Episode 518: The South Austin Moonlighters Return!

Hello friends! I hope you're all doing well. Getting your kids back-to-school or living what ever dream you choose to live. Things are good here. I saw The Fixx last night with my dear old friend and mentor, Mark Hallman. My old friends in Deep Blue Something opened the show and i had a great hang with them before the show. We caught up for a bit while listening to Genesis and Phil Collins songs talking about their genius. Great time, with great friends last night. I should probably try to get out and see some new bands soon.
My guests for episode 518 are Phil Hurley and Lonnie Trevino from The South Austin Moonlighters! Their new album, Ghost of a Small Town just came out, so I invited them back to talk about it and more. We had a great talk about getting a new guitar player, making Ghost of a Small Town themselves, four-tracks, band politics, our true feelings for Jack Johnson and much, much more. You can catch them tonight at The Mucky Duck in Houston. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Phil and Lonnie. I sure did. Let's get down!
Ciao! -jg

Episode 516: Free Kittens And Bread

Hello friends! I hope this episode find you well and and having a successful summer. It's been raining since Saturday here in Austin. It's been nice to get rid of the heat for a little bit, but the rain is a little much. Quick plug, Skyrocket, the band i'm in, is playing this weekend. Friday, August 9th, we'll be playing the new Hanovers 2.0 in the North Austin/Round Rock area. Saturday, August 20th, we'll be heading down to Houston to play The Continental Club. find out more details at skyrockettheband.com
My guests for episode 516 are Austin punk/pop band, Free Kittens And Bread! Their brilliant new album, American Miserablist was released recently and they just got off of a tour of the US. Their single, "Brainless" already has over 35,000 plays on spotify. (i accidentally said "35 plays" in the intro, but i meant 35,000. sorry guys.) Chase Spruiell and Mark Hawley came by and we had a great conversation about combining punk music, folk music and power pop to create their sound, meeting in film school at St. Edwards, playing house parties on tour vs. clubs, the genius of Steve Poltz, touring the US and much, much more! I hope you enjoy getting to know these guys. I sure did. 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 510: Jackie Venson

hello friends. i hope this episode finds you all doing well. i'm good. i'm glad that these conventions are over. i thought it was exciting to see the first woman accepting her party's nomination for president. i watched it live. i like what she's saying. i'm really glad these conventions are over. i feel like this campaign has been going on forever. hey! if you want to get away from all things political and you're listening to this show the day it comes out, skyrocket is playing tonight, friday, july 29th at speakeasy here in austin. come out and party with us. 
my guest for episode 510 is musical powerhouse and guitar hero, jackie venson! jackie has a new album, live at strange brew, coming out on september 16th and is heading out on a west coast tour starting next wednesday, august 3rd. go to jackievenson.com to find out if she's coming to a town near you. jackie and i have a great conversation about growing up austin, her time at berklee college of music, making a switch from classical pianist to blues guitarist in 2011, recording her new live album, why she likes short guys and so much more. i had a great time getting to know jackie. i'm sure you will too. let's get down! 
ciao! -jg

Episode 509: Eric Tessmer

hello friends! i hope life is treating you well. i had a good weekend of shows with skyrocket. i did a podcast with a band called, drop out vegas when i was in houston on saturday. they're an amazing pop band and we had a great conversation in my hotel room. look for that in a couple of weeks. i'm looking forward to making some new music this week with some friends and shooting a cooking show with aj. friday, skyrocket will be playing at speakeasy in downtown austin. it's our first gig in this awesome venue. come out and say hi if you can.
my guest for episode 509 is guitar hero, eric tessmer! eric's new e.p., EP1 comes out this friday, july 29th. he'll be playing release shows this weekend. friday, july 29th at antone's in austin and saturday, july 30th at dan electro's guitar bar in houston. eric and i have a great conversation about miraculous guitar purchases, growing up in richland center, wisconsin, making EP1, working with the great jacob sciba, living in his rehearsal space, getting sober and much, much more. you can find out more about eric at erictessmerband.com. i hope you enjoy getting to know eric as much as i did. let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 507: Belcurve

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. staying healthy. are you guys as freaked out as i am by all of the violence in our country and in the world right now? it's starting to feel like "ghostbusters 2" when the ugliness is coming up from bowels of the earth and invading human beings and making them do ugly things. there's so much anger out there. i hope that there is some way that world can take a collective deep breath and find a way to support and understand each other rather than kill each other. now i sound like a hippie. 
my guests for episode 507 are one of austin's newest bands, belcurve! belcurve is made up of members of other austin bands like, quiet comapany, the please, please me, castro and more. they've written and recorded some amazing songs in their studio and now they're ready bring them to the people. "hot mess" is the first single they'll be releasing some time soon. you can hear it on the show. we have a great conversation about the way they came together, surviving the death of a band member, writing as a group, ice factory studios and much, much more. i hope you enjoy getting to know belcurve. i sure did. let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 504: Van Wilks Returns!

hello friends! i hope you're having a good week and ready to cruise into the weekend in style. i have no idea what that means, but it sounds nice. if you live in san antonio, my band, skyrocket will be playing at sam's burger joint music hall, tonight, july 8th 2016. come out and get into the festivities that you can only get into by cutting loose with skyrocket on a friday night in s.a.. i'm playing friday, but i'm off saturday and next weekend. slow month for the skyrocket clan. i have no idea what i'm doing on saturday night. maybe some good peeps are playing and i'll see a band or two.
guitar hero, van wilks returns to the show for episode 504! van has a new album out, 21st century blues. i think it's his best and toughest sounding album yet. the more i have these conversations with my elders, the more i am convinced that if you stay inspired and stay true to yourself, you will always grow and your art will always be honest and good. such is the case with van wilks and his first album in ten years, 21st century blues. van and i have another great conversation. i never ceased to be inspired by van and the other amazingly talented people in my life that i look up to. i hope you enjoy our conversation. i sure did. let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 502: Fair City Fire

hello friends! i hope you're getting ready for the big 4th of july weekend. maybe you're listening to this while you're joining the 43 million americans hitting the road this weekend to celebrate summertime and our nation's birth. if so, safe travels and have fun. i don't have a very "holiday weekend" thing planned. my cousin, jennifer is coming in today, i'm playing an acoustic set tomorrow at the townsend for their first anniversary and maybe i'll hit a bbq or pool party on sunday or monday. either way, i hope enjoy your 4th of july weekend safely to it's fullest. 
my guests for episode 502 are brett winning and brian wolff from austin rock band, fair city fire. their debut album, the simple truth came out in april and you can find where ever you get your music online. i met brett and brian a couple of months ago and i was really blown away by their work ethic and ability to think and act outside the box. for instance, brett and brian make their living playing as a duo 3 to 4 days a week, so they're always working on their music/performance skills which makes fair city fire better. they host a podcast where they invite bands they're sharing a bill with over for some drinks and get to know them. you can find the show along with their music and show calendar at faircityfire.com. i hope you enjoy getting to know these guys. i sure did. let's get down! 
ciao! -jg

Episode 500: Live at The Townsend w/ AJ Vallejo, Nakia, Kathy Valentine, Taylor Muse, Suzanna Choffel

hello friends! we did it! we hit 500 episodes and we did it in style. on monday, june 20th i was joined by aj vallejo, nakia, kathy valentine, taylor muse and suzanna choffel at the townsend here in austin, tx. we have a great and crazy conversation aj vallejo and i talk about our cooking show, "cooking/drinking w/ johnny & aj" and being producer of the year. we talk to nakia about his prince shows where he raised $15,000 for the sims foundation and haam. kathy tells about her new book, the movie she got to be in the new bluebonnet songs and videos. taylor muse and his love for chicken wings and star wars and suzanna choffel talks about jem & the holograms, her new album and much, much more! i want to thank juan alsina for recording the show, the townsend for having us and being so supportive of the show and last but not least, all of the people who came out and made it such a special night. let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 499 Part Two: The Conversations

hello friends! yesterday was the first day of summer. are you ready? have you chosen your summer jam? i have... i announced it at our live show last night for episode 500. it's "make me like you" by gwen stefani. what's yours? you can be a hit at any pool party, backyard bbq, boat ride, beach house party by playing my summer jam 2016 playlist available on spotify. i'll post a link on our facebook page. 
episode 499 part 2: the conversations is a clip show of some of the highlights of the last hundred shows. you'll hear joe king carrasco talk about being banned from saturday night live, being the first poster boy for mtv and more. mike flanigin talks to me about why he chose billy gibbons to sing the title track from his latest album, the drifter. chip pope talks about writing for tv, the natasha leggero special and more. lincoln durham explains how he's lived in his head since he was a kid. director penelope spheeris and her daughter anna talk about "the decline of western civilization part 2: the metal years". brannen temple gives me a history lesson on the origin of bebop. emily wolfe talks about hitting bottom and getting sober. bruce sudano talks about staying inspired after 40 plus years in the business and how casablanca told his band to play disco. once again, it's been a great hundred episodes. i look forward to the next 500. thank you so much for listening. let's get down!
ciao! -jg