CHAINLINKS 060: Brandon Gallagher

With the 10th anniversary of The Chain coming up in April, we've relaunched Chainlinks, a series we started back in 2017 to give our friends a space to share the stuff currently inspiring them — music, film, books, or anything else they wanted to recommend to the world.

For Chainlinks 060, we have our own Brandon Gallagher – co-founder of The Chain and the primary creator behind industrial project Trace Amount. Trace Amount will be performing a special set with live drummer Ignabu at The Chain’s official 10th anniversary celebration, April 19th at Elsewhere in Brooklyn, NY (presented by Saint Vitus Bar), along with Swing Kids, Fatboi Sharif, Venus Twins, and Body Stuff. Get your tickets!

1. Cooking at home

Obviously New York City is the Mecca for all things - food, nightlife, basketball, you name it but I’ve learned there’s nothing more damaging than ordering take out after a night of 100 beers. I’ve always loved to cook, but getting your macros right and finding high protein, low fat substitutes for things I love has been quite a thrill, and no surprise I feel a lot better. Gotta get into those spice, paste, and sauce racks and read the labels. I guess you could call my cooking style "elevated dog bowls". Don't be afraid to eat a protein with boiled potatoes. 0% fat greek yogurt is your best friend, put it in everything. Get decent containers, so you can make a bunch and either freeze it or keep it in the fridge for the week.

2. Running / walking

Now that I’ve gotten my eating right (for the most part) I’ve thrown myself back into the gauntlet known as “running”. There’s a level of numbness I achieve while running that’s pretty hard to get any other way. Even if you’re not down for the running aspect, go on a walk, breathe in fresh air, and try to just zone the fuck out. No thoughts just move.

3. Learning a new language

I feel like all of my friends read hundreds of books a year, and I just can’t do it, so I decided my replacement would be to learn a new language. Entonces, estoy aprendiendo español. I started with the apps, but now I’m watching Curb Your Enthusiasm with Spanish subtitles and voice overs. En serio? Si. Listening to a ton of Bad Bunny and reading the lyrics. Watching basketball and soccer with Spanish commentary when I can. It's all helping for sure. Trying to understand and listen to native speakers is the hardest part for sure, although when I got my hair cut in my neighborhood the other day my barber from Ecuador said my Spanish was just as good as his English, so I'll take it. Soy practicando.

Photo by The Tinfoil Biter
Flyer by Brandon Gallagher