how did i get here?

Episode 428: Autumn

hello friends! i hope you're all living it up this weekend. i'm good. i'm playing an F1 party with skyrocket tonight here in austin. i guess the town is gearing up for this huge car race. there's a special event in austin every weekend isn't there? wild. this is a giant worldwide car race and i hear it's very exciting. maybe someday i'll go. my guest for episode 428 is jazz/soul/funk singer, autumn! autumn just released her self-titled, debut album in september. she is also a vocalist in the nightowls who play out around austin a lot. i heard about autumn through my friends at the austin music foundation. she was their artist of the month for september. anyway, autumn came by and we had a fantastic conversation about growing in oklahoma in a conservative family, growing up singing in church, dating, making music with someone you're involved then not involved with, working in the oil business, beyonce'-esque outfits and much, much more. i really enjoyed getting to know autumn. i'm sure you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 427: Moving Panoramas / Honky Tonk Heaven: The Story of the Broken Spoke

hello friends! i hope you're all flying high again! things are going well here at la casa de johnny. i have a great big show for you guys today. before we get to my conversation with moving panoramas, i have a quick chat with michelle faires, producer of "honky tonk heaven: the story of the broken spoke" a documentary about the legendary texas honky tonk. they've just started editing and they've started a kickstarter campaign to finish up their movie. michelle gives us an insight to the story, but you can check it out and give at kickstarter.com/brokenspokefilm do it!my guests for episode 427 are the amazing dreamgaze trio, moving panoramas! their gorgeous new album, one came out earlier this month. you can find one and fin out all about them at movingpanoramas.com leslie and rosie from the band came by a few weeks ago and we had an amazing conversation about leslie's life-changing, traumatic few months, turning heartache and confusion into beautiful art, teaching rosie music and becoming bandmates, fear of numbers, school of rock, shoegaze vs. dreamgaze, the making of one, custom earplugs vs. $1 earplugs and much, much more! leslie's story is harrowing, but what she was able to do musically not only made her feel better but it made the world a more beautiful place and for that i thank her and the rest of the band. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 426: Craig Marshall Returns!

hello friends! i hope you all had a great weekend. we have three shows again this week. i've had a lot of guests lately and i've gotta get some out to make room for more new ones. i had a great weekend. i played thursday-saturday with skyrocket and spent sunday hanging with zuri, having brunch with my old friend, alexandra, hanging out with my dogs and gong to antone's records for an afternoon in store performance by my old pal, joe king carrasco. busy weekend! hey! if you listen to the radio, i'll be on KOOP 91.7 having a roundtable discussion about the state of the music scene from 1pm -2pm. you can hear it online too. my guest for episode 426 is singer/songwriter, craig marshall! craig just released his new album, after all, his second country flavored album produced by cotton mather/future clouds and radar frontman, robert harrison. he has a special release show coming up this sunday, 10/25 at 6 pm at strange brew loungeside here in austin. if you don't live in austin, you can find out where you can find after all and find out all about craig marshall by going to craigmarshall.com i had a great time catching up with craig, i hope you guys enjoy it too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 425: Freddie Steady Krc

hello friends! i hope this episode finds you all happy and healthy. i am a bit hungover as i celebrated my birthday last night. it was a blast. saw the wonderful dawn & hawkes play, then i had a fabulous dinner, then went to se my old pal aj play and met up with a bunch of friends. great night! if you're in austin tonight, october, 16th and looking for something to do, skyrocket will be playing at the one-2-one bar at 9 pm. come out and party with us.my guest for episode 425 is singer/songwriter/drummer/guitar player/renaissance texan and texas music hall of famer, freddie steady krc! freddie has been a staple on the austin scene since the 1970's when he played drums with the likes of b.w. stevenson, jerry jeff walker, carole king and more. he went on to start the new wave/power pop band, the explosives in the late 70's. then a string of great country and garage rock bands including freddie steady 5, shakin' apostles, freddie steady's wild country and many more. freddie continues to write and play with his many bands, he owns a record label and now runs the austin chapter of the musicians union. freddie and i have an awesome and long conversation about his journey. i hope you enjoy getting to know freddie steady as much as i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 424: Empire Machines

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. it's my birthday so i don't really know how i am. i'm kinda weirded out by the whole thing, but i'm dealing with it. hey! if you live in austin, my band, skyrocket is playing this friday at the one-2-one bar. we go on at 10. should be a good time. we're playing three shows this week. i'm releasing three podcasts this week. i might be old, but i like to stay busy. my guests for episode 424 are modern rock band, empire machines! their new ep animal skin is available now on bandcamp. they're having a release show this saturday, 10/17 at spider house ballroom. the show is brought to you by our friends at solstice live. so, matt and bruce came by and we had a great conversation about the branch davidians, taking a two year break from playing, recording animal skin, nice music teachers, finding rock and roll in waco, tx and much, much more. bruce and matt are great guys. i hope you enjoy getting to know them as much as i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 423: Ashley Monical Returns!

hello friends! i hope this episode finds you enjoying columbus day. maybe you're off and you're taking a walk in the nice weather or out driving around meeting people and telling them about the fabulous podcast you've been listening to. my birthday is wednesday and i'm trying to get my head around getting older. aging. it's becoming a reality. in just a few years i'm going to be 50 years old. nobody wants to be 50. am i right? i mean, 40 was a big pill to swallow, but it's not so rough. you'll still get, "wow! i thought you were in your early 30's.". not anymore, man. i don't get that at all really. anyway, not sure what my plans are, but i'm sure you'll hear about it later in the week.my guest for episode 423 is talented, angelic singer/songwriter, ashley monical! ashley returns to the show as she prepares for the release of her new album, facing the shadow which comes out this friday 10/16. if you live in austin, ashley will be playing a special release show this saturday, 10/17 at the saxon pub at 2 pm where she will perform, facing the shadow from front to back with a full band. if you're not in austin, simply go to ashleymonical.com and find out when she'll be in a town near you. so, ashley came by a few weeks ago and we had a fantastic conversation about extremely friendly fans, sober-dating, trans-glasses, making facing the shadow and much, much more! ashley is a great hang. just listen and find out through our entertaining conversation. let's get down! ciao! -jgciao! -jg

Episode 422: Sphynx Returns... Again!

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. maybe you're celebrating john lennon's birthday. i'll be on 89.9 kutx in austin today at 2:30 along with stephen doster's band and a lot of other folks singing john's songs. tune in. turn on. and freak out! if you're not in austin, tune in to kutx.org to listen. hey gang! if you're in houston, tonight friday, 10/9, come out to the continental club and party with skyrocket. we go on at 10 pm. on that same note, if you're in pflugerville, skyrocket will be at hanover's tomorrow saturday, 10/10 we go on at 10 there too. we have three shows coming out next week, so look for shows on monday, wednesday and friday. my guests for episode 422 are returning for the fifth time. they're one of my favorite bands. they're one of the most energetic, creative and fun bands around. they're sphynx!!!! the guys stop by and talk to me about unicorn sex, the highs and lows of the last year of their lives, their new album, live from earth, touring, their dead van, the magic of french pop, their upcoming cmj showcase and much, much more! these guys have been through a lot over the last year/ they're weary but still going strong. they're beautiful people with a very strong musical and brotherly bond that i love being around and so will you. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 421: Aly Tadros

hello friends! i hope you're all living the dream, feeling fancy and avoiding all of life's jive turkeys. i'm doing well. i've realized that i might have been doing too many podcasts lately because i have more shows than i have release slots. my solution, three shows a week every other week until the level balances out. is that okay with you guys? i hope so. look for three shows next week. hey guys! quick skyrocket announcement: we are playing at the continental club in houston on friday, october 9th and we'll be at hanover's in pflugerville on saturday october 10th. ...and that's my weekend. my guest for episode 421 is new york based singer/songwriter, aly tadros! aly played in austin a few weeks ago and i got to see her play and do a podcast while she was in town. i had heard her music, but i was blown away by her performance. she's not only an amazing singer/guitar player and songwriter, she's a great performer and, as you can tell from this podcast, a great hang. we have a great conversation about growing up in laredo, moving to new york, writing, performing, being sober and much, much more. i had a great time getting to know aly. i'm sure you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 420: Keeper

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. i hope that if you have come to austin for acl or live in austin, you're enjoying this beautiful weather and avoiding the vicious traffic. if you're anywhere else in the world, i hope it's all good there. i got to spend a great day in the studio yesterday with my friends, gabe rhodes and einar. we recorded a song gabe and i wrote called, "the man who tried to have everything" it turned out really good. we had a blast working together. and we really worked together. everyone was playing stuff and throwing out ideas. i'll let you know when it's mixed and i'll probably put it up on soundcloud. my guests for episode 420 are synth-soul, vocal trio, keeper! their debut, full-length album, moonhigh came out yesterday 10/1! the album is fantastic and available on itunes, spotify and other music outlets. go to keepermusic.com for all of your keeper needs. these ladies are also the austin music foundation's band on the month for october. so these talented and entertaining ladies and i have a great conversation about, growing up in choir, being weird kids, finding their harmony sound, dj culture, a "psychic friends" moment about soul ll soul, how they made their brilliant new album, moonhigh, collaborating with other artists and much, much more! i hope you enjoy getting to know keeper as much as i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 419: Sweet Spirit

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. things are good here. the austin city limits festival is in town the next two weekends and i'm playing out of town both weekends, so i won't be able to go. are you going? are you coming in from out of town for it? i haven't been in a few years... maybe i'm overdue. hey! i have some press to share with you. austin monthly magazine featured the podcast in their october 2015 issue. this is very exciting for us here at "how did i get here?" check it out here! also, i was a guest on my friend, amy edwards' new podcast, "the real show". we have a great chat about podcasting, honesty, insecurity and much more with a lot of laughs. amy is a great host and her show is really good. listen here!my guests for episode 419 are sabrina ellis and andrew cashen for the amazing 9- peice power pop band, sweet spirit! their brilliant new album, cokomo, (produced by mike mccarthy) comes out friday, october 16th on nine mile records! sabrina and andrew were on earlier this year talking about their other band, a giant dog. but 2015 has been a banner year for them. they released their debut e.p., released two songs with britt daniel of spoon, they've spent the year touring on the country with and without spoon, they managed to write, record and are now about to release their debut, full-length album, cokomo and head out on tour of the east coast for the month of october. go to sweetspiritatx.com to find out if they're coming to a town near you and where you can get their amazing new album, cokomo. i love hanging out with sabrina and andrew. we have a lot of laughs, they are really focused and they're poised to do some great stuff. i hope you enjoy getting to know them as much as i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg