Award-Winning Podcast ‘How Did I Get Here?’ Marks 1,500 Episodes With Live Show in Austin
Hosted by Austin musician Johnny Goudie, the special taping will be held May 20 at the Continental Club Gallery
Austin-based musician and podcaster Johnny Goudie will celebrate the 1,500th episode of his long-running podcast “How Did I Get Here?” with a live taping on Tuesday, May 20, at the Continental Club Gallery. The event, which runs from 8:30 to 10 p.m., is 21+ with a $10 cover and first-come, first-served seating. Guests include Kelly Willis, Ray Prim and Suzanna Choffel, who will join Goudie for a panel-style conversation on creativity and Austin’s evolving music scene.
The podcast, launched in 2011 from Goudie’s home studio, has become a fixture of Austin’s creative community and beyond. In 2024, it was named the No. 1 Austin-produced podcast by the Austin Chronicle. Goudie, a seasoned performer with decades of experience in the local and national music industry, is also a member of the popular ’80s tribute band SKYROCKET!, which plays its next show on May 9 at ACL Live at 3TEN.
Since its inception, “How Did I Get Here?” has featured more than a thousand candid interviews with artists such as STYX, Foghat, Living Colour, Black Pumas and Asleep at the Wheel.
We caught up with Goudie to talk about the podcast’s origins, its most meaningful moments and what it’s taught him along the way.
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You started “How Did I Get Here?” back in 2011 before podcasts really took off. What inspired you to launch the show at that time?
Johnny Goudie: What I saw was comedians interviewing comedians, and I didn’t see any musicians interviewing musicians—and I basically saw a space for myself in that world. You know, having been playing for so long and being a part of this music scene and everything, and also having grown up watching shows in the ’70s like Dick Cavett, Mike Douglas and Johnny Carson’s tonight show, where people just kind of sat there and talked and their interviews were a lot more conversational.
I really liked that. And so when I saw that I could—I had all this stuff, I have a recording studio here in my house—I didn’t have to buy anything. I figured we have such a rich music culture here, and I’ve been immersed in it for so long that I could do like a couple of years’ worth of shows just from the people I know in my phone.
I’d come up touring and playing in clubs, staying afterwards, going to clubs, and talking to people till all hours of the morning. That was something I always really enjoyed—kind of almost like a therapeutic session with members of your community.
Does being a musician yourself change the way you approach interviews with other artists on the podcast?
JG: Well, my experience as a musician is we immediately start talking on the level, if you will, like we’re in the same struggle. We have similar experiences, even if someone’s playing the Sphere and I’m not playing the Sphere, our experiences are shared. I’m not talking to scientists about, like, global warming or anything like that, because I don’t really know that stuff. But I do know my job, and I know the struggles of doing my job, so there’d be shared experiences that I can have with other people that are mostly artists too, as well as people outside of just the music discipline.
You’ve been involved in Austin’s music scene for a while. How have you seen it grow or change over the years?
JG: There’s people that freak out about it. There’s a lot of, a lot of ‘It’s not the same. It’s dead.’ You know, that kind of stuff. To me, it’s like your experience here is how you look at it and what you’re actually expecting from a scene. Having been here for decades and seeing this amazing infrastructure grow for musicians—like with SIMS, that gives mental health care; HAAM, that gives health care; Black Fret (Sonic Guild), the live music brand that gives artists money to go make stuff. Most American cities don’t have that. I think it’s a very magical place.
What kept you going through all those years and interviews?
JG: It keeps me inspired. It keeps me engaged. I’m 56. It’s hard to keep up with all the music that’s coming out. I’ve seen some of my peers get older, and the ones that aren’t engaged with what’s happening become really bitter and resentful, kind of afraid of what’s going on. As opposed to friends of mine that I saw coming up that were getting older and staying engaged with what was happening and being excited for other people’s success, and that has really kept me going with this podcast.
I do so many shows, so many episodes. I don’t have seasons, and I don’t take a break. I literally put out 104 shows—at least two a week—for almost 14 years. I don’t really have time to think about it. I’m always prepping for the next one, booking another, putting together the episode that’s got to come out on Tuesday.
Being in the middle of all of it and doing it all myself has kept me not with my head in the sand, but my nose to the grindstone. It’s amazing, but I don’t even really get a break to stop and think about it. I mean, I’ve been thinking about 1500 recently, but I never thought about getting to 1500. I was just trying to get prepped for the next episode.
You’re celebrating this milestone with a live taping at the Continental Club Gallery. What can people expect from the show?
JG: I haven’t done any live shows since post-pandemic. But those shows I would do every few months before then—different places around town. I’ve done them in town, in Saxon Pub, in Hotel Vegas, like tons of places. But they’re different in that there’s a panel and not just one guest. And so at this one, I’ll have Kelly Willis, Ray Prim, and Suzanna Choffel. And what happens is one guest comes out, and then I talk to them for a couple minutes. They scoot down one chair, next guest comes out. Same thing happens again. And then once everyone’s out there, it’s kind of like there’s a live audience, so everyone’s entertainers. So usually HAAM comes out, people have a couple drinks, get loose, and it turns out to just be a really good time and like a fun kind of crazy conversation.