Life through My Eyes

Audio

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 23:24:21 -0400

My new sounds:

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 01:03:11 -0500

My new sounds:

Meeting the "Right" People

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 02:53:25 -0500

It is very true about being in the right place at the right time, or the other known saying is meeting the right people. I have experienced both while living in the Entertainment capitol of the world, Los Angeles. I have had the fortune to meet AND1 Basketball player, Grayson Boucher The Professor at the local 24 hour fitness in Santa Monica. It was a great experience to be able to have a candid conversation with him and his journey.

Also because of my relationship with Antwoine Collins I was surprised when we drove to a studio in North Hollywood and met singer song-writer Colby O’Donis, who produced What you Got and was featured on Lady Gaga’s Just Dance. I also have met rapper T. Mills on a couple different occasions as he works with T-wiz on new upcoming tracks. T. Mills is a real talented young artist who has a diverse audience and ability to sing and rap on tracks. I can’t express how thankful I am to be able to experience the behind the scenes feel of artists and producers creating unreleased pop music that is just waiting to be exposed to the masses.

Within the last few weeks of my daily life here in LA. It is pretty amazing how down to earth these stars really are, I would say that most people think they are so different, but after speaking with them the only difference is they are actually doing what they love for a living, but then again maybe they are different for that very reason.

Investing Time

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 04:04:39 -0400

It is very important to invest your time in people and events that will contribute to your future goals. As you spend your day with essential pieces of your path you will have begun to see it pay off. As you add value to every person’s life that you encounter, your presence will be increasingly desired. I have been learning to make better decisions about how I spend my time and focusing on bringing something to the table before I think about what is in it for me. Long-term goals are great and short-term goals can help you keep track of your lifelong goals. There is much more to success than money, it depends on you and who you can surround yourself with as you make efforts to lead your own life while making every life around you better!

-Peace and Abundance

Chris Thompson

Internships: The New Model

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 02:59:00 -0400

Ever since I moved to LA, the more and more people I talk to seem to be saying the same thing about the music and entertainment industry. It seems that due to the down economy and the current status of the industry; many companies are relying on interns to complete the work of employees and it is working especially in the entertainment industry because people interested in pursuing their career are looking for opportunities to gain relevant experience and companies are trying to cut costs because their business models just can’t churn out enough cash flow to pay for the work they need completed. It also becomes difficult to measure exactly what tasks are related to direct revenue streams which makes it hard to find a price for their time, either salary or even hourly. The thing that lies on the positive side for both businesses and individuals in this industry is that there happens to be a huge supply of people so the turnover that results from these previously mentioned factors allows for companies to continue operating with the current internship for employment model because they keep finding people interested getting a chance at working inside their firm. As for the individuals, they can try a company out for free with no strings attached and learn from first hand experience, performing the same tasks as an employee would which can lead to that paying job that they were looking for in the first place. The only thing they have to sacrifice is their time and lack of income from taking the internship.

If you are interested in an internship, here is a site:

Check this site: http://www.freeinternships.com/

Feel This - Instrumental | NaturalDisasters My new sounds

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 03:14:43 -0400

Feel This - Instrumental | NaturalDisasters

My new sounds

Bono's Son

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 03:04:38 -0400

Last week I hung out with an old friend, Chesare Bono who told me something memorable. He said he would like to be remembered and known for what he has done and not what his parents have done! Greatness is universal

It’s all about who you know Even though L.A. is one...

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 02:38:00 -0400

It’s all about who you know

Even though L.A. is one big-ass city, I never realized that most of the action takes place around the same creative circles. Not long ago I was farther than I could have imagined from knowing anyone who was really doing anything in the music business. Until recently, I was privildeged enough to find myself in the studio with T-wiz and Dre who wrote Rihanna’s Disturbia. They were working on another hit to submit to Rihanna, this one was really sick. I learned a whole bunch about the writing and song pitching side of the music business in one night! Keep it coming LA!!!!

Breath of Fresh Air

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 20:07:12 -0400

SUNSET: Santa Monica, California

There have been many wonderful things that I have be blessed to experience since my last post. I have been exposed to artists, writers, producers, managers that have all have success and connections to the industry. It has been a great experience working almost everyday with Antwoine Collins, we continue to learn about each other and have great conversations about the future and the vision of Wiz Up Entertainment. We have many ideas and concepts that need to be further flushed out and executed, however we notice the energy when people come around. Last week, I was in the studio during a session with the person who wrote Rihanna’s Disturbia and he was working on another song for Rihanna. T-Wiz made the beat and it has an amazing sound to it, really powerful melody. We are working on the aspects of releasing a mixtape, FREE DREAMING and we hope let as many people hear it as possible. I am constantly being open to working on many facets of the project and working towards finding my place on the label.

Roddrick Lee and Anthony Gilchrist came to town yesterday as we introduced an old colleague who was focused on engineering, Garrett Warner to T-wiz hoping that there was be a connection and there was a great vibe in the room. We also, met with Akeeley and she is a recording artist who we are working on a name and image for. We are leaning towards an egyptian queen type of concept and she was very cool and open to suggestions and glad to be a part of the movement. We are going to meet later today to discuss it once more. It is very exciting to feel the teamwork and winning attitude of all the people around here, including an intern Kevin who is really proactive and has a can do attitude as well as another producer David Glass who is awesome at the guitar and has a super chill personalty about himself. There are definitely many great pieces to a winning atmosphere and humble yet determined people who are all 26-27 years old and in the prime of their abilities to create the future of a legacy.

I also am still interning during the day with MusicClout and they definitely have a great attitude as well and have embraced me with open arms. Its really great to be able to write about many good things as well as tell you about my excitement as the next days,weeks,months are right around the corner. Who knows what is coming next.

Peace and Love

-Chris Thompson

Different Views

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 15:37:00 -0400

MacArthur Park, Downtown Los Angeles

Many things continue to change and I have learned many new concepts as I expose myself to the world of music and entrepreneurship. The company that I work for formally known as Killer Hype is now called MusicClout due to a series of events that I will explain. First, I have been sending e-mails out to numerous companies in the music industry on behalf of the the company I am interning with. One e-mail that I sent to a music library was forwarded the largest music company in the world, you could say they are Universal. The next day I receive and e-mail addressed to me saying that our company is infringing on their trademark and we are cyber squatting on their brand. We were notified to cease and desist within 7 days. WOW I was shocked and nervous that I did something wrong, but it turns out that it was better that this happened now rather then later. So for the next two days we were brainstorming names for the new company and website that we had to create due to this situation. What a mind stretching exercise and after many different words and phrases and trademark research we came up with Music Clout meaning music power, influence, or respect. What a great experience to have under my belt.

Also, I have continued to work with Antwoine “T-Wiz” Collins and shadow him in his music studio in Santa Monica, CA. What a humble, hard working, dedicated professional his is, he continues to prove that you get out of life what you put into it. We are both 26 years old and I am convinced that we can help each other out with our goals. His goal is to start a record label, Wiz Up Entertainment and he is well on his way, I expressed my interest to be a part of the team as it has always been a dream of mine to be on the inside of the music industry and T-wiz is definitely a great producer and person to know. I have helped him start a facebook page and reverbnation page and I am working towards promoting and being a part of the mixtape release team. It has been incredible to sit next to him and watch him work while he is making music. He has took me in and treated my like family, I have also been able to hangout with his team including multi-platinum producer Wayne Wilkins, who produced Beyonce’s hit single Sweet Dreams. I have a great feeling about the potential of this record label and the future success possible.

Other then these exciting things, I have been continuing to walk down my spiritual path and get deeper and deeper into myself as I truly discover what I am and who I am. These last few weeks have been the beginning of a personal transition into complete independence and it is exciting to watch myself take the steps into the world of life. I visited the Agape International Spiritual Center in Culver City last Wednesday and had an amazing experience as everyone welcomed me to the service. The energy was powerful and the message was positive and peaceful, I even received a personal prayer from a nice man named Ron. I also visited the shop and looked at many interesting books and items, I even bought a couple of things including a new necklace, “I AM” “UNIQUE”

Until next time, I hope everyone can have a different view from time to time.

Peace and Love,

-Chris Thompson

You Have Entered My World

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 04:05:00 -0400

New Views

There has been a great deal of learning and opening of my mind, body, and spirit. I have many things to share and I hope that you have time to listen and that I can write them in a fascinating way. First I have been working for Killer Hype Music for one week and I really enjoy my time there. I spend most of my day compiling research on music companies, any company affiliated with placing, reviewing, playing, signing artists/bands, publishing, and licensing is where who we want to connect with. I have recently been advising with the key owners of the company on strategies for customer retention, follow-up with potential customers, and developing business models and goals. This includes drafting language that can be sent out to hundreds of people and creating methods of communication that can be easily understand and the make sense as a process that flows smoothly. I have a good deal of faith that this company can succeed at building trusting and valuable leads with all of their contacts and musicians. I am beginning to see many things that I couldn’t see as I was producing my own music and trying to pursue avenues that are very difficult to excel in without first having the ground work laid out, fans, traffic, performances, mastered music, and of course a large social media presence.

I also have begun to regularly see Dr. Doug Curtis who practices Alphabiotics, which is a hand-on practice that relieves unrelieved embodied stress, one of the greatest challenges that people face. Stress can come in several forms including physical, mental, emotional, and chemical. This has really opened up a new energy inside me and has brought me a feeling of confidence with my physical form including my body language and the way I carry myself in interactions and conversations. The biggest thing that is has done for me is make me realize how important balance is, I was dominated by my right side of my body which basically turned my left side off. My right leg was speeding through and I was trying to race through life as I dragged my left leg that was stuck in the past. This is something I need to work on and focus my energy on because if I can re-balance my nervous system then I will be fully aware and in the present.

While I was on Facebook today, July 13, 2011, I noticed that my friend or as he says it “my Ol skool playa partna” Roddrick Lee was in Los Angeles and I texted him. He has been trying to get me to meet his friend and producer/recording artist T’wan a.k.a T-Wiz and now “Troy Noka”. T-Wiz has started his own movement call Wiz Entertainment and I met Rod and T’wan at his studio in Santa Monica. It was a great experience because the vibe was positive and the music production was superb. I listened to many of his songs and instrumentals that were currently being solicited and submitted to Fabulous, Young Jeezy, and Plies. Others were already featured on the up and coming Frank Ocean’s album as well as his own productions that will be coming out soon. He is currently working on the X-Factor, which is Simon Cowell’s new worldwide show, so to say the least I was honored and thankful to have this opportunity and impressed with his down to earth demeanor. As conversations continued, Rod asked me what was my next step and I told him that I came to LA to win and to work hard and be a part of something. I have aspirations to produce, record and master that craft but I also realize that right now people will need me to utilize my talents as a businessman and entrepreneur. I gave T-Wiz a summary of my background and education as well as my take on the music industry and what I could offer which was and all around mastermind focused on aspects of making deals, signing contracts, and figuring out where the pieces should go. Basically a dedication to pushing projects forward and playing a vital role to the post production success of music, which I am getting first hand experience with at Killer Hype during the day. We left the conversation feeling positive and we will have a meeting tomorrow night over dinner, I am very satisfied, excited, and eager to find out the best role to play with this amazing opportunity.

Hope you enjoyed, until next time Peace, Love, and Positivism

-Chris Thompson

Welcome to My World

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 04:01:00 -0400

Spreading my wings

On June 22, 2011 I moved to Culver City, California which is close to Santa Monica. I decided to take a leap of faith and jump in the life with the hopes of flying. There is a moment in time where you question why you are here and that time for me is now. I came here to find out why I am here and what I am supposed to do. After long debate and many days in bed researching endless job searches and apartments, I got up and took a trip to Los Angeles. I quickly realized how difficult and expensive it is to get a one bedroom apartment in the Santa Monica area. Luckily I found an ad on craigslist that showed a private bedroom with furniture for rent in a home, I jumped on it and now this is where I live.

As soon as I moved I began taking trips to look for opportunities in the music industry, I walked into a studio that I later found out belongs to Andrew Spence and asked if I may have a discussion with him. He gave me his card and told me to e-mail him and that he was really busy and in the middle of a session. I apologized and quickly left and sent him an e-mail with my experience and background information. He contacted me and let me know that he could see me on Friday. So on July 1, 2011 I went to meet with him and it was a great experience. He told me that almost everyday someone contacts him asking him if they can assist him in his studio and he was pretty clear that he already has his team. But he was interested in my entrepreneurial degree and what that entailed. He proposed that I could help him expanding his recording studio and began to promote and market his music and artists, including his 16 year old daughter who was quite talented. He needed a month to think about it and I followed up with an e-mail of my resume and some music related research that I had completed in my MBA program. I left the meeting feeling excited and understanding that maybe I need to think about getting my foot in to the industry in a different way, other than producing.

Later that day I had an interview for an internship with KillerHype, an online music company that provides independent artists/bands with many opportunities, resources, and tools to succeed in the industry and have a better chance at making a living off of their music, which is a goal for most artists/bands. I found out about this opportunity on craigslist and I was excited to learn that they were a brand new company and the website has only been live for three months. This is something I am very familiar with, start-up companies and the learning that takes place while building a brand and attracting loyal customers. After fifteen minutes of meeting with Kevin, the Brand manager and partner in the company, he told me that I got the internship and to show up the next Wednesday. I was so excited because I was getting an opportunity to learn from a real life company and it was a music company, I was finally starting my career, getting my feet wet and needless to say spreading my wings!