Chris Thomas - ProfilesArchive

About Me

I am 28 years old. My beautiful wife and I recently celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary and we have lived in Columbus, Ohio for a year and a half. I can't forget my favorite dog ever, Lady! In October of 2005 we moved to Columbus as a part of my radio career. I left my post as Program Director/Z-98 Morning Adjustment host at KSEZ in Sioux City, IA to take the position of Evening Host/Imaging & Creative Services Director at WLVQ. A little over a year later in December of 2006, I was promoted to Program Director and On Air Middays of QFM96. The station is celebrating it's 30th birthday this year. My wife, Michaela is the graphic designer for the Columbus Alive, owned by the Columbus Dispatch. Websites to check out: www.columbusalive.com, www.qfm96.com, and my own audio production company at www.ctaudioproductions.comI am originally from Sioux City, IA. I graduated from East High School and moved to Texas where I attended Southwest Texas State University. There I was a jazz performance major. Many people familiar with only my radio career don't know much about my music performance background. I was a jazz trumpet major and during my time in Texas I had the pleasure of recording a CD with my quintet at the "Firestation" studio, where Stevie Ray Vaughan recorded some material.I used to gig 3 or 4 nights a week in Austin, Texas and I really miss playing with a great quintet. The guys in my band were smokin', we had real chemistry. I still keep up on my horn and play gigs around Columbus every now and then. Who knows, maybe someday I'll go back to jazz/music full time.How did I get into radio? A high school speech class sparked my interest in radio and I began spinning the rock discs on air at the age of 16 as a part timer. Since then, alot has happened in 11 years. I still play and write music and it is truely one of my greatest loves in life, but I also love using my creative side in radio programming and doing my show. Whether it's performing music or performing on air, my mother and father noticed the entertainer in me and embraced it from my childhood on.

My Interests

Jazz performance, producing radio imaging and commercials for people all over the country, going to live shows, hanging with so many great friends. I love playing Horseballs with buds, and the game has spread like wildfire...it's a horribly dumb and addicting yard game. I am into fantasy football and football in general. I used to be really in baseball, but not as much anymore. I've always been a people person, I love to be around lots of people.

I'd like to meet:

On the jazz side of things, I've been fortunate enough to meet, play with, and learn from many great musicians. Clark Terry is my biggest influence musically. I was also lucky enough to study under Stephen Fulton, an incredible jazz trumpet player/instructor at the Clark Terry Institute of Jazz. Over the years I got to play with Clark, Snooky Young, Louie Belson, Arturo Sandoval, and many other greats.Being in radio also presents many opportunities to meet a wide variety of people and stars. Just off the top of my head, I've sung on stage and hung with Poison and Slaughter (those guys were a blast). I've had the opportunity to meet, introduce, and interview many bands and talent....Pete Townshend from the Who, Simon Kirke from Bad Company, Artimus Pyle from Lynyrd Skynyrd, Michael Anthony of VH, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Indigenous, Big Head Todd, Jeff Foxworthy, Rob Zombie, Styx and REO. Others include Skid Row, Tesla, Saliva, and I can't forget my long time friends Jesse James Dupree and Jackyl. Also Sevendust, Robbie Krieger and Ray Manzarek of the Doors, Ian Astbury of the Cult, Great White, 7 Mary 3, and the list goes on and on.I always loved it when Chris Duarte would stop by, I would sit in with his band and play a couple tunes with them. He is a hell of a blues guitar player/songwriter and a great guy. Then there was a brief time in my life when I actually promoted and dumped my own money into shows - Steve Arthur and I did Warrant (when it was original line-up) and Cinderella. Tom and the guys in Cinderella are very cool.My profession has presented me the opportunities to meet so many cool people. On air, I've interviewed Robert Cray, George Carlin, Brad Sherwood from Who's Line Is It Anyway, Josh Todd from Buckcherry, the Jackyl boys many times (they have a special place in my heart and we love to hang whenever I can see them), the Tesla guys a few times. Oh man, I just remembered gambling one night with Chopper Scott (afternoons in Sioux City) and Eddie Money. Eddie stayed up all night and won big. He was more than we could handle at dinner, great guy! I actually played my horn with Eddie Money at his Sioux City show.I met Kate Hudson while emcee at Saturday In The Park one year. I had the chance to conduct a symphony orchestra on stage with Randy Jackson from Zebra singing Zeppelin at the Orpheum. That was a fun night...that's enough rambling for now.

Music:

Rock - AC/DC, Tesla, Jackyl, Stones, love SRV, Queensryche, Rush, VH are a few of my favorites. A big shot out to my new friends in Plank 63, those guys have quite the future ahead of them. They work hard and do it right. I'm also a big lover of Chris Duarte and I've had the opportunity to play on stage with him. Jazz - Clark Terry is my main man on the trumpet, I have modeled my sound after him in particular. I also love Blue Mitchell, Freddie Hubbard, Sweets Edison, Dizzy, Miles, Nat and Cannonball Adderly, Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, Roy Eldrige, Sonny Stitt, Sonny Rollins, etc...

Movies:

Love comedies, John Candy, Chevy Chase, Will Ferrell, Steven Carrell, Michael Keaton, old Tom Hanks stuff, love Monty Python. I also like large orchestratal themes for movies by composers like Danny Elfman, the Batman movies, etc. Michelle Pfeiffer was a hot Catwoman.

Television:

SPACE GHOST! Brak rules!

Books:

I wish this category held my attention longer. I read to learn, not for pleasure much.

Heroes:

Jesus Christ, my mom and dad, my wife.