how did i get here?

Episode 537: Nomad City

Hello friends! I hope this episode finds you happy, healthy and ready for the weekend. As usual, I'm heading out of town with SKYROCKET! for the next couple of days to play some shows. Oh! I want to let you know that my band, Ladyband Johnson is playing next Friday, November 4th at The Continental Club here in Austin. The band is Kathy valentine, Dominique Davalos and Christina Comley from The Bluebonnets with me as the singer. Come out. It's rock and roll! Go to the Facebook event page for more info. 
My guests for episode 537 are Britny Lobas and Ray Kainz from Austin rock band, Nomad City! Their self-titled, debut e.p. comes out on December 1st, but you can get a taste of the music and the band if you check out their new video for the song, "Didn't Have a Gun" by going to their website nomadcityband.com. They'll be playing an e.p. release show on December 1st at The Mohawk here in Austin. I have a great conversation with Ray and Britny about moving to Austin from the midwest, growing up in musical families, the rock scenes in Detroit and Cleveland, making their new e.p. at The Orb with Matt Novesky and much, much more! i hope you enjoy getting to know Brit and Ray as much as I did. Let's get down! 
ciao! -jg

Episode 536: Craig Dorfman (Author of "Brighter Day: A Jellyfish Story")

Hello friends! I hope you all had a great weekend. Are you a fan of the band, Jellyfish? Do you ever wonder why they only released two albums (Bellybutton - 1991, Spilt Milk - 1993) and broke up? Do you ever wonder what ever happened to the members of the band? Well, for episode 536 I talk to Craig Dorfman, the man who wrote the book about Jellyfish. The book is called, "Brighter Day: A Jellyfish Story" Craig just picked up distribution last week, so it should make its way into some stores in the next few months, but for now you can get it the "Brighter Day: A Jellyfish Story" facebook page. I reached out to Craig and got a copy of the book. I absolutely loved it. Jellyfish is one of my favorite bands and it was great to hear the whole story told by the people that lived it and told in a single narrative that keeps you engaged the whole time. Craig and I have a great conversation about finding the dozens of people involved in the story and interviewing them and working on the book for over 7 years, his love of music and these guys and their life story and much, much more. I hope you enjoy getting to know Craig. 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 534: Matt The Electrician Returns!

Hello friends! I hope you all had a good weekend. I played in San Antonio on Friday and Houston on Saturday. They were good shows, but I had a rough time because my allergies have been so bad. I had a hard time singing both nights. Anyway, I woke up today feeling better than I have in a couple of weeks. Maybe I'm getting a handle on these allergies which is great because I would love to go out and see some music this week. 
Matt The Electrician returns to the show for episode 534! Matt has been releasing a new 7" single featuring two songs per single. Each release is a collaboration with different artists like Dana Falconberry, Little Brave, Wilson Marks Trio and Wood & Wire. I urge you to buy these. They're amazing works of art both visually and musically. find them at mattheelectrician.com He just toured the west coast with Seela and Little Brave and performed at the 15th annual Austin City Limits Festival. If you live in Austin, Matt will be kicking off "Unplugged on the Front Porch" at All Saints Episcopal Church, this Thursday, October 20th. You can find out all about it at frontporchaustin.org. Matt and I have a great conversation about making these 7" singles and the collaborations, House of Songs, the songwriting game, keeping a healthy home life while touring and much, much more. I hope you enjoy our conversation. I sure did. Let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 533: Amy Edwards & The Hi-Fis

Hello friends! I hope you're all doing well. Things are good here. It's my birthday today. I'm going to the dentist and then going to San Antonio to play at Sam's Burger Joint Music Hall with SKYROCKET!. I feel like I've been fighting off sickness or allergies or whatever it is that i have had for a week. Some days I'm winning, some days i'm losing. I'm pretty sure I'l prevail. I want to let you guys know that my band, Lady Band Johnson is playing on Friday November 4th at The Continental Club here in Austin. I'll post a link to the facebook event page when we make one. 
My guests for episode 533 are Yates Hagan and Amy Edwards from Amy Edwards & The Hi-Fi's! Their new single, a searing cover of The Carpenters "Superstar" is out today! Amy and Yates have gone through some restructuring of their project. They've stripped the live band down to just the two of them. Bringing out a raw, rock approach to their songs. We have a great conversation about the changes they've gone through, recording "Superstar" with AJ Vallejo, making videos and much, much more. I love these guys and I'm sure you will too. Have a great weekend. Let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 532: Shmu

Hello friends! I hope you all had a great weekend. I had a good weekend. i did spend some of it worried that was too sick to play. I can't tell if I have a lingering cold or just really bad allergies, because it seems like one day, i'm better and the next i'm totally sick again. Anyway, I had a good time singing at the John Lennon birthday show at Threadgill's here in Austin on Sunday. Lots of cool folks joined Stephen Doster's #9 Orchestra to pay tribute to John on his birthday.
My guest for episode 532 is Samuel Chown musically known as Shmu! Shmu's latest album Shhh!!! is absolutely fantastic! Sam and I have a great conversation about growing up in Canada, going to Berklee College of Music, making shoe-gazer/dream pop meets psychedelic glitch music, his label, GTZ Records and much, much more! I hope you enjoy getting to know Sam/Shmu as much as I did. Let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 531: Glen Phillips Returns! / Tom Meny Stops by!

Hello friends! I hope our friends in Florida and the southeast are all safe and sound from the hurricane cruising up the east coast. Things are okay in my world. I'm sick and i have shows all weekend. That's always a stressful situation. in SKYROCKET!, there are a lot of other singers that can sing songs so it's not as bad, but i'm supposed to sing three songs at this John Lennon birthday celebration benefit show on Sunday and i want to be okay for that. Here's a link to the Lennon show, link to Lennon show It's a great band and lots of great guest singers and all for a great cause. do it!
My guest for episode 531 is singer/songwriter, Glen Phillips! You might know Glen as the front man for Toad The Wet Sprocket and he was on the show like 4 years ago. Well, Glen has a gorgeous new album out, Swallowed By the New out today, Friday October 7th! He'll be touring through Texas next week go to glenphillips.com for tour info and to pick up the album. We have a great conversation about Swallowed By the New, the dissolution of his 23 year marriage, finding his happiness, accepting mortality, moving to Nashville and much, much more! Plus, Tom Meny stops by to talk about his brilliant new ep, Love & Pay out Friday, October 14th! Thanks for listening. Let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 530: Thor Harris

My guest for episode 530 is the amazing Thor Harris! The Thor & Friends debut album comes out this Friday, October 7th! Thor and I have been pals since 1989 when he was the drummer for Austin's Stick People. He has since gone on to tour and record with Swans, Shearwater, Bill Callahan, Amanda Palmer, Rebecca Cannon, Lisa Germano and many more. He's recorded 6 albums with Austin studio maven, Rob Halverson. Thor & Friends is a collaboration with Peggy Ghorbani and Sarah "Goat" Gautier and draws on classic minimalist composers for inspiration. They'll be hitting the road with Adam Torres Oct 12 - Oct 30 hitting the east coast. Go to thorharris.org to see if they're coming to a town near you. Thor and I have a great conversation about growing up in a Texas coast town, Austin music, his work with Swans & Shearwater, a bad ass Talk Talk album I've never heard, Thor & Friends L.P. and much, much more. I hope you enjoy my conversation with this inspiring man as much as i did. Let's get down!
Ciao! -jg

Episode 529: Reckless Kelly

Hey gang! I hope you've all had a great week. Things are going well here. Heading out to Houston to spend some time with my grandmother. She's 94 now. We're very, very close, so i'm trying to spend as much time with her as i can. SKYROCKET! will be playing in Houston tonight at The Continental Club. People were saying it's sold out. As of last night, it was not, so if you live in Houston, come out tonight Friday 9/30 and party with us! I'll be going to ACL Festival this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes on Tuesday's show. 
My guest for episode 529 is the amazing Cody Braun from Reckless Kelly! For 20 years Reckless Kelly has been making amazing americana music and touring the country relentlessly. They've just released their 11th album, the stunning, Sunset Motel. The album is a gorgeous example of a band taking a sound and running with it and 20 years down the road, there's amazing growth and depth beyond what they even expected. Cody and I have a great conversation about growing up in Idaho, playing in his dad's band with his brothers, moving to Austin and starting Reckless Kelly, their experiences with releasing albums and touring the U.S. for 20 years, the importance of art in everything from writing songs to album packaging, making Sunset Motel and much, much more. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Cody as much as I did. Let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 528: Walker Lukens / Randy Miller From ALL ATX Stops By!

Hello friends! I hope you had a great weekend. This is a big week in Austin music. The new ALL ATX album, Low Down Violet Crown: Austin Rocks the Blues comes out this Thursday, September, 29th and they're celebrating with a big release show at ACL Moody Theater that same day. The album features 17 tracks with the best of Austin artists covering classic blues rock songs. The concert on Thursday features The Doobie Bros., Bob Schneider, Doyle Bramhall ll, Carolyn Wonderland, Jackie Venson, today's guest Walker Lukens and many more. Randy Miller, producer of the album and the show, stops by to fill us in on all things All ATX. go to allatx.org to find out how and where to buy the album and how o get tickets to the show. 
My guest for episode 528 is the amazing Walker Lukens! Walker is featured on the new All ATX album and he'l be playing the show on Thursday at ACL Moody Theater, but he also has a new e.p. coming out next month. Walker's brilliant new e.p., Never Understood, produced by Jim Eno (Spoon), comes out October 14th on Modern Outsider Records. He'll be playing the ACL Festival on October 8th and playing release shows around Texas in October. We have a great conversation about making Never Understood, growing up in Houston, navigating this crazy music business and much, much more. I hope you enjoy getting to know Walker as much as i did. Let's get down!
Ciao! -jg