Joe Thomas is an American producer and director with over 25 years of experience in the entertainment field.
With 25 years of experience in the entertainment field, Joe Thomas career spans the music and television industries from his beginnings serving as a writer, engineer and producer in the audio realm to becoming studio owner and then a label president.
In the 1980s, he established River North Recorders where recordings such as Billy Idol’s “Mony Mony” were made. At the time it was the largest full service audio recording facility in Chicago. Other significant projects included cuts from Paul McCartney’s “Trippin’ The Light Fantastic” and Elton John’s “Two Rooms,” two of the best selling releases of the decade. By 1991 Thomas was running River North Recorders as well as Platinum Entertainment, a subsidiary of PolyGram. As president of Platinum, Thomas recorded and/or produced the Beach Boys, Peter Cetera, Willie Nelson, Toby Keith, and Alan Parsons, among others. The company was one of the fastest growing companies in 1996 according to Inc. Magazine. Platinum Entertainment went public in 1997. Thomas left Platinum in early 1998 and spent the next two years producing and co-writing Brian Wilson’s Imagination for Irving Azoff’s Giant record label, as well as served as musical director, co-producer and promoter of Wilson’s first world tour.
Thomas parlayed his knowledge into the visual format in 2000. Forming Kurtis HD Partners with veteran Chicago television journalist Bill Kurtis, Thomas produced high definition hard news documentaries for several networks, including A&E, PBS and NBC. While Kurtis HD Partners was successful, Thomas yearned to pursue his interest in entertainment. Realizing that high definition was the wave of the future and with his solid roots still in the music industry, Thomas married his two passions when he co-founded the production company HD Ready, LLC.
HD Ready, LLC launched in 2001 and since then, Thomas has directed and produced over 100 episodes of the acclaimed television show Soundstage, now in its seventh season. The program continues to feature performances by today’s legendary hit artists. Episodes include, John Mayer, B.B. King, Kenny Chesney, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, John Fogerty, Counting Crows, Josh Groban, Jewel, and Robert Plant, among others.
In addition, Thomas has produced and directed several of the most successful live performance DVDs available on the market. Fleetwood Mac: Live in Boston premiered at number two on Billboard. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Live from Gatorville obtained platinum status and footage was used for the Peter Bogdanovich documentary and Sundance film festival favorite Runnin' Down A Dream: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers A Film. Thomas also directed and HD Ready filmed Dave Matthews Band: Weekend on the Rocks, a four-night stint at the renowned Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado that became one of the top selling DVDs of 2005.
Thomas directed and produced Bon Jovi for the November 2007 premier of A&E Network’s television series, A&E Rocks. The expanded DVD version, Bon Jovi Lost Highway: The Concert, was released in November earning Platinum status in April 2008. Thomas also directed and produced the popular 2008 Thanksgiving special Faith Hill: Joy to the World.
Thomas, with his company HD Ready, has produced and directed over 113 hours of television, airing nationally on PBS, Palladia, CMT, Rave HD, and GAC, as well as internationally in over 20 countries.
In March 2009, Stevie Nicks released the album, The Soundstage Sessions and the live DVD "Live in Chicago." Thomas produced and directed the project alongside Stevie and Waddy Wachtel.