How Johnny Goudie Got Here

Johnny Goudie (by Todd V. Wolfson)

Johnny Goudie began life as a gypsy. Born in Miami, the now 44-year-old musician has lived everywhere from Mexico to Marin County – in tents, shacks, and vans. By his teens, he’d made Texas his home.

Goudie discovered in Austin the one place “you could really go somewhere,” a mindset that eventually led to his own podcast, “How Did I Get Here?” Launched in 2011, the series has fast become an archive of Austin music history.

“I love interviews and I’ve listened to broadcasts since I was kid,” says the local singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer. “I was feeling disconnected from my community, so I started calling my friends and inviting them over for interviews. If you can listen to who musicians are, you’re more likely to go see their shows and find their music.”

Goudie’s inspirational in the way he keeps crafting his voice and next move.

“I go through evolutionary times where I incubate to do the next thing,” he explains. “I write a bunch of songs in one voice and then I get tired of that voice and move on.

“To this day, the best show I’ve ever played was my first show. It was probably the worst show that you can imagine, but I felt liberated. I’ve been around family friends whose actual job was being a musician since I was a kid. A few weeks ago, my 90-year-old grandmother was dancing at one of my shows.”

Goudie’s played in bands since eighth grade. In the Seventies, he soaked up glam rock and fell in line with New Wave the following decade.

“Honestly, I went to see Cheap Trick when I was 14 and realized that being in a band was a great way to meet girls,” he confesses. “I was considering acting, but when I was 16, I met [Austinite] Mark Hallman, who told me that music was something I could always do when I was alone.”

Asked what 14-year-olds today can do to get involved, Goudie tells kids to “dig into it.”

“Do as much as you can,” he stresses. “Being part of a music community is the best thing, like what’s happening at the Proper Nang Night at Maria’s [Taco Xpress].”

That’s my local teen platform, so my suggestion for my peers is to listen to Goudie’s podcast.