Welcome to Bonus Tracks. A blog born from the love of two best friends and the things we share in common.
My name is Jessi, and I am one half of this team of blogging besties. I’m a wife, a record collector, a diehard Disnerd (not to be confused with Disney Adult), and a proud child of the 90s. You’ll get to know each of us in a much deeper capacity as time goes on, but these are the staples to get you started.
For years, Chad and I have been daydreaming of a place where our love for music, film, books, and the like could come together in a shareable, public format. We toyed with the idea of a podcast, but frankly, neither of us have the time. Between my life in Florida and his in New Orleans, it’s just not a sustainable option. Recently, while taking one of our frequent day trips to Disney, we brainstormed the idea of starting a blog; a space where we could publish our thoughts based on the running topics in our text threads, Instagram messages, and weekly Google Meet hang out sessions. It would be at our own pace, with no expectations of sitting down weekly to commit to time we simply don’t have. Thus Bonus Tracks came to life. Chad and I are both excellent writers, though our styles are quite different. He comes from an English major background, while I come from a journalism major background (that means he’s way more eloquent than me). Though our writing techniques may differ, we’re confident that our joint approaches will breathe life into the subjects at hand. We both have a passion for the written word, so what better way to revel in our own wonderful thoughts than to write them down?! It makes perfect sense to us.
Chad and I met in college back in the spring of 2012. After a few brief encounters and exchanges, a mutual friend invited both of us on a trip to Epcot. When the day came, and we began talking in deeper detail, we instantly clicked. We discussed music, movies, books, our intense passion for Disney, and everything in between. I think we both knew by the end of that Epcot trip that we had just experienced something special. And here we sit 12 years later, two best friends who love each other and couldn’t imagine life apart! Chad and I not only have a lot in common, but we also truly understand one another. We’ve learned how the other one ticks, and that has made our relationship incredibly sturdy—a safe place for both of us to turn to at any point in our lives. We’ve seen each others’ really high highs and really low lows. And no matter what has come our way, we always meet it head on together. That has allowed us to develop a truly extraordinary connection.
One of our most treasured hobbies is sharing music with each other. While we often explored artists together in the past, making countless playlists for one another, we really started investing in this tradition in 2020. While the world was locked inside due to the COVID pandemic, Chad and I turned to Zoom to keep us connected. We video chatted every single week, and began a project where we each picked a music artist we loved and combined 10 songs from each into one playlist, giving us an introduction to the other. Little did we know that this project we started to keep us occupied during a global lockdown would still be going strong five years later!
Bonus Tracks, at its core, is an ode to our phenomenal friendship. While its cornerstones will be music, you’ll also get to read about various subjects that Chad and I find interesting! We both have a love for animated films, Chad loves art and fashion, we’re equal Disney fanatics, I have my own tea brand and love to make new blends…this list goes on. We want this blog to be an example of two individuals coming together in shared experiences to create something we think is valuable and exciting!
I’d like to dedicate this journey to the greatest pair of on-screen best friends, Sally and Marie. We aspire to emulate you both in dedication to each other and authenticity to yourselves, as well as your great taste. *wink*
