The Innocence Mission: IMAGE Essay + the VHS Tape We Sent the Band
My latest essay, “The Flowering Dark,” is now available to read on IMAGE Journal’s “Good Letters” blog. Read it here. The essay looks at Lent through the lens of the Innocence Mission’s Birds of My Neighborhood LP, or at least how this record impacted a solemn season of my own life. At the end of...
Virtual Gallery: Danny J. Gibson’s “Mouth Breathing at the Wick of the Apocalypse”
A Word from CTJ: My very good friend Danny J. Gibson has done it again. This March, he wants to land his flying art saucer in your head-space and set up an outpost there. Enjoy this virtual gallery, and consider it a foretaste of what you will experience in the event that you should be...
NOW ACCEPTING: Art Submissions for “Nightmarriage” eBook
As if you artists already don’t already make zilch for all your hard work, I am now offering you another opportunity to create something out of nothing for nothing. Starting today, I am accepting art submissions for my “Nightmarriage” eBook. If you’re wondering what that means, it’s pretty easy to explain: Throughout my short career...
“The Cannibal and the Eucharist” Essay on IMAGE’s “Good Letters” Blog
Today my essay “The Cannibal and the Eucharist” is available to read at IMAGE’s “Good Letters” blog. It describes my none-too-brave encounter with singer-songwriter Michael Knott’s song “Kitty” as a sophomore in high school. “The Cannibal and the Eucharist” is my first essay for IMAGE. I hope to write many more for them if...
Mark Van Dyk (Virtual 7″): “My Stupid Heart” FREE MP3
My cousin Mark Van Dyk is releasing a virtual 7″ on my site today, although he does not know it. I am just releasing it for him, stealing it out from underneath him like a true record company mogul. It’s called “My Stupid Heart,” and it’s a lovely, wintry song. The best thing I have...
Wheat Three Kings: A (Rightfully) Lost Christmas Story
Wheat three kings set out from Kansas, following a great glowing scythe in the sky. When they arrived at Bethlehem and beheld the Christ-child, they bowed down in worship. But they were dismissed by Mary when they presented their gifts. “Wheat germ? What kind of gift is that for a child?” she said, tears welling up in...
“A Light Goes On”: A FREE Holiday Art + Music Compilation for the Naughty & Nice
My friend Sam Billen has orchestrated yet another fantastic holiday project this year. It’s called “A Light Goes On,” and it is a synthesis of art and music that pairs musicians’ Christmas songs with visuals that likewise celebrate the festive season. It features works by the ever whimsical and wonderful Half-Handed Cloud, Japan’s The Tenniscoats,...
Christmas Chrome: Audio of CTJ & His Sister Alyssa at Ages 6 and 2, Respectively
If you really follow my blog (I don’t, but you might), you’ll know I ran this exactly a year ago today. But I figure a rerun is acceptable on occasions such as these, when new parenthood has left my eyes bloodshot, my brain beleaguered, my hair prematurely gray. I exaggerate: Baby Evie is a delight....
CTJ Adds Extra Ham to Bethlehem: New Christmas Cartoon
Yes folks, that is indeed She-Ra masquerading as the Angel of the Lord. A good enough reason for me to say “Fear not!” unto you. The shepherds and cow below belong to a nativity scene my family used to set out each December when I was a child. I often played with the figurines as...
I Met My Wife Because I Made a Christmas Record: Download the LP for FREE
In the summer of 2004, my friends Matt and Rebecca Fillingham gave me a copy of a Christmas album they made together as husband and wife. Being perpetually nine-years-old in my mind, my 25-year-old self listened to it and instantly replied, “I want to make a Christmas record, too!” That fall, beginning in early October,...
CTJ Presents “Dark Potential: A Virtual Gallery by Artist Megan Frauenhoffer”
In 2004, I had the privilege of having a tremendously talented young artist in my public speaking class, although I did not know it at the time. Megan Frauenhoffer was quiet, reserved, and a good student. Like most of her peers, public speaking made her visibly nervous. But buried in her head were innumerable images...
Difficult to Wine About Such Grape People!: Press Update
Danny J. Gibson (@DJGKCMOUSA) has become the (slightly burnt) toast of the Kansas City art scene this fall. He’s been on KC’s NPR affiliate, KCUR, featured in The Pitch, celebrated in New York City’s Felt & Wire, interviewed at length on one of @BARRR‘s A. D. D. Podcasts, and celebrated on numerous blogs as well. Just when Danny...
A Radio Broadcast Featuring CTJ & DJG (Right-Click & Save Target)
Follow Me and Give Me Reason to Issue a Restraining Order