Meet Tempest Storm” Thomas”

We recently connected with Tempest “Storm” Thomas and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Tempest “Storm”, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
In 2018, I took a leap of faith and retired from my six figure salaried position to pursue my passion for music full-time. On the same day, I released my very first single “Love Triangle. My decision to retire was one of the most difficult decisions that I made in my entire life and I am proud to share that I do not have any regrets. I served as a public servant for 30 years and I decided that it was time for me to operate full-time in my passion for music. The musical journey is a faith walk and doesn’t come with any guarantees but I was highly confident in my ability to succeed as a successful entrepreneur and musician. It took a combination of faith, will-power, determination confidence and resilience to step out on faith to pursue my passion for music full-time. I attended bass bootcamps, music conferences, master classes, and remained open to new opportunities. Being consistent and disciplined allowed me to cultivate my craft and I am currently pursuing a degree in Interdisciplinary Music Studies at Berklee Online to further educate myself in this evolving industry of music.

Since my retirment, I have been able to spend more time with my family and comitted to being proactive with raising my beautiful granddaughter. l am truly blessed to have discovered my passion and purpose and will continue to challenge myself and be open to new opportunities as I continue to leave my mark in the music industry.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
In 2009, I began my journey as a professional musician (bassist and singer) part-time while being a public servant for the US Federal Government. Music has always been my passion and my training begin in elementary school where I was classically trained to play violin and flute. I quickly excelled and became one of the top achieving music students in the school orchestra. I am a proud DC native and come from a family of accomplished musicians and my dad recognized my special talent at the tender age of 9 and he taught me how to play the electric bass guitar. I caught on very quickly and shortly thereafter, began playing bass and singing in local churches in my dad’s gospel quartet group. After my dad’s untimely death, I took a break from music to focus on other life changing events. After a period of time, I decided that I wanted to continue on with my musical journey as a hobby to overcome some workplace stress. I became reacclimated with my bass guitar and started performing with R&B and Gospel bands and I also started my own band and performed in a variety of local venues in the DMV area. During my musical journey, I formed a plethora of music connections which led me to become the bassist for the dynamic premier all female band “Bela Dona”. This amazing experience completely altered my entire life and I was afforded the opportunity to tour all over the world and shared the stage with a host of major recording artists including Erykah Badu, Ginuwine, Ceelo Green, Dougie Fresh, MC Lyte and a host of many other phenomenal recording artists.

The most exciting part about my career is the freedom of expression and inspiring others when sharing my own personal musical journey. Music is my passion and I am blessed to do it full-time and I am committed to inspire others to accomplish their life goals and to discover their purpose and passion.

I have been the bassist for Bela Dona for 14 years and I am currently performing with this dynamic award winning ensemble. I also have my own solo project “The Storm Project” which serves a combination of Smooth Jazz, R&B and Funk music to listening audiences. I also play bass for several Gospel services in the DMV area and I also teach private lessons for beginner bass and vocal students and teach music for several after school enrichment programs in the DMV area. I am currently in the recording studio working on my EP set to be released in 2024 so please stay tuned for new music.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
. 1. Disciplined and determined 2. Being confident and consistent
3. Trusting the Process

These 3 qualities really all work together and were extremely impactful to me on my musical journey. Being disciplined and determined by learning your craft and being committed to making your craft a daily part of your routine. Take classes, attend conferences and join professional organizations in your field of study and network. The way to develop confidence is by being consistent and thoroughly knowing your craft. Always challenge yourself and seek out new opportunities and place yourself in environments that support your craft and find mentors who can guide you along the way. Trust the process and know that what is for you will align up and work out in your favor. Don’t allow fear or rejection to stop your progress towards reaching your goals. The process is your pathway to your journey and understand that all of your experiences are preparing you to reach your goals.

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
Both of my parents invested their time, effort and money into private music lessons and instruments and encouraged me to learn music. They made me practice and they attended countless school concerts and encouraged me to stay committed to my craft. My parents allowed me to experiment and play any instrument of interest and they kept me around music all the time and they both are great musicians. When my dad invited me to be apart of our family gospel group, that really helped to prepare me for my musical journey and I am so forever grateful to my parents for believing in my talent and investing in me.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Roy Cox Photography Norman E. Jones Darrell Stoney

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