Rising Stars: Meet Elon Thomas

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elon Thomas.

Hi Elon, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in Santa Monica and have slowly been making my way east across the city ever since. I started playing guitar at the age of seven – although I was not any good until I was in middle school.

I went to a French immersion school called Le Lycee Francais de Los Angeles from K-12. There was no real music program at the school (other than the children’s “chorale”) – so most of my music-making and learning happened in the privacy of my room, making sure to have the amp on so low that I wouldn’t bother my family. I certainly didn’t play with other people in a… band…

Well into high school, I basically only wanted to be Duane Allman. I transcribed solos and collected bootlegs from online forums. But when I got my first girlfriend in middle school, I started writing her songs. I did eventually join a band – although we never played a show, we mostly just smoked weed and made noise. But I practiced, wrote, and made Garageband projects on my own every day for years, and I think I got pretty okay at it because it interested USC Thornton enough to accept me into their Music Production/Popular Performance program.

At USC – it was more trial by fire. I wrote constantly, I played and performed constantly, I cut my teeth and pulled my hair out. My professors were not afraid to tell me when what I was working on was not up to snuff (almost always). I got an on-campus job as a front-of-house mixer, which got me into audio engineering, leading me to work at several studios. I joined the staff of KXSC Student Radio and co-ran their Live Sessions. Whatever lingering stage fright or fear I held onto had been beaten out of me. (I’m wondering now if I should have kept on to at least a little bit…)

Since I graduated, I’ve had a couple of strange jobs, including as an Anthropology research assistant at UCLA, and as a barista. I started releasing music under my own name in 2021 after working with producer Stefan Mac.

Skipping a couple hundred steps: I am now singer/songwriter/guitarist for Border Collie, along with Kiefer Detrick and Julian Rivera. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Whether or not the road has been smooth, it’s definitely not been straight. Looking back, there was almost no discerning what was good news and what was bad news. I have been releasing music, changing direction, redirecting dreams, and reevaluating seriously for many years now. I have spent borderline irresponsible amounts of my own money trying to make music. I’ve had breakthrough moments of micro-celebrity that went nowhere, and I’ve made seemingly fringe connections that have changed my life.

I wonder often if the biggest thing I have going for me is that I am so delusionally stubborn that I just won’t stop trying. So far, I have been enjoying myself – and I think with Border Collie, we’re closer than ever.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
On top of my work with Border Collie, in which I co-write, record, co-produce, and mix, I also work in Catalog at Universal Music. The day-to-day mostly involves identifying, remastering, and releasing old forgotten records that never made it to DSPs – or even CDs. I also assist on anniversary deluxe editions for labels like Interscope and Motown, and I administrate all of Blue Note’s vinyl reissues.

As a lifelong vinyl collector, listener and maker of music, and having worked in student radio as an undergrad, it is really an honor and privilege to service the world’s largest music catalog. Everyone here is so knowledgeable and cares so deeply about celebrating the music that shaped us, as well as resurfacing the great records of history that were almost forgotten.

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Border Collie’s most recent EP, “Grow up!”, is out on all platforms now and we are hard at work on our next few songs, which will come out around March of this year. We’re not slowing down!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bordercollie.cooldog/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@bordercollie.cooldog

Image Credits
Personal photograph was taken by Sierra Schreinerwood. www.instagram.com/sierraschreinerwood Both additional photos taken by Michael Allen. www.michaelallencreative.com