A FEW QUARANTIPS

Hi, friends! As many of us here in America and in countries all across the globe hunker down (But not everyone - shout out to healthcare workers, civil servants, grocery workers and more) and try to stay socially responsible and healthily isolated, I wanted to share with y'all some quick Quarantips I've picked up in this developing season.  

Start With Your Space 

It sounds simple, but creating a healthy and orderly space for you to live, work and (I hope) create in is absolutely essential. I myself had a whole heap of music equipment that I was going through before the self-quarantine happened that completely took over my office space, which meant I was spilling over into the living space, in turn making me feel cluttered and less productive. And hey, it will look different for everyone, whether that's finally getting to some of the organizing you've been putting off, or maybe creating a new space to work from home for the first time, who knows. But whatever space makes you feel comfortable and set you up for mental and emotional stability is going to work wonders for you during this period, as well as make it easier to maintain and clean/disinfect. 

Binge In Moderation 

I get it, you can finally catch up on those TV shows and movies that you've been putting off, and believe me when I say that yes, that's a great idea! But trust me when I say that moderation is going to be your friend here. Staying mobile in between episodes and movies, even if it's just moving around your place, checking the mail, or going for a fifteen-minute walk, is going to keep your body and brain fresh, and it will keep you from having to be airlifted out of your house like the Mom on What's Eating Gilbert Grape (Oh, you've never seen it? Add it to the binge list, why not). Also, it's really cool to take a break right after a cliffhanger of an episode, letting you experience the tension and suspense a bit longer. You know, like how the pioneers watched TV shows.  

Books Are Dope 

That's my 90s era PSA and slogan for y'all: Books Are Dope. It's like when DARE came to your school and threw books at all the students to keep them off drugs (I was home-schooled but I'm pretty sure this kind of thing happened at all those drug-infested public schools with nary a denim skirt in sight). But for real, books are perhaps the best solution to leaving your house without actually going anywhere, opening up new worlds and perspectives. This is the perfect time to dig into a good book, or possibly get into a book for the first time in a long time. In fact, some cities have digital libraries where you can loan ebooks and download them straight to your phone/PC/Kindle or tablet! (If you're in my city, San Antonio, you can do that HERE)   

Don't Lick Doorknobs 

Just making sure you're still paying attention... but if you actually needed this tip and you're not a toddler then hey, go crazy and lick doorknobs.* 

Create, Create, Create 

Personally, if I'm not creating something, whether it's writing a song, a story, taking pictures, heck, even building with LEGO, then something is missing in my life. I love creating, and I think every person has the capacity to not only create but to find some real health in creating, as well. I would never want to tell you what to create, or how to create, but I do hope you consider making something, from creating your own recipe, to turning a blank piece of paper into a poem, song, story or whatever, the opportunities are endless and rewarding, friend. And in the spirit of that, I want you to know that I will be putting out some new creations with y'all soon, namely, music! I will also be doing some at home "concerts" in the coming weeks. 

I hope we can continue to stay hopeful, creative, and share some of that goodness with the world... and I hope that we are all checking in on each other in our community, too. There are obviously not-so-fun side effects to this time of isolation and distancing as well, but if we keep reaching out and looking after each other we'll be all right. 

See y'all down the road soon, friends!

- CT

*Satire, probably

Hey, friends! As 2019 comes to a close, I wanted to share a few of my favorite things from this year - different music and movies that I loved for one or another reason. And honestly, it's been a rough year of negativity online, so I'm all about people sharing stuff they love as opposed to having to read yet another opinion piece on why someone or something is the worst of 2019 and blah, blah, blah. We can do better than that, yeah?

Anyhow, without further ado, here a few of my favorite things from this decade-closing year:

MUSIC 

I'm not going to lie, most of the music I listen to is not the hottest, latest releases from artists. I mean, Brandi Carlile's By The Way, I Forgive You still feels fresh to me even though it's from 2018 (and you better believe I'm still listening to it on repeat.) However, there were a few albums this year that are already some of my favorites.

FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS - LIVE IN LONDON

Flipping through channels back in 2005, I stumbled across HBO's "One Night Stand" episode featuring two New Zealand fellas casually being hilarious. I became an instant fan, and what a joy it has been to see them come back with such a strong outing. Technically this album is taken from a 2018 recording, but they pushed the record out this past Spring and I've been listening to it front to back at least once a month since then. It has layered jokes that carry across the entire evening, and their musicianship has only improved since their last album. The wild ride that is "Stana" showcases the duos nack for taking songs in surprising directions with hilarious results, and the slow-burn silliness of "Seagull" never fails to put a smile on my face.

CHANCE THE RAPPER - THE BIG DAY

I'm not going to lie, this album is a lot to take in, initially. There are maybe too many songs, with the production bouncing around so much that it seems to lack cohesion between tracks on your first listen. I get and understand all the criticisms of this record... but on my second listen I got swept up in the sheer fun and emotion that Chance pours into every song. The tone switches from sweet to salty and from silly to serious dizzyingly quick, and you're just along for the ride. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I for one kept coming back for the surge of joy it brought.

SEAN MCCONNELL - SECONDHAND SMOKE

If you've never heard Sean sing, you are missing out. He is hands down one of the most emotive, soulful singers out there, and his writing has only gotten stronger each album. Empathy, cynicism, belief, nostalgia and uncertainty all collide on Secondhand Smoke, putting the listener right in the middle. If you want a sample of why this record deserves your ears, just listen to the song "Shaky Bridges" and feel the hope and the hurt that Sean so skillfully conveys.

MOVIES

2019 has been one of the strongest years for movies in recent memory... there were easily fifteen or so movies out of the fifty or so that I saw in the theater that I can say were legitimately great. If you want to see a rundown of my full-favorite movie list, hit me up on Instagram/Facebook! Here are a few of my highlights, though.

ONCE UPON A TIME... IN HOLLYWOOD

My undisputed favorite movie of 2019 is simultaneously a love-note to L.A and a bygone Hollywood era, as well as a subversion of a violent, cultural milestone, and on top of that, it's a buddy comedy with the most suspenseful sequence in any movie released in 2019. Basically, a movie that only Quentin Tarantino could make. Delivering his most nostalgic film yet, with a darkly comic self-awareness of his problematic style to today's sensibilities, Tarantino puts so much into the film that it takes at least two viewings to soak it all in. The Spahn Ranch sequence will go down as an all-time classic (And Brad Pitt will rightfully pick up an award or two) -and the ending will leave you with such a strong reaction... though what that reaction will be is dependant on your sensibilities. 

AVENGERS: ENDGAME

There will never be another experience in the theater like Avengers: Endgame. The culmination of 23-movies that makes you wonder how the hell they managed to stick the landing... it was epic in every sense of the word. I went opening night and the theater I saw it in had more energy than a rock concert - shouting, laughing, clapping, jumping out of their seats and cheering and ultimately, sobbing their eyes out as we all communally experienced the end of an era. Sure, as time goes by I'll see more of the faults that are bound to be in a movie of this size and scope, but there will never be a movie that loves it's audience 3,000 again. 

STEPHEN KING FILMS - DOCTOR SLEEP, IT: CHAPTER TWO

What a year to be a Stephen King fan at the theater. First, we got a perfectly okay adaptation of Pet Semetery, which is what King fans are used to by now, but then It: Chapter Two comes out and while yes, it's messy and has some editing issues and character beats that don't quite land, it's also a lot of fun, with a scene-stealing performance from Bill Hader. If you can get it out of your head that it's a true horror movie and instead think of it is as a psychological-adventure film, I think your expectations will be set in the right place.

As if getting It: Chapter 2 wasn't enough, Mike Flanagan's Doctor Sleep landed two months later and delivered one of my favorite King adaptations of all-time... somehow being a faithful sequel to Kubrick's version of The Shining, as well as a faithful and inventive adaptation of King's book. It also has one of THE best performances of the year by Rebecca Ferguson... she is perfect as Rose The Hat and dominates the screen in every scene she's in. Yes, the movie has some weird-arse Stephen Kingisms that are very much fan service (all things serve the beam, yo) but hopefully, non-King fans can look past that and seek this movie out.

BRING ON 2020 

There you have it, a few of my favorite things from the year 2019... I would love to hear some of your favorites, too, so drop a comment or head to Facebook/Twitter/Instagram and we'll connect! Let's use the internet to build things up as opposed to tearing things down.

Hope to see you soon, friends. 

- CT

Hey, friends! Welcome to the new and hopefully improved home base for yours truly.

Redesigning a website is kind of like changing hairstyles, you thought you were ready for the change but as soon as it's finished you are in terrible suspense,  eagerly awaiting your first "Hey, did you get a haircut?" comment that will decide the amount of inner-peace you maintain.

Just me?

Anyways. I truly hope you enjoy the new website layout, and if there's anything you think could be better just hit me up and let me know! Here are some things I have in-store for the website in the future:

• Even More Music
• Videos
• A Storefront For Merch
• Blog posts and updates on the new Album

Stay tuned, folks.

- CT