how did i get here?

Episode 388: Tapes / Texas Music Water Returns!

hello friends! i hope this episode finds you slaying the dragons of life. i'm doing well. i'm running around, doing laundry, getting this show together before i leave to corpus christi to play with skyrocket tonight. i'm hustling back tomorrow to make it back in time to cover the solstice festival going on here in austin tomorrow, sat. june 20th at pan-am park from noon to 10 pm. a lot of great artists on the bill including, ringo deathstarr, jazz mills, money chicha, zeale, dead love club and more! find out all about it at solticeatx.com . my guests for episode 388 are the incredibly dreamy, electro-instrumental band, tapes! i came across these guys about a month ago and freaked out. they're a new band that just released two gorgeous albums. they're both available on itunes, spotify, soundcloud and of course, bandcamp go HERE to hear and buy these amazing albums! i got to see the band on friday and it was amazing. they make the most beautiful music. anyway, carlos and sergio came by the other night and w had a great chat about growing up in laredo, crazy high school bands, film school, forming tapes, you get a free lesson in spanglish, a peek into how they're gonna make their next record and much, much more. i hope you enjoy getting to know these guys and their music. i sure did. plus, dean wolfe from texas music water and american music water stops by again and tells us how we can support our community through music non-profits like SIMS, HAAM and more by just drinking water find out more at texasmusicwater.com and americanmusicwater.com "you hydrate. we donate" let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 387: Löwin Returns! / Solstice Festival

yo people who read these transmissions from my sad, little brain! i hope you're all doing well. things are good here. i've been rehearsing, seeing bands, doing podcasts and generally trying to stay cool. on today's show, we get a special visit from and have a quick chat with matt, lauren and adrian from solstice festival. it's a free festival that takes place saturday, june, 20th 2015 from noon to 10 pm at pan am park in austin, tx. the festival features ringo deathstarr, zeale, jazz mills, money chicha, dead love club and many, many more. matt, lauren and adrian fill us in on solstice live, solstice festival, the shows this thursday and friday in 14 clubs and more. you can also go to solticeatx.com and find out line ups and info. my guests for episode 387 are sara and chris from the band, löwin! this is the band's second appearance on the show. they've just released a fantastic, new e.p. called, royal jelly. you can find it on itunes, spotify, soundcloud, select record stores and at their shows. if you live in austin, you can see löwin every saturday in june at the blackheart on rainey st. at midnight. i've seen them they're a great band. sara is a great musician/singer/frontwoman. we have a great conversation about they're new ep royal jelly, kanye west, writing and recording, songs with the names sara and johnny, the current music scene and much, much more! i hope you enjoy getting to know löwin as much as i have. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 386: Darin Murphy

hello friends! i hope you're all finding your way through the maze of life without having to go back to the beginning a bunch of times. things are good here. summer is kicking in and i've been in a bathing suit of some sort since monday... so that's pretty good. i'm going to hit the pool, go to the movies and see some outdoor shows. you know. just some summer stuff. my guest for episode 386 is my dear old friend and skyrocket bandmate, darin murphy! darin came by a few weeks ago and we went on a four-mile walk and we recorded it. it was a great walk and a great conversation with one of my best friends. we talked about his finely-tuned ear, his solo records, getting his ass kicked in the studio, trish and darin, broadway, the fab-fourgeries, skyrocket and much, much more. i hope you enjoy getting to know one of my favorite people to make music and hang out with. i sure have. let's get down! ciao! -jg

Episode 385: Growl

hello friends! i hope your hearts are on the verge of exploding with happiness and joy. i'm well. i've been rehearsing with amy edwards (ep. 371) as i'll be playing guitar with her band at a show at stubb's here in austin on july 3rd. we'll be opening for the bluebonnets and it should be a fun night. i'm having a great time playing electric guitar and rocking out. i still haven't seen "love and mercy" that brian wilson movie. i think i'll see it tomorrow or thursday.my guests for episode 385 are indie-garage-pop band, growl! these guys have toured the states a few times, the have many releases on bandcamp and they're a great band. they prove that on their latest release, live at the blue dream which was recorded live by my pal, will from shivery shakes. anyway, we have a great conversation about being r.t.f. majors, classic indie-rock, girls, recording, day jobs, touring and much, much more. if you live in austin you can see them THIS thursday, june 11th 7pm at beats delicious presents: growl in a gallery i'd like to thank the fine folks at beats delicious for hooking me up with this amazing band. i hope you enjoy getting to know growl. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 384: Ulrich Ellison Returns! / Austin Music Foundation

hello friends! i hope you're all pulling the magic sword out of the stone of life. i'm doing well. excited to be in my bathing suit. i have a gig tonight, but i'm off the rest of the weekend. looking forward to seeing the brian wilson movie and "san andreas", going swimming, hitting a bar be que and who knows what else. it's summer and i'm in the zone! my guest for episode 384 is austrian blues rocker, ulrich ellison! this is ulrich's second time on the show. he and his band, ulrich ellison and tribe just released a new album, dreamchaser, toured europe and are about to embark on a midwest tour next week! we have a fantastic conversation about the "tribe", touring europe and the u.s., making dreamchaser and much, much more. also, alex and jen from the austin music foundation stop by and fill us in on their function in the austin community, the recent austin music census, wine down tuesdays and all of the events they promote and much more. if you live in austin and are a local, music-based business or a musician, the austin music foundation is there to help you. have a great weekend. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 383: Little Brave Returns! / Texas Music Water

hello friends! i hope this episode finds you being able to shut off the tractor beam on the death star so that you can rescue the princess and go home. i want to let you know that i have a show THIS thursday at the roost in north austin. i received a call last night from my friend that books the place and he said someone dropped out last minute and would i play on thursday at 8. so, i'm playing a solo acoustic show at the roost in north austin at 8 on thursday. come out and say hi to me. i want to also let you know that texas music water is the official water of "how did i get here?". dean wolfe from texas music water stops by the show today to quickly give us the background on texas music water and about the non-profits it supports like HAAM, SIMS, Anthropos Arts, Warrior Cry Music Project and more! find out where you can your texas music water at www.texasmusicwater.com "you hydrate. we donate"Episode 383 finds little brave back in the "hot seat". also known as stephanie macias, this is her second appearance on the show. this past april she put out and amazing new double cd, mythology. this album is absolutely gorgeous. going between electronic pulses and totally organic solo ukelele performances. i urge you to not only buy this album, but go to littlebravemusic.com and buy a physical copy. stephanie stephanie made such a beautiful package that also comes with a beautiful booklet. artists like little brave give me hope. she is a creative force to be reckoned with and we have a great conversation about everything from eating right to designing the gorgeous packing for mythology and everything in between. as always, i had a great time getting to know little brave again. i'm sure you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Repost Episode:166: The Jitterbug Vipers, Slim Richey

slim richey, 1938-2015hello friends. it is with great sadness that i bring you the repost of this episode of "how did i get here?" episode 166: the jitterbug vipers. yesterday, legendary jazz guitarist and beautiful soul, slim richey, lost his battle with lymphoma. this is a great loss to our community and our tribe. my heart and condolences go out to his family, his lovely wife and musical partner, francie meaux jeaux, his friends and his viper bandmates, sarah sharp and masumi jones. sadly, with this great loss comes a great financial burden with slim having spent a lot of the last couple of months in the hospital and funeral costs. you can help francie and the family by going to their gofundme page and donating what you can. i hope you enjoy this great/crazy conversation and get something out of it. i sure did. slim will be missed.

Episode 382: LEV

hello friends! i hope you're all safe and dry where ever you are. i'm well. luckily, the floods did not affect my neighborhood. my thoughts and prayers go out to all that were affected by this awful weather we've had. there are a lot of ways to help. here in austin, there are benefits, donations drop-offs and more. if you know of any way that people can help please share it on our "how did i get here?" facebook page  let's spread the word, get involved and help out.my guest for episode 382 is dallas pop artist, LEV! LEV has a fantastic new e.p. that came out this past tuesday called, fear no evil. the album is avaialble on itunes and at her website. she is playing some release shows this week namely, tomorrow saturday, may 30th here in austin at the empire control room. you can find out all about her and her shows at levthemusic.com. LEV is a really great hang and we have an entertaining conversation about small towns, not fitting in with the nashville mold, men's butts, her songs, how she made fear no evil, playing shows as a pop artist, she plays a dirty jingle she wrote and much, much more! i had a great time getting to know LEV. i'm sure you will too! let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 381: Mark Proct

hello friends! i hope you all had a good memorial day weekend. there was crazy rain, flooding and general old-testament-style devastation here in austin. i want to tell you guys about some solo shows i have coming up this week. tonight, tuesday, may 26th i'll be playing at the volstead in austin. i'll be playing at 10 right after last friday's guest, the big fix and right before one of my favorite people, kayce laine from nyc. thursday, may 28th, i'll be playing at 502 bar in san antonio at 9pm opening for one of my best friends, joseph king from nyc. and friday, 5/29, SKYROCKET! will be rocking hanover's in pflugerville at 10 pm. my guest for episode 381 is music business veteran, mark proct! mark shares his journey through 40 years in this business working as a roadie, soundman, tour manager, manager and everything in between with the likes of willie nelson, asleep at the wheel, jerry jeff walker, the fabulous thunderbirds, stevie ray vaughan, the vaughan brothers, the arc angels, storyville, vallejo and more. that whole time, mark had a camera and was documenting his exciting trip with all of these legendary musicians and has just put out an amazing and gorgeous book, "home today gone tomorrow", which is a collection of candid photos and stories spanning a 40 year career in this crazy business. mark and i sat down last week and went through the book and his life for 2 whole hours and here it is. i hope you enjoy it. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 380: The Big Fix

hello friends! i hope this show finds you all out there, fighting the good fight just like the canadian rock-trio, triumph told you to. i'm good. i have a week off from skyrocket, so i've been working on some songs, getting some podcasts done, working on the show a bit. i have a solo show next thursday, 5/28 at the 502 bar in san antonio. i'll be opening for my friend, joseph king and his band of lunatics from nyc. should be fun. check out the event page for times and address. my guest for episode 380 is my old friend and former bandmate, nathan harlan who has a new band, the big fix. in 2003, i joined a band that nathan co-fronted called, endochine. i left the band in 2004 because my life was literally falling apart. they went on for a few months after but soon called it quits. i didn't see nathan much for the last decade... well, we fixed that with this show. nathan came by and we talked about our time in endochine, his move to new york, wriitng, acting and working on films, the decision to put a new band together, the big fix and much, much more. they have some music up at their site, thebigfix.band i had a great time catching up with nathan. i'm glad he's making new music. let's get down!ciao! -jg