What A World Podcast

Randall Thomas
What A World Podcast

Exploring life through stories of individuals. As above so below. Randall Thomas hosts whataworldpocast.com asking What shaped you into who you are? And what wisdom can you share?

  1. 2020-01-07

    Joe Chiccarelli - Letting Art Breathe

    Tucked away in a private corner of Sunset Sound studios, producer Joe Chiccarelli has his own slice of paradise in the hills of Hollywood. The studio is one of the last legendary music production studios left in Hollywood and was originally made to score the old Disney films in the late 1950’s. Since then it has seen musical legends galore pass through its halls. The list includes artists like the Rolling Stones, Queen, The Doobie Brothers, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan and on. “That’s kind of the best thing in the world about making music for me is that every day, every project is different. Every project is a new challenge in the way that im going to approach it. It’s problem solving” Having lived through analog tape recording and now working in the digital world, Joe has adapted and navigated his way through over 40 years of changing recording technologies in the ever evolving entertainment industry and has been a musical chameleon producing songs in almost every genre imaginable. His constant drive for originality is a hallmark of his work ethic. He says he does it in order to not get bored or stale. He doesn’t want to be repeating himself artistically. Something which I agree with wholeheartedly. Joe believes in what I am from now on calling “letting the art breathe”. We see eye to eye on how art is cultivated and nurtured. It takes space to fail and experiment. It takes a safe place to fall without judgement. Joe is the type of personality that you could tell anything to. This is just one little piece of what makes anyone an effective producer. “I’ve always maintained that this job is really to help the artist and to get the best out of them. To make the record that you, as a fan want to see them make.” Talking about his process, Joe says that he spends a lot of time in preproduction in order to really understand the artist. He wants to see from their perspective what they want to achieve and how they want to do it. Two weeks is about the length of time he likes to integrate with the band and get a feel for the dynamics and music. He really wants to understand the artist before ever touching the art. In some cases like in working with Jack White, this is crucial. If Joe did not understand that Jack White was in Joe’s words a “protector” of those flaws which give true character to music or art in general. The imperfection of something is precisely the quality which gives that thing its character. This is something I come across a lot in the creative world. I believe it as well. If everything were the same, nothing would have any character. Joe knows this from experience both in recording music and from his experience designing the JC37 microphone with Tonelux. In my interview with him, Joe explains the qualities of the Sony C37a built in the late 1950’s and the unique properties it exhibited. He talks about the process of creating the Tonelux JC37 which is directly modeled after Sony’s C37a microphone and how in the process of trying to correct odd design issues, it lost its unique magic sound. Extract meaning out of that. Your flaws make you who you are. Joe understands that flaws and imperfections are part of life and should be celebrated. This is how he cultivates a safe space for his artists to experiment and expand beyond their normal limits. He allows himself to go there with you and understand the creative spark behind the idea. This is an art that is being lost amongst bedroom producers and YouTube artists. Letting art breathe is an art itself. This means allow mistakes as long as you keep hold of that spark of inspiration. Don’t be second guessing that spark.

    1h 24m

  2. 2019-10-11

    Element Songs- Water and Fire

    Randall Thomas and What A World Podcast present the first part of the elements series Water and Fire. All music and sounds on this podcast are made exclusively by Randall Thomas. Hire Randall Thomas at randallthomasmusic.com for #vocals

    9 min

  3. 2019-09-18

    Bobby Exodus pt 2 Psychedelics, Consciousness, Zero

    Writer, artist and forever kitty Bobby Exodus is a wordsmith and priest in the figurative Temple of Zero. In this episode we pontificate upon the divine and etherial in order to confuse ourselves and laugh a bit. Bobby touches on the danger of over extending yourself in practices and getting lost in meditation. The use of psychedelics in finding emotional release, flushing energy, finding stuck trauma and accessing emotion. To find research on the use of psychedelic compounds for depression, anxiety, mood disorders and addiction see Johns Hopkins research partly funded by fellow podcaster @timferriss find the research page here. https://hopkinspsychedelic.org/publications Find Tim at https://tim.blog I feel that that our ultimate goal in life should be to reduce suffering on the individual and universal level. If we are not trying to reduce suffering for ourselves we should at least try to reduce the suffering of human kind. Bobby and I touch on the archetype of Christ and consciousness as the One. “Consciousness is what is” Bobby says. Christ consciousness can be explored through Richard Rohr’s Universal Christ. Rohr says “Christ is more than Jesus’ last name” see article here: https://cac.org/another-name-for-every-thing-the-universal-christ/ Bobby says he is nibbling his cosmic fruit and is waiting till death (most likely) to have a full mystical experience. This is good because I believe once we are absorbed back into the Pleroma, there is no coming back. We converse on the concept of Zero. (I talk a little crazy divine number theory.) The concept of Zero was a popular theme among native philosophers in the early 21’st century. The exploration of which would take more than this article. We talk about the Ouroboros. What happens when the snake finishes its self? Bobby recalls a Ren and Stimpy episode dealing with a belly button fairy. Zero yourself by singing up for the 3 minute meditation at whataworldpodcast.com Lesson: What comes first the chicken or the egg? The snake. The snake eats its body until it becomes an egg again and reincarnates. Be open to what people are saying and give them the respect of exploring their ideas through active listening. Learn to be fluid like water. This is an old Taoist philosophy I try to embody as much as possible. Water can be fluid and easy but erode the rocks away just the same. Bobby reminds us to Not give negativity any energy and to let it bounce off your “plasma shield”. Overusing logic- sounds like thinking your feelings Having health problems lead to an inward journey of healing and learning for Bobby. It made him come to terms with death. Developing a tumor in the stomach, losing most of his blood, getting a transfusion, all of that never got him down. With a positive attitude, practice and dedication, he is as healthy as a redhead horse. Bobby is living happy and having a baby soon. #babyexodus Bobby exodus.bandcamp.com whataworldpodcast.com Randall Thomas RandallThomasMusic.com

    1h 5m

  4. 2019-08-15

    Toxic Clothing and Sustainable Couture with Jeff Garner

    Jeff Garner is concerned about all the waste, chemicals, and pollutions of every day industrial consumerist life. His vision is to create sustainable lifestyle fashion using non-toxic and long lasting clothing.  Jeff designs and produces each piece to last for generations. He admits that this is a comparatively poor business model. The big clothing companies design their clothing to be produced cheap and deteriorate fast. Got a rip or a hole? No problem, it was $7 anyway- throw it out.  This allows for higher volume of sales. The demand has become cheap, throw away fashion perpetuated by a culture numb to waste and toxins. We see it every day. All Day. Another leaky nuclear reactor? Eh, we already have 2. Another widespread fire in Siberia? It’s just trees… we cut those down all day.  “Don’t let your special character and values, the secret that you know and no one else does, the truth- don’t let that get swallowed up by the great chewing complacency.” — Aesop Jeff lives a life pursuing beauty and to achieve beauty there has to be harmony. This also means avoiding and (where possible) do away with toxic things all together. From clothing to food, (he mainly only eats yogurt and açaí berries for every meal) and even to the things he allows inside of his head. (He hates horror films)  Any question of his authenticity was immediately put to rest after my very first inquiry in our interview. Jeff is obviously passionate about spreading awareness and creating a new paradigm in eco friendly fashion. ..." Find the whole blog post at whataworldpodcast.com/blog/jeff-garner  -- Support at Patreon.com/whataworldpodcast -- Visit Prophetik.com to see Jeff's work -- Randall Thomas, What A World Podcast, Eco Friendly Fashion, Conscious Design, Jeff Garner, Prophetik, What A World Podcast, Nashville, Malibu, Tennessee, California, randallthomasmusic@gmail.com #fashion

    45 min

  5. 2019-08-08

    #10 Bobby Exodus- Hiphop, Meditation, Sexual Energy

    This episode is featuring the quick witted rap master Bobby Exodus. Bobby is a musician, artist, lyricist and philosopher. I love talking to him because he can speak on every level very intentionally. He is a master of words and a devious little redhead with the kind of sense of humor that wins over most people given enough time. In this first part we talk about his music and some of the struggles growing up trying to do the right things and fighting natural instincts. Bobby is another one of my favorite people in the world so first I wanted to share some of his music and lyrics before we get into the interview. So I play Cloud Noise and Matter Batter by Magic of Science and Bobby Exodus. I talk with Bobby about doing music and one of his projects Magic of Science with Bobby Exodus. Bobby talks about learning how to program beats on cakewalk and rap on cheap computer mics. We talk about how music helped curb his appetites for earthly pleasures.  Coming up in hiphop with Maurice Barret and Maurice Bishop with a group called Royalty. He talks about feeling like you’re doing something worth while through creating music. Bobby tells us that writing and surrounding yourself with the right people is crucial for growth.  We talk a bit about battle raps with Spoken Nerd (Nathan Conrad), rapping on the streets as promos for shows, and learning to hold your own lyrically in a cypher. Bobby says writing rap helped to identify questions which drove him towards God and the church, becoming involved in church and preaching through his music.  Instead of talking about belief systems Bobby asks himself “What is a belief? Is a belief even important?” Christianity became an identity and a way to belong to a community for him.  Bobby eventually broke away from the church feeling unfulfilled.  He talks about how abstinence affected his walk with God. Replacing sex with unhealthy ways to exercise pent up sexual energy like drinking. Feeling like he was being cheated by being abstinent. Not knowing how to talk to girls, expecting the wrong things from women because of the poison of pornography.  He talks about finally giving up and giving himself permission to experience the sexual part of life he stayed away from. Bobby speaks about feeling a need to play catch up on being social and sexual with women. Wanting an ultimate love, to feel close to someone.  Bobby tells us about calming sexual energy through meditation, cultivating feminine energy, and personal mystic work.  Experimenting with meditation- “I felt like I had a new toy.” He walks us through the microcosmic orbit meditation introduced by Thomas Anderson and his experiments with manipulating his experiences during meditation.  Randall Thomas 2019 randallthomasmusic@gmail.com What A World Podcast whataworldpocast.com randallthomasmusic.com Bobby Exodus Solomon

    49 min

  6. 2019-07-14

    #9 Randallramblings and some songs- Patreon.com/whataworldpodcast

    Lucky number 9... I don't have anyone to interview this week!  I, Randall Thomas made a promise to entertain and enlighten... well maybe just entertain.  In this episode I present a couple more songs for you guys and entertain myself (and you) with my mouth. I also tell you I set up a page at Patreon.com/whataworldpodcast  I have more T-shirt designs and blog posts at the site!  whataworldpodcast.com

    15 min

  7. 2019-06-24

    #8 Grady Walker the Last Cowboy

    Grady walker We talk about PRCA, Hollywood, music industry, Developing the I-Can-Do-It mentality as well as skill and persistent “If you don’t think you can ride that horse or ride that bull, you’re not going to” We talk about how he met his wife and working at Michael McDonald’s studio.  Triggering the Universal Studio’s flood. Working in western films. Grady admits to being a sperm in Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex with Woody Allen. Working on newsies.  Moving from Hollywood to Nashville and switching from the film to the music industry.  Working on stages around Danny Kaye, Fred Astaire, Charles Bronson Working on sets in Hollywood - Working with David Carradine in music and film. Working on Kung Fu with Carradine and the Kung Fu Masters who would work on set, staying away from witches, being mistaken for police.  Writing with and working for Michael McDonald in the music industry.  Randall Thomas What A World Podcast whataworldpodcast.com #michaelmcdonald #fredastaire #davidcarradine #hollywood #losangeles #universalstudios #music #musicindustry #proaudio #producer #engineer #gradywalker #randallthomas #whataworldpodcast #kungfu #western #horses #dannykaye #charlesbronson #inspirational #cowboy #acting #actor #musician

    40 min

  8. 2019-06-13

    #7 Randall Thomas Introduction and Vocal Showcase

    I am Randall Thomas-  I moved to Southern California from Nashville Tennessee.  In this episode I Introduce myself and what I do as a writer and singer. I speak on how I became a musician and session vocalist, How I Learned guitar with Evan Carlisle, son of Bob Carlisle. (Bob Carlisle was the co-writer of “Butterfly Kisses” with my father Randy Thomas in the 90’s.) I speak on playing in a band with Josh and Zach Farro who ended up forming Paramore.  I also touch on learning how to sing rock and choir simultaneously while growing up.  Developing high end vocals and different vocal techniques I also talk about my party trick of Tuvan Throat Singing and how I love to learn all different styles of singing.  I talk a little about the art of session singing. Working with awesome producers and engineers. Then I play some clips showcasing my vocal reel to get a feel for my vocal diversity.  I show off my Tuvan Throat singing technique and then play a song written with Josh Farro called Over Overwhelmed.  I also showcase a song from my old band Mesas - "On A Cloud" which I always loved. “It’s a long track, crossing Jordan, over land and the sea. Don’t delay me, don’t repay me, I’m a champion of the meek. Downed in hell and crowned in wealth cant save yourself from me. Just.a moment, just a wink, theres no one quite like a thief.” - On A Cloud More music to come with Grady Walker who will be the interviewee for next week’s episode.  whataworldpodcast.com Randallthomasmusic.com Randall Thomas randallthomasmusic@gmail.com

    25 min
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    About

    Exploring life through stories of individuals. As above so below. Randall Thomas hosts whataworldpocast.com asking What shaped you into who you are? And what wisdom can you share?

    Information

    • Creator
      Randall Thomas
    • Years Active
      2019 - 2020
    • Episodes
      14
    • Rating
      Explicit
    • Copyright
      © Randall Thomas

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