craving something beautiful

known mostly for his infamous first single, "craving something beautiful," (or, "the 'smoking pot and watching cartoons' song"), which appeared on cortez's first full-length studio album, it was clear from the get-go that richard cortez was not your average recording artist. the record, appropriately entitled craving something beautiful, started appearing for sale online and in small gay retail shops in the summer of '05, and has become somewhat of a gay folk cult classic. lyrically raw and uncensored, the album showcases the voice of a heartbroken but determined cortez striving to find meaning in the crowded streets of new york city as he leaves the only love hes ever known. from its catchy title track to the intricate string arrangements written by cortez himself, craving something beautiful was a major success and helped put both richard cortez and wollenberg records on the map.

track list

1 it's over - 2 unsure waters - 3 craving something beautiful - 4 asshole (live) - 5 the song for when everyone's gone - 6 of thee i sing - 7 big brown overcoat - 8 nick's song - 9 implode - 10 paradox

live @ the red room

almost immediately after releasing his debut musical effort, richard embarked on his first tour with friend and cellist greg bortnichak of sparta philharmonic. the tour consisted of an intimate array of coffee houses and dive bars along the east coast. it was this high level of intimacy and performance quality that brought to the table the idea of recording a live album similar to the likes of these shows. on june 16th, 2005, in a room filled with only his closest friends, richard cortez recorded his sophomore record, live @ the red room. this personal and musically profound follow up to his debut record showcases new and improved renditions of pre-wollenberg records compositions, songs off craving something beautiful, and raw first takes of songs off he loves me not. with material spanning his entire career as a writer and musical arrangements that will leave you breathless, this high-energy album is the perfect introduction to what richard cortez really has to offer as a live performer.

track list

1 if it weren't for me - 2 it's over - 3 birdhouse - 4 greg's song - 5 craving something beautiful - 6 he loves me not - 7 100 and some odd minutes - 8 the song for when everyone's gone - 9 saying goodbye - 10 nick's song

he loves me not

in the summer of 2006, richard cortez traveled to new jersey to record a new ep in five days. teaming up with longtime friends and fellow musicians greg bortnichak and tom giammanco-ravina, along with jon lorman, richard recorded what was to be his third release.

“I don’t remember why I shelved this project – it had so much potential as an EP. Each song is oozing with orchestral peaks and personal fanfare. I think it had a lot to do with my insecurity as an artist – I wanted everything to be perfect, to sound perfect, to look perfect… and at the time, I didn’t think this project was.” – richard cortez

for the first time ever, this five-song ep is available free for download by richard cortez fans. click here to visit the he loves me not download page.

get your key to he loves me not now!

track list

1 to be beautiful - 2 false alarm - 3 he loves me not - 4 the greatest new thing - 5 saying goodbye

sleeping with strangers

this summer richard cortez boldly traveled outside of the "gayborhood" of ft. lauderdale, florida, where he spent most of 2007 playing live shows, to record his latest cycle of songs entitled sleeping with strangers. in his "do it yourself" fashion, richard and the wollenberg records staff have built his very first recording studio and has spent recent months preparing arrangements with local musicians and conceptualizing the record as a whole.

as we're getting closer and closer to the half way point of the production of "sleeping with strangers," we need your help! we're asking that you submit photos of your unmade bed for the album's art work, liner notes and booklet—we hope that with enough responses and the proper photos provided, the record can be primarily composed of all-fan photography! please submit your photos by sending them to strangers@wollenbergrecords.com —and thanks in advance! NOTE: photos should be of one unmade bed, with no people or animals in it.

track list (planned)

be alright - body of water - sleeping with strangers - missing - take me out dancing - ode to johns - warrior - train wreck - mourning after / crazy fool

• csb
  
  
  
  live @ the red room
  
  
  
  misc live performances
  
  
  
  boomtown theatre
  
  
  
  south carolina
  
  
  
  out and about
  
  
  
  fan art
  
  
  
  naked grape wine co.
  
  
  
  live @ georgie's alibi, ft. lauderdale
  
  
  
  live @ georgie's alibi, st. petersburg
  
  
  
  the staff @ the berg
  
  
  
  sc pride promo
  
  
  
  pride tour 08 - columbia, sc
  
  
  
  sc pride 2008
  
  
  
  Pride Charlotte
  
  
  
  pridefest 2009
  
  
  
  

"heart on my sleeve" t-shirt

the wait is over! after all the e-mails we got asking about the limited edition handmade "heart on my sleeve" t-shirts that our little folksinger made and sold while on tour in 2006 - we decided that we would bring them back for all you new rec fans and those of you who missed out on getting your very own piece of richard cortez! that's right, made by the hands of richard cortez himself! hand-stitched, hand-stencilled on white hanes® tagless tees with metallic pewter "richard cortez" and red felt "heart on the sleeve," each one is unique! limited quantities - order now using paypal. all money spent on wollenberg records merchandise goes directly back into the makings of independent music!

albums

order information

wollenberg records partners with cdbaby.com and itunes to bring you music from richard cortez. however, you can also find richard's music on amazon mp3, emusic, tradebit and more. we use paypal for all our own transactions.