We recently connected with Chris Thomas and have shared our conversation below.

Chris, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Early in life, I knew my future would be defined by risk-taking. I realized my love for cinema and music would culminate in a career of scoring music for film, and there was no conventional path into this life. There would be no job security, no promise of opportunity, and no guarantee that I even had the talent to do the work. Everything would be a gigantic risk.
Luckily, my parents encouraged me to take risks. Unlike the conventionally minded, my parents framed the concept of risk very differently. I was warned if you play things too safe, your future could be defined by regret and bitter resentment for never having tried. On the one hand, if you take a risk you might just succeed. On the other, you might fail miserably, but you’ll come home with a great story. In a way, failure only means living a great life doing something else. If that’s the worst that can happen, taking the more adventurous path was an easy choice to make.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am a composer for film, and theme parks, and have many published concert works. I score a few films every year, chip away at lengthy theme park projects in between, and catch up on concert music for my publishers wherever I can.

Early in life, I fell in love with both music and film. I was enchanted by the music of Beethoven, Stravinsky, and Poulenc, but also by the films of Hitchcock, Kurosawa, Demy, and Fellini. At age 10, I realized both interests could merge into a singular direction. Seeing as my music writing proved stronger than my script writing, it was clear my future would be scoring music for film.

Like all life paths, they are full of unexpected turns. At first, everything was working out perfectly. I was a young composer in LA, scoring indie films while orchestrating and conducting large studio films and network TV shows. After the 2008 market crash, everything comes to a complete halt. By 2010, it was nearly impossible to survive in the film scoring business. I nearly had to pack up and leave town. That was until a chance meeting led to scoring the Los Angeles Haunted Hayride in 2011. While the film business was languishing, this opportunity propelled me into a thriving world of writing theme park soundtracks. A few years after that, another chance meeting on an airplane landed me my first concert music publishing deal. Now my year is divided into three parts: scoring a few films, writing theme park soundtracks, and taking on a few concert commissions for my publishers.

While I set out to compose exclusively for film, today I can’t imagine life without theme parks and publishing concert music. They have become equally rewarding in their own way, and have offered creative opportunities I could not have imagined. More importantly, these new realms of creative exploration unleashed a torrent of originality and excitement in my music. It’s a real game-changer when your music becomes so magnetic, attracting more clientele than ever before. I’ve since written several movie scores that have been theatrically released (one film made the Oscar shortlist), premiered concert music at Carnegie Hall and the Sydney Opera House, and was even invited to give a TED Talk. If I’ve learned anything, it is that one must embrace the unexpected, and always look for new mountains to climb. Your survival might just depend on it.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

This is an easy one – don’t define yourself by following trends!

I never liked submitting to fads, it’s not in my nature to follow them. They are often short-lived, forgettable, and embarrassing in a few years’ time. Yet there was a time I felt my survival would depend on yielding to larger, commercial demands. The bland disingenuousness that emerged in my sound was a huge turn-off to both clients and listeners. Sadly, this is an all too common story, ending the career of many a young artist. The “common knowledge” of the music and film industries is that if you learn to mimic popular trends, you will be rewarded with acceptance and opportunity. The truth is you become replaceable, forgettable, and quickly irrelevant. If your artistic life is all about keeping up with passing fads, you will never find an audience. You will be a knockoff brand of something better. Those of us who survive for many years all figured out that you must rely on your own unique musical history and creative impulses to find a real musical voice. Once you fuse your most unique musical influences into something new, your audience will come to you for your sound. So long as you give listeners something honest, meaningful, and singular, they will offer you loyalty for life. Listeners identify with your music because your authenticity resonated with them in a real way. Originality is the best path to long-term survival in this business.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, the most rewarding thing is living a life on my own terms. This is a result of living a completely unconventional way. I used to think happiness was a destination. I thought there would be a path to follow, a strategy for success, and an end-point where fulfillment would be awaiting me. The truth is there was never going to be a roadmap, a strategy, or a destination. An independent artist must embrace a life of wild inconsistency and aimlessness. That said, I find the path less traveled is the most rewarding.
As a kid, I heard a hospice nurse mention that the dying seem to share similar regrets. Among these regrets was knowing they could have lived more authentically, full of adventure and personal pursuits, yet always found an excuse to avoid doing so. And now, it’s too late. The thought of looking back and realizing I could have done so much but chickened, was a terrifying prospect. There are always excuses for avoidance and dithering, but excuses quickly dissolve when looking at life in reverse. This cemented my priorities early on – I would live to create, money was less valuable than authenticity, and I was willing to forfeit most luxuries to have this freedom.

This philosophy has led through a landscape of peaks and valleys. You are at once more vulnerable to costly setbacks, but it’s the price you pay for extraordinary triumphs unavailable to the conventionally-minded. I’ve been lucky that a business has grown out of my artistic brand. After some years, I’m surprised that what I find most rewarding is that my path, for better or worse, is completely my own. In the end, all I care to leave behind is a life full of art, music, and adventure.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.christhomasmusic.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/chris.thomas.music/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chris.thomas.music/
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/christhomasmusic/
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/@christhomasmusic9746/playlists
• Other: TED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/chris_thomas_composing_the_malheur_symphony_finding_healing_with_bird_songs?language=en

Image Credits
Bradley Lanphear, Dan Goldwasser