how did i get here?

Episode 527: Alesia Lani / Bonnie Whitmore Stops By!

Hello friends! i hope you're all doing well and living the dream. Bonnie Whitmore stopped by last week to talk a little bit about her new album, Fuck With Sad Girls which is officially available everywhere on October 28th. However, if you want to get the album early and you live in Austin, Bonnie and her band will be playing at The Continental Club next Thursday, September 29th at 10 pm and you can buy a copy of Fuck With Sad Girls at the show. Bonnie and i have a quick conversation about the album, the show, The Beatles and more. 
My guest for episode 527 is the amazing soul singer, Alesia Lani! Alesia's latest single, "Love You" is available now where ever you find music online. Alesia is playing the 36th Annual Fall Pecan Street Festival here in Austin, tomorrow, Saturday, September 24th at 3:15 pm on The Neches Stage. Alesia is an amazing singer and her first album, First Impression and latest single, "Love You", are absolutely gorgeous. We have a great conversation and i hope you enjoy getting to know this talented and charming woman 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 525: Rattletree

Hello friends! I hope you're all doing well. I'm recovering from a pretty fun Sunday. I went to the Reckless Kelly Sunset Motel listening party at Arlyn Studios here in Austin yesterday. The album is great. The party was awesome. Lots of old friends and new friends all celebrating one of our own and their new album. It reminds me how lucky I am to be a part of this scene. Sunset Motel comes out this Friday, September 23rd. You'll be hearing from them on this show very soon.
My guest for episode 525 is Joel Laviolette from the electronica/marimba band, Rattletree! This weekend Rattletree will be hosting "The Rattletree Glow Party" with all kinds of activities, musical projects, food and more.The party takes place this Friday, Sept 23rd, Saturday, Sept 24th and Sunday Sept 25th. For tickets and more information, simply go to rattletree.com Joel and i have a great conversation about learning marimba and living in Africa, teaching marimba, incorporating electronic music and traditional African music, the glow party, African chord changes and much, much more. I hope you enjoy our conversation. I sure did. Let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 524: BLXPLTN

Hello folks! I hope you're all enjoying you week. I am. I got out to see some music on HAAM day. I ended up at The Townsend seeing The Bluebonnets. It was a great show. I hung out with Mike Flannigin and some of the lovely "HAAMbassadors". HAAM is a great organization. It provides low-cost health care for those in the Austin music business. If you're a musician in Austin, i encourage you to sign up. They're there to help you. If you're a supporter of Austin music, check it out. You can donate on their site. Keep Austin musicians healthy, support HAAM. myhaam.org
My guests for episode 524 are TaSzmin Muerte and Jonathan Horstmann from the punk/industrial band, BLXPLTN! If you haven't heard BLXPLTN, i suggest you get out there immediately and educate yourself. They are amazing. If you live in austin, you can see them next Thursday Sept. 22 at the Red Bull Sound Select showcase at Barracuda here in Austin. Go HERE for more info on the show and to rsvp. We have a great conversation about growing up religious and changing your relationship with a higher power, their upcoming New York Fascist Week album, the punk scene in Austin, making music with a social conscience and much more. I hope you enjoy getting to know the fine cats as much as i 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 522: James Speer / Rev. Wade With "Soul of a Musician" Series Stops By!

Hello friends! I hope you're all having a great week. Things are good here. We have a gret big show for you today. First up, Reverend Merrill Wade from St. Matthew's Episcopal Church stops by to talk about their "Soul of a Musician" series which kicks off their new fall season this Sunday, Sept. 11 at Iron Cactus North with Nakia. The "Soul of a Musician" series is the brainchild of Rev. Wade. Each Sunday, they have a different artist in a friendly environment playing their songs and talking about them. The shows are at 6:30 pm on Sundays at Iron Cactus North in Austin. They're free to the public. Learn more by going to their website. I'll be there this Sunday helping interview Nakia. 
My guest for episode 522 is the incredibly talented James Speer! I've known James since the 90's. He's a phenomenal keyboard player, excellent songwriter and an all around great hang. Anyway, i ran into him a month or so ago at Antone's after he had opened for and played with Eric Tessmer for his record release. I invited him over to catch up on what he's been up to the last 10 years. Well, it's been a lot... from starting a family, playing private events and nice restaurants, writing and recording with other artists and much, much more. I hope you enjoy my conversation with James. I sure did. Let's get down!
Ciao! -jg

Episode 521: The Nightowls / Jaimee Harris Stops By!

Hello friends! i hope you had a great Labor Day weekend. i did. i played a couple of shows with Skyrocket, went to an awesome benefit for my friend, George Reiff at C-boys on Sunday night. It was a good time and i think they raised some good money for George. If you would like to contribute, here's a link to George's Gofundme page He could use al the help he can.
My guest for episode 521 is Ryan Harkrider from The Nightowls! They've just released a new e.p. called, The Royal Sessions recorded at the legendary Royal Studios in Memphis, TN and are about to embark on a midwest. east coast tour at the end of September. You can find if they're coming to a town near you at wearethenightowls.com Ryan and i have a great conversation about recording in legendary studios, keeping a 10-piece band together and going, finding your own voice playing funk music, touring with the full-band and much, much more. Plus, Jaimee Harris stopped by a couple of weeks ago to talk about her show coming up this Saturday Sept. 10th at Strange Brew here in Austin and her new album that's due out in a few months. Big show. Great conversations. Let's get down!
ciao! -jg

Episode 520: Kady Rain Returns!

Hello friends! Welcome to the last days of summer 2016. Labor day weekend is upon us. I hope you have fabulous plans to close out the summer. I don't really have plans. Does anyone have a boat they want to take on? I'm playing with Skyrocket on Friday at Cedar Street Courtyard in Austin and Saturday, we'll be at Mercer Street Dance Hall in Dripping Springs. Come out and start your Labor Day weekend off with some sweet jams provided me and my pals.
Kady Rain and Ben Bazzrea return to the show for episode 520! Their new awesome e.p., "All I Ever Wanted" came out last Friday! You can find it on itunes, Spotify and of course at kadyrain.com. They'll be playing at The 36th Annual Fall Pecan Street Festival on Sunday Sept. 25th at 7pm go to pecanstreetfestival.org for a complete listing of bands and times. Kady, Ben and I have a great conversation about writing songs, making "All I Ever Wanted", the state of pop music in Austin and the world, making it work as a couple and musical partners, lava lamps and much, much more! I hope you enjoy our conversation. I sure did. Let's get down!
Ciao! -jg

Episode 519: Jonathan Fox Band

Hello friends! I hope you had a great weekend. I had a good one. Skyrocket played a couple of private shows in Houston. They were fun shows in bbq places, so i had a lot of bbq this weekend. I loved both dinners and we had a blast at both gigs. If you live in Austin or in the Hill Country, Skyrocket will be playing shows in both of these places this weekend. Friday, 9/2 at Cedar Street Courtyard in Austin and Saturday 9/3 at Mercer Street Dance Hall in Dripping Springs, TX. 
Jonathan Fox from Jonathan Fox Band is my guest for episode 519! Jonathan Fox Band has just released their 2nd album, Loverlust. Jonathan made this record in his studio apartment with his drummer and guitar player. We have a great conversation about growing up in the DFW area, being influenced by Blink 182 and John Mayer, making Loverlust in his apartment, the dating woes of the hopeless romantic and much, much more. You can find out when they're coming to a town near you by going to jonathanfoxband.com Have a great week. Let's get down!
Ciao! -jg

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