Tex Gresham is the author of Heck, Texas (Atlatl, 2020). His work has appeared in The Pinch, BOOTH, Hobart, The Normal School, and Back Patio Press, among other places. He lives in Las Vegas with his partner, kid, dog and cat. He’s on Twitter as @thatsqueakypig.
My current favorite author is: …I read all of Underworld on livestream, so it’s safe to say Don DeLillo’s my favorite writer… But honestly, I was inspired by you, Brian, and your reading of Anthony Kiedis’s bio [Scar Tissue] at that Zoom reading. So I snagged Flea’s Acid for the Children and it’s so goddamn good. I’ve really enjoyed it. Lindsay Lerman’s I’m From Nowhere was great. So was TJ Larkey’s Venice and Oakley Hall’s Warlock. I’m stoked for my buddy KKUURRTT’s novel to be out in the world. And my partner, V. Ruiz, has a poetry collection coming out in 2022 that’s gonna explode people’s minds and hearts. (I could go on and on… Uh, I can’t give short answers.)
My current favorite film is: …right now I’m kind of obsessed with Speed. It’s such a solid action movie. I don’t think there’s any action movie that has topped Speed since its release.
My current favorite film director is: Paul Thomas Anderson. All the way. I’ll fist fight anyone who talks shit about PTA. Easily the greatest living director.
My current favorite television show is: …I recently watched both seasons of Barry and I don’t think any TV show has ever pulled me in and entertained me like it did. But if I’m gonna be honest—Kitchen Nightmares is my favorite TV show. Nothing centers me more than Gordon Ramsay yelling at shitty cooks, calling them “pigs” and “donkeys.” The Mandalorian’s all right too.
My current favorite song is: …I’mma be real—I can’t stop listening to Katy Perry’s “Daisies” right now.
My current favorite album is: …I listen to a lot of film soundtracks—this is 90% of what I listen to. But in terms of legit music/albums, I’ve found myself playing With Teeth by Nine Inch Nails over and over lately. It’s a pretty solid album.
My current state of mind is: fucking tired. Some days I wonder if I should get a dog collar for my balls—a quick zap zap every time I wanna take another two-hour depression nap.
My current “wish list” includes: a PS5, the Cassavetes Criterion collection on Blu-ray, and a stable income.
My current chemical romance involves: cereal. I’m in a place where I’m not drinking or partaking in anything. So cereal has become my “make me feel happy” thing. That and coffee.
My current favorite word is: “turkey.” I don’t know what the fuck’s wrong with me, but I say “turkey” for almost everything. Call people turkey. Use “turkey” as a ubiquitous answer to anything. That and “goober” are interchangeable. Call a grown man a “goober” in a tense situation and watch him fucking break inside. Hilarious.
My current mode of transportation is: a 2017 Nissan Versa. I need to get it fixed because it’s making terrible noises and I haven’t even paid it off yet.
My current favorite fast food establishment is: always going to be Taco Bell (the restaurant, not the quarterly). Vegetarian Crunchwrap Supreme. Used to be the Quesarito, but those dirt bags got rid of it.
My current internet bid is: $18.99 on a used DVD of Julien Donkey-Boy.
My current workout routine consists of: nothing. Not a goddamn thing. Okay, not true. Maybe farting, though I just learned the fact that farting “burns 67 calories” is totally untrue. Which is depressing. BUT a normal person farts fourteen times a day. And I’m easily doing two to three times that. So I’ve got to be burning something. But for real… walking my dog is all I do. (Sorry… that was too much. Delete whatever you want from it.)
My current regrettable decision involves: quitting drinking? Nah, I dunno. My regrets are mostly intrusive thoughts about something embarrassing I did in the eighth grade or some shit like that.
My current dislikes include: Christopher Nolan
My current hopes and dreams are: to keep on publishing—a novel and a collection and all that. Sell a screenplay—got a few locked and loaded. And to continue working and collaborating with the people I admire and respect. I’d like to have, when this pandemic is over (another hope and dream), a BBQ or backyard party with all the people we communicate with on Twitter—an AWP-type thing with indie authors that has nothing to do with selling books and has everything to do with fucking around and having a good time.
My current projects/hobbies include: collecting Criterion on Blu-ray. Playing Hades on Switch. Writing and worrying about not writing. At work on a screenplay (LGBTQ revenge anti-western) and a horror novel about familial curses. KKUURRTT and I are working on a jointly-written novel, but I gotta keep it hush-hush for now. It’s not at all a spiritual sequel to Easy Rider, called Easy Rider II: Sleazy Drivers.
Tex Gresham is online at squeakypig.com.
Brian Alan Ellis runs House of Vlad Press, and is the author of several books, including Sad Laughter (Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2018). His writing has appeared at Juked, Hobart, Fanzine, Monkeybicycle, Electric Literature, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Funhouse, Heavy Feather Review, and Yes Poetry, among other places. He lives in Florida. Find him online here.
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