Episode 555: Rival Waves

Happy new year my friends! I hope that 2017 brings you everything you want and everything you need. There's a thin veil of optimism this week... or maybe it's just me. I don't know. I don't think I rang in the new year the right way. Not that i didn't want to play the 5th annual SKYROCKET! show in Houston, it's more like I should have prepared and maybe bright a guest. Even jut a friend. I had this wave of, "oh wow. you don't have a girlfriend, you don't have kids, your dogs live with your ex" loneliness when I got back to my hotel. So far, 2017 is preying on my insecurities.
My guest for episode 555 is Joel De La Garza from the rock band, Rival Waves! Their latest single, "Amputee" is available now on all of the digital platforms, just go to rivalwaves.com an get involved. Their next single, "Transducer" comes out Friday, January 20th and they're celebrating the release with a release show at The One-2-One Bar on Saturday, January 21st. Joel and I have a great conversation about getting some of his heroes to play on his recordings, growing up in the Rio Grande Valley and crossing the border to party at 15, Mariah-gate and much, much more. Happy new year!
ciao! -jg

Episode 553: Cure For Paranoia

Hello friends! I hope you all had a great holiday weekend! I hope your Christmas was a great success. I had a great Christmas! I got to spend time with my family. Everyone enjoyed each other's company. The dinner was a success and i think we all did well with the presents. There are kids ther now so that adds a whole new level of joy and celebration. We drank a lot of vodka and had a lot of laughs. Happy holidays everyone!
My guests for episode 553 are Dallas hip-hop/soul/funk band, Cure For Paranoia! They've only been around a year and in that short time they've released two singles with their response to the Dallas shootings, "We Matter" which was featured on the Huffington Post Blog, they opened for Ludacris, they played Erikah Badu's birthday party, they've played all around Texas and won "Best New Act" in The Dallas Observer Music Awards just a few weeks ago. We have a great conversation about their incredible journey. Find out when they're coming to a town near you at cureforparanoia.com. I hope you enjoy getting to know these guys as much as I did. Let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 551: Chris Taylor Returns!

Hello friends! I hope you're all staying warm. I am. I actually made a huge dent in my Christmas shopping today. That's always a relief. How did we make Christmas so stressful? It makes you realize how poor you are, how much you wish you could give people. At the same time, you stress out getting your cousin's boyfriend something you think he'll like and he's not even going to show up. I spent a lot of time the last couple of years buying people music I thought they would like, but i've seen a couple of cd's I bought over the last couple of years still in the cellophane. Merry Christmas!
San Antonio's hyper-prolific artist/singer/songwriter, Chris Taylor returns to the show for episode 551! Chris put out three albums in 2016, the electronic, Re: Imagine, the gorgeous double-album, Never Ending Now and the politically infused, USBlues. Three fantastic albums! You can find all of his albums and his amazing artwork at christaylorworld.com. Chris and i met up at Sam's Burger Joint Music Hall before my gig in San Antonio a couple of weeks ago. We have a great conversaion about what drove Chris to make 3 albums this year, playing with his band, fighting fear with art, what the election year means to him and much, much more. I hope you enjoy our conversation. I did. Let's get down!
 
Ciao! -jg
 
 

Episode 550: Ty Richards

Hello friends! I hope all is well in your world. I finished the new Phil Collins austobiography this week. It's really good. It sent me down a Genesis worm hole. I've been listening to all kinds of Genesis except for the Invisible Touch album and beyond. It dawned on me that wether you like them or not, they are easily one of the most unique bands ever. you know their music by its melody and even their two singers have similar voices and melodic sensibilties. Do you agree? Am I crazy? Maybe I am.
My guest for epsiode 550 is the incredibly talented, Ty Richards! Ty's new album, Zillion comes out Friday February 3rd 2017. His music has been described as "Beck Zeppelin". The album is a very celebratory psychedelic/guitar/dance album. The first single, "Spaceman" is available now on all digital and streaming mediums. You can also find him at tyrichards.com. we have a great conversation about making music alone, moving to Austin, his wife's influence on Zillion and much, much more! I hope you enjoy our conversation. I sure did. Let's get down!
 
ciao! -jg

Episode 535: Reddening West

Hello friends! I hope you're all doing well. I am getting ready to go rehearse with my band, Ladyband Johnson. I'm excited to be playing with the ladies again. We're playing a couple of shows at the beginning of November. We'll be at The Continental Club in Austin on Friday, November 4th (facebook event page) and we'll be playing another show on the 10th. I'll fill you in on that one next week. Otherwise, I'm headed to Houston tomorrow with SKYROCKET! to play a private show. 
My guests for episode 535 are Matt Evans and Kevin Butler from the band, Reddening West! They have a gorgeous new EP out called, Where We Started that came out a couple of months ago. I met Matt during an Austin Music Foundation consultation about a month ago and fell in love with their music. It's gorgeous, dreamy and lush. Go to reddeningwest.com and get it now. I have a great conversation with Matt and Kevin and i hope you enjoy getting to know them as much as i did. Let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 526: George Reiff Returns!

Hello friends! I hope this episode finds you all doing well and ready for fall. My guest for episode 526 is the amazingly talented bass player/producer/mixer and my dear old friend, George Reiff! George has been undergoing treatment for cancer since a brain tumor was discovered a couple of months ago. He had the tumor removed, but has been undergoing radiation treatment and a new experimental treatment. He has insurance, but all of this treatment is expensive and he's not been able to work since he was diagnosed. To help with bills, people have organized some beautiful benefits and there is a gofundme.com page where anyone can donate. I encourage you to donate. Here's the link https://www.gofundme.com/georgereiff George and I have a great conversation about producing and mixing albums, new pop music, fighting cancer, our music family that has shown so much support and much, much more. I hope you enjoy our conversation. I sure did. Let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 523: Elijah Ford & The Bloom

Hello friends! I hope you all had a good weekend. I had a busy one. Thursday night I moderated a panel at The Austin Video Music Festival and afterwards met up with some friends and saw the great Eric Tessmer. Friday i headed to Houston to play a couple of shows with SKYROCKET! Saturday afternoon before my gig, I went to my little cousin's 5th birthday and hung out with my family and a lot of children and parents. Sunday, I came back to Austin and interviewed Nakia at The Soul of a Musician series. Long weekend.Good times.
My guests for episode 523 are Elijah Ford and Chris Konte from Elijah Ford & The Bloom! Their rocking new album, As You Were comes out this Friday, September 16th on Nine Mile Records. Elijah and and his uncle Chris came by last week and we had a great conversation about collaborating on writing and recording, making As You Were, the term, "youngcle", coming from a family of musicians, our love of the power pop band, Jellyfish, Project ATX6 and much, much more. It was great getting to hang out and getting to know these guys. I hope you enjoy our conversation. I sure did. Let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 513: Drop Out Vegas

hello friends! i hope this episode finds you all happy and healthy. if you're a musician in austin and are planning on releasing music in the form of a single, e.p. or full-length album, i have a panel for you. the austin music foundation and arlyn studios present: releasing your music, a panel sovering distribution channels, release shows, traditional and grassroots marketing, d.i.y. publicity and much more. it all takes place wednesday, august 10th from 7-10 pm at arlyn studios in austin, tx. here's a link to the event details. austinmusicfoundation.org come out. it's informative, it's free and i'll be moderating. 
my guests for episode 513 are houston pop duo, drop out vegas! these super-talented guys have just released a new single, "sleep alone" on their own and they've gotten a ton of press for it and believe me, it's well-deserved. i came a cross these guys on social media a little over a month ago. they looked cool, so i went and listened to their music and fell in love. skylar and jason came by my hotel when i was in houston a few weeks ago and we had a great conversation about growing up in the church music programs, writing songs together and apart, the woodlands vs kingwood, making pop music in houston and much, much more. i had a great time getting to know skylar and jason. i'm sure you will too. let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 512: Those Poor Serfs / The Eric Bee

hello friends. i hope this episode finds you well. i need to make an important announcement about a dear friend and very important part of the music community, bass player/producer, george reiff. george has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. he had a brain tumor removed on friday and is recovering. he has a long road ahead of him and that road is going to be very expensive. his family has started a gofundme page so that we can all help out. please go to gofundme.com/georgereiff and give what you can. let's help this beautiful man and his family get through this. let's do it for george.
episode 512 is a double-header featuring two new austin bands, the soul-infused americana band, those poor serfs and garage-rockers, the eric bee! first up, those poor serfs frontman, derek kinsaul stops by and we have a great conversation about working with the afore mentioned, george reiff on their new e.p., city view. if you live in austin, you can see those poor serfs tonight, friday, august 5th at lambert's. go to thosepoorserfs.com to get their music and find out where they're playing next. the second part of this double-header is eric bee from the band, the eric bee! their brilliant, new self-titled album recorded live in just two days at public hi-fi studios is available now! see them live in austin on saturday, august 20th at the one-2-one bar. find their music and show schedule at theericbee.com i hope you enjoy getting to know these two new bands. don't forget to get get out and support local music where ever you are! let's get down!
ciao! jg

Episode 511: Tee Double Returns Again!

hello friends. i hope you're all doing well. i need to make an important announcement about a dear friend and very important part of the music community, bass player/producer, george reiff. george has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. he had a brain tumor removed on friday and is recovering. he has a long road ahead of him and that road is going to be very expensive. his family has started a gofundme page so that we can all help out. please go to gofundme.com/georgereiff and give what you can. let's help this beautiful man and his family get through this. let's do it for george.
my guest for episode 511 is artist/producer/entrepreneur/activist and austin's hip hop ambassador, tee double! he's just released his 27th album, ambassador status. he's started "black mics matter " a new musical project that will feature new artists with stories of passion and solutions for the black community and the world during these challenging times. you can find out more about by going to his gofundme page and help him realize his vision. tee double and i have an amazing conversation about making his new album, ambassador status, his goals with "black mics matter", race relations in today's crazy times, austin's hip hop scene, music licensing and much, much more. i hope you enjoy our conversation. i sure did. let's get down!
ciao! -jg