1st 2014. if you;re in austin, she has a record release on april 5th at the one-2-one bar. it's a great conversation about where you go and how she made it and lots of life stuff. i hope you enjoy my conversation with amy. i did. ciao! -jg

Episode 246: Gina Chavez

hello friends! i hope you're all winning the gold in your lives today. things are going well here. the weather keeps changing every day and now it's emergency cold with schools starting a couple of hours later for the 3rd time in in a month. not to talk about the weather, but man, it's weird when it changes from a high of 34 to a high of 77 to freezing  to sunny and 75 all in one week. weird. i've been busy working on a lot of different things lately. i'll keep you posted.  my guest for episode 246 is the talented and enchanting, gina chavez! gina's new album, UP. ROOTED comes out today, tuesday, february 11th 2014! the album is loaded with all the bad-ass latin jams you would expect from austin's "best latin artist". anyway, i had a great time getting to know gina through this podcast. i never knew about her charitable work, her 8 months in el salvador teaching young girls, nina arriba, a college fund that chavez co-founded for impoverished you women in el salvador. gina and i have a great conversation. we get to know what makes her tick and where all of that beautiful music comes from. i hope you enjoy getting to know gina. i sure did.ciao!