how did i get here?

Episode 458: Daniel Eyes & The Vibes

hello friends! i hope this episode finds you all doing well. i'm good. i have a week off of skyrocket and i'm taking some time to write some songs. we played this weekend at the new antone's here in austin and at the continental club in houston. great shows! the continental club sold out. it was great to play at the new antone's. it's got a great vibe and it's in a great location and the staff there is on their game and super-cool. check it out when you can. welcome back antone's!my guests for episode 458 are the new rock sensations, daniel eyes & the vibes! their imressive debut e.p., sweet dreaming comes out this friday, january 29th and they have a release show on saturday, january 30th at cheer up charlie's here in austin. if you don't live in austin, you can find them at danieleyes.com a couple of years ago i got to work with daniel recording a demo and even though we didn't end up working together, we became good friends and i was very proud of him when i heard this record. so, daniel, dylan and russell came by and we had a great conversation about how they got together and made sweet dreaming, weird uber experiences, working out songs and much more. i hope you enjoy getting to know these guys as much as i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 457: KP and the Boom Boom

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. things are good here. i got to play the new antone's here in austin last night. i really like that place. it looks and sounds beautiful. great sound on stage, great location and great people. i'm very happy antone's is back. i missed it. if you're in houston tonight, friday, jan. 22nd, skyrocket will be at the continental club. we go on at 10. it's a great time.my guests for episode 457 are kate and nick from austin euro/soul/pop kp and the boom boom! if you live in austin, you can see them tomorrow, saturday, january 23rd at geraldine's in the new van zant hotel. they have two e.p.'s out now and are putting the finishing touches on their debut full-length in a few months. you can find them online at kpbbmusic.com. nick and kate came by a couple of weeks ago and we had a great conversation about living in the u.k., india and guatamala, having an indian singing guru, euro/soul, having natural charisma, opening for snoop dogg, the writing and recording process and much, much more! i had a great time getting to know kate and nick. i'm sure you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 456: Ali Holder Returns!

hello friends! i hope this episode finds happy, healthy and enjoying the new year. things are good here. last week was very surreal having lost david bowie and our beloved local blues, soul and r&b curator, twine time host and leader of the cobras, paul ray. i played a couple of shows with skyrocket. in fact, i did the intro and outro for this show in my hotel room when i was out of town with skyrocket. have a great week!my guest for episode 456 is the immensely talented singer/songwriter/artist, ali holder! this is ali's second time on the show. she was on last year when she was promoting her album, in preparation for saturn's return. she's back promoting her brand new album, from my veins will fall. i love ali and her music and we have a fantastic conversation about cats, going into seclusion for a week to write, recording in mississippi, her new tuesday residencies at stay gold and the blackheart in austin and much, much more! you can see her tonight tuesday, january 19th at the blackheart here in austin. i had a great time talking to ali. she is a real talent and a great hang. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 455: Brother Wolf And The Carnivores / Gigtown

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. i'm good. it's been a weird week. i did get to spend a few days with my dogs, taylor and dylan. we went to the park three days in a row. it was a great time. we spent some great time together. i saw "the hateful eight" yesterday. it was great! i recommend it unless you don't like graphic violence. if you're in austin, skyrocket will be playing tonight, friday, jan. 15th, at the one-2-one bar. we go on at 10:30. come out party with us.my guest for episode 455 is sharonne sofer from brother wolf and the carnivores! life is war, their fantastic first e.p., life is war is out now. you can find it at their shows or just go to brotherwolfband.com. i'd like to thank the austin music foundation for hooking us up. sharonne came by a couple of weeks ago and we had a great conversation about growing up on the east coast, progressive reggae bands, their new e.p., life is war and much, much more! i had a great time getting to know sharonne. i'm sure you will too. plus, andy and brian from the new live music app, gigtown stop by and fill us in on their new app bringing musicians and their fans together available in san diego, seattle and now austin. check it out! let's get down!ciao!

Episode 454: Burgess Meredith Returns!

rest in peace starman.my guests for episode 454 are power pop band, burgess meredith! josh king and jesse hester came by couple of weeks ago and we caught up about member changes, a new 7", playing lots of shows, we bonded over some of our favorite pop music and much, much more. you can find there new 7", double-a-side and their first release, banana moon at their website burgessmeredithmusic.com. i had a great time getting to know josh and jesse. i'm sure you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 453: Lou Rebecca / Rock Journalist, Kristy Loye

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well and getting ready for the weekend. i have a big show for you guys today. first up, i have a skype conversation with houston press writer, kristy loye! kristy wrote an article for the houston press.com called, "rock and roll is dead, and even axl and slash can't save it". that really hit a nerve with people both with it and against it. go read it for yourself here . i reached out to kristy because i thought she touched on some important issues facing all musicians, how to make a living in an age where support for musicians (and artists in general) is becoming more scarce by the day. great conversation!!!on a completely different note, i also talk to french-pop artist, lou rebecca. lou is playing a show tonight, fri. 1/8 at the vulcan gas company in austin, tx. she moved here 6 months ago from paris, where she grew up the daughter of a pop singer mother and record producing father. she has an ep ready for release but has to figure out her deal with her french publishing company, sony. lou and her husband, daniel, a great photographer and director, came by last week and we had a great conversation. i hope you enjoy getting to know her as much as i did. let's get down!ciao! jg

Episode 452: Love & Chaos

hello friends! i hope you're easing into 2016 in style and with grace. it's been a lazy year so far... i didn't do much this weekend except clean up, make some food, go to the grocery store, eat and watch movies. zuri and i watched a cool show called, "the man in the high castle" on amazon. it's about the world if the axis powers had won world war 2 and divided the country on ha;f be tween the japanese and the nazis. i recommend it. it's "free week" in austin, so of you're in town, get out and see some music. i'll be at the volstead in austin tonight (tues 1/5) opening for my friend and former band mate, nathan harlan. we start at 9. come out!my guests for episode 452 are kendall beard and aj vallejo from the band, love & chaos! they just released their self-titled debut e.p. on friday. they're playing a record release show on jan 14th at the saxon pub here in austin. you can find out where and when they're playing by going to loveandchaosmusic.com kendall and aj are great friends of mine and we have a great conversation about the new ep, writing songs together, new babies, how music is distributed, making videos and much, much more! i hope you enjoy getting to know kendall and aj. they're two of my favorite people and i bet they'll be two of yours too when you finish this podcast. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 451: Kev Bev and the Woodland Creatures

happy new year everyone! welcome to 2016! i hope you all had a safe and happy new years eve and spent it with loved ones. i am about to head to houston as i write this to play a new years eve party. should be fun. i'll be with my friends. i have some resolutions i'm going to try to stick to: quit sugar drinks and cookies, eventually quit smoking, be a better person. what are yours? my first guests for 2016 are kevin and candace collins from the 9-piece, soul/funk/reggae/hip-hop extravaganza known as, kev bev and the woodland creatures! their new album, domesticated is out TODAY, jan 1 2016! you can find it and all about them at kevbevandthewc.com domesticated is a celebration of life much like their idols, sly and the family stone. i thought this would be a great way to start out 2016. candace and kevin came a few weeks ago and had a great conversation about handling a 9-piece band, life in a small east coast town, music scenes, kickstarter, vinyl is the hotdog of music?, being a couple on a band and much, much more! i hope you enjoy getting to know candace and kevin as much as i did. let's get down! happy new year!ciao! -jg

Episode 450: Paco Estrada

hello friends! i hope this episode finds you well. it's the last week of he year. are you okay with this year? did you have a good one? i think i had a good one. things are going well. i'm healthy and happy and in love. did you have a good christmas? i had a good one. no matter how weird it got, i was still surrounded by my loving family and i wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. my guest for episode 450 is talented and beloved singer/songwriter/bandleader, paco estrada! paco and i have been trying to get together for a podcast since i started the show. well, we finally did it! i went out to orb recording studios a few weeks ago, tucked away in one of their gorgeous cutting rooms and had this great conversation. we talk about growing up a preacher's son, learning songs for dual cassette recordings, making e-books along with records, his newest album, bedtime stories, the uncertainty of labels and managers, the two corys and much, much more! i hope you enjoy getting to know paco as much as i did. let's get down! ciao! -jg

Episode 449: Casey Monahan

merry christmas! i hope you're all in a good place. i hope i'm in a good place. i wish you all happiness, love and peace this holiday season. i will be on my way home this christmas day. i'm going to spend the weekend back home with my loved one, zuri. maybe we'll go to a movie, see a band, play some yatzee... end of the holiday decompression and relaxation. because even if i wasn't working any of my "jobs" this week, being with family and that whole thing can be pretty intense and a couple of days of quiet and mellow vibes. i'll talk to you on tuesday and fill you in on star wars, family time, last-minute shopping, christmas and more. merry christmas!my guest for episode 449 is behind-the-scenes texas music legend, casey monahan. if you don't know casey, he was a writer for the austin american-statesman,  he was the director of the texas state music office for 25 years under governors ann richards, george w. bush and rick perry, he created the texas music register, he was on the team that brought the grammy chapter to texas in 1994, he produced roky erickson and much, much more. in january 2015, when the new regime took over the texas capital, casey was let go. the music community was outraged, but casey turned his energy toward his family and now is back at work consulting music businesses and more. casey is a great hang, a wealth of music knowledge and a real sweetheart. i hope you enjoy my conversation with casey. i sure did. let's get down! merry christmas! -jg