Help Sam Billen Fund His New LP Via Kickstarter!
I HAVE A FRIEND NAMED SAM. HE IS BALD. HE HAS FRECKLES. HE SINGS. If Jesus is the Bread of Life, Sam Billen is the Toast of the Town. Or at least a slightly charred crouton who imagines himself to be part of a larger salad. That’s what I like about Sam. He is a...
Film Review: “Off the Charts: The Song-Poem Story”
To all four of you readers who frequent this blog to see if I am giving something away (I am not). I have recently begun reviewing things on Amazon. In the past, it made me shudder to think about publishing unpolished content anywhere, let alone on my blog, but I frankly no longer care. You...
Literary Logjam: An Update from CTJ-Land
I have been busy as of late. Too busy. Which means I have also been too tired to push through the literary logjam that is keeping my plate full and my blog empty of new content. This post, then, is me saying, “To all three of you who read my blog, I have more stuff...
IMAGE Essay: “My Own Private Garfunkel”
My latest IMAGE Journal “Good Letters” blog essay, titled “My Own Private Garfunkel,” is available to read here. It’s largely about my good friend Mark, who was my own personal Art Garfunkel back in the late ’90s. Here is an excerpt: When I was nineteen and beginning to perform as a singer-songwriter, I found out that...
CTJ’s Zelda Essay in the Baylor Lariat + Zelda Window Display Photos
Today, the Baylor Lariat published my latest essay. It is a nostalgic piece about the original Legend of Zelda, which was released for the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987. Read my essay here. My contribution is a companion piece to Huy Bui’s essay, which is about the game Bioshock. The title of my essay,...
Book Review: Joel Heng Hartse’s “Sects, Love, and Rock ‘n’ Roll: My Life on Record”
Shortly after my daughter Evie was born in October, one of my Twitter friends and followers, Zondervan author David Jacobsen, was kind enough to send me a copy of his book, Rookie Dad. I planned to review it at a time such as this, but then David derailed the whole thing by directing my attention...
The Tragicomedy “La Femme”: FREE Album & “Behind the Music”-esque Retrospective
ABOUT “LA FEMME”: Tracks 1-9 were produced by Scott Patterson. Tracks 10-12 were recorded live at the Nu Brew Coffeehouse in Springfield, MO by Bryan Carlstrom. Tracks 13-15 were recorded as demos to cheapo boombox by one Chad Thomas Johnston. All lyrics and music were written by Chad Thomas Johnston except 1) “Grace” (Lyrics/Music by...
The 15 Minute Blog Challenge: “Billie Jean”
At 1:25 p.m. I posted a tweet that read “As a child, I thought#MichaelJackson was trying to convince someone that #BillieJean was not his son. Really didn’t understand. Ha! ” This is the truth. At 4:27 p.m. I received a tweet from @ang_merrick that read, “@Saint_Upid Can I get a blog post on that? Maybe a sketch of your...
Book Review: Katherine Willis Pershey’s “Any Day a Beautiful Change”
The best memoirs seem to spring from the fingers of writers who have an excess of something-or-rather in their lives. This excess begs to overflow the confines of their hearts and minds, and spills onto blank pages in the form of words that feel undeniably alive. Anne Lamott, in writing the transcendent Traveling Mercies, overflowed with rugged...
IMAGE Essay: “Songs Everyone Can Hear”
My latest IMAGE Journal “Good Letters” blog essay, titled “Songs Everyone Can Hear,” is available to read here. It a tale from the musical confession booth, in which I own up to loving (Heaven forgive me) pop music. Here is an excerpt: In 1990, when the New Kids on the Block were so popular that...
An Open Letter to Everett True: 5 Songs from the Boy Who Listened to “Nerdvana”
AUTHOR’S NOTE: I originally posted this piece on January 9, 2012. On April 1, I received a tweet from Everett True regarding this piece. It said, “I reckon we should reprint that on Collapse Board. what d’ya think?” He posted the article on the evening of April 2 here. At the top of the piece,...
Chad Thomas Johnston: BIO
Art Above: “My Hurricane Brain.” My first collaborative artwork with Danny J. Gibson (@DJGKCMOUSA). My doodles. His wizardry. Chad Thomas Johnston is an author, sonuva’ preacha’ man, PhD-dropout, singer-songwriter, daydreaming doodler, publicist, PUN-isher, mixtape maker, & pop-culture junkie. He is represented by Seattle, WA-based literary agent Jenée Arthur, who is currently shopping his manuscript, The Stained-Glass...
A Radio Broadcast Featuring CTJ & DJG (Right-Click & Save Target)
Follow Me and Give Me Reason to Issue a Restraining Order