Meet Randall Michael Tobin

We recently connected with Randall Michael Tobin and have shared our conversation below.

Randall Michael, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
At a very early age I remember reaching for a piano and wanting to play it. I had a natural affinity for it. In elementary school I enjoyed the music teacher’s class and was in the school band as a percussionist. I remember playing the chimes (tubular bells) with a rawhide mallet. But it was in junior high school (grades 7 -9) where my interests really blossomed. The school had an awesome Industrial Arts program and every semester I took a different shop class: Wood Shop, Metal Shop, Drafting, Print Shop, Plastics, Leather and Wood. Each class not only taught me the skills to create in each of these mediums, we also got to make useful things using what we learned. I have used these skills throughout my life to create personal and professional work. I was also in Orchestra during this time and we provided the music for our school’s Broadway productions, using the same scores used by professional orchestras in New York. I was a percussionist in the orchestra as well, playing drums, timpani, marimba, xylophone and orchestral bells. High school was a letdown; the only class that really stoked my interest was photography. Meanwhile, on my own (and with some help from my older brother), I honed my piano skills.

All of the above were educational, challenging and fun, but I wasn’t to the point of thinking about a career yet. One thing I knew, I didn’t want to go to college! I also didn’t want to hang out with my friends for another summer doing drugs and not really moving forward in life.

Of all things, my mom suggested I see the Air Force recruiter and take the entry tests. My older sister had gone into the Air Force a year before and she seemed to be enjoying it. I scored very high on the tests in mechanical and electronics; the recruiter told me I could pretty much pick my job in those fields with scores like that. So I enlisted.

The day I arrived for basic training in the middle of summer in San Antonio, Texas, I was greeted with the blast of hot, humid air and drill sergeants yelling at us new recruits to get our asses moving! It was a reality shock like none I’d experienced before. It was at that moment that I made the decision: “I know what I’m NOT doing the rest of my life, so I have 4 years to figure it out!”

That was the kick in the butt I needed to find my calling among all of my hobbies and interests. That calling was (and still is) music.

I made the most of my time in the Air Force, spending much of my off time practicing piano, taking up bass guitar, listening to lots of albums, playing coffee house music with other airmen, playing in bands, putting together a recording studio in my barracks room, and recording an album! While at my final duty station in Germany, I entered the Air Force Talent Show and ended up going all the way to the Worldwide Finals (which ended up being in San Antonio, Texas!).

When I got out of the service, I had a small recording studio worth of gear and lots of experience creating with it. I had my own recording studio setup in every place I lived from that point forward. In 1977 I actually got paid for a recording session and Theta Sound Studio was officially open for business.

At this point, I loved what I was doing but I still hadn’t looked at what my purpose was. It would be years later that I distilled the essence of what I was doing to “to make a better world through aesthetics.” More recently, the essence became even broader: “to lift the spirits of others.” That covers not only music, but also other forms of creation, like my artisan sourdough bakery, Random Acts of Breadness.

I’ve found that by doing what I love, and getting really good at it, people would find me and offer to pay me to help them achieve something for which I had the skills to accomplish. These skills include: music production, engineering (studio and live sound), composing, lyric writing, video production and editing, typesetting, graphic design, website design, ad copywriting, branding, private chef services, and artisan sourdough breads!

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
My story is: I do what I love. Whenever I’ve wanted to create something, I’d find ways to accomplish that. It started in 1973 with music and my first studio in Germany in the Air Force barracks. It continued after that until it became official in 1977 in my apartment in the Los Angeles area.

When record album packaging was needed, I recalled my drafting and typesetting skills from junior high and applied them using the then new world of computers and software. Digital publishing became a second business. I needed help with this new technology so I joined a computer user group that specialized in the publishing software I was using. Shortly after that, the chairman of that group was moving to Sacramento and someone was needed to take his place. I threw my hat in the ring and was chosen to be the new chairman. I ran the group for 15 years, learning new programs and techniques, writing about them in our monthly newsletter, which I published using the tools I was writing about, and held monthly meetings with computer projection demonstrations and Q&A sessions. During that time, I became part of an international user group focused on digital illustration, photography,typesetting and website design. I created a 2-day seminar program and traveled across North America delivering these seminars in 27 major cities per year. I did this for 3 years, capped off with 4 major conventions held at prominent hotels. I learned how to do all of this by deciding to do it, then diving in. I have no back-off on doing things I really want to do!

People, seeing that I knew how to use these tools, hired me to consult on system design and training for their staffs. It was yet another career.

Same with website design. I got good enough to teach it and so people hired me to build and maintain their websites. I currently host and maintain over 30 websites.

Back in the recording studio, out of necessity, I became a video producer and editor. Eventually, I became a beta tester for Adobe Premiere (professional video editing software), which I still use today.

My accomplishments in myriad fields have been recognized with industry awards for sound engineering, music production, composing, songwriting and film editing.

And in 2016, I started making artisan sourdough bread, just for fun, and giving it away as gifts, Due to popular demand, in 2021 I opened Random Acts of Breadness, a micro-bakery in Burbank on Magnolia Blvd. A few months after we opened, we were ranked #1 on yelp for Best Bread in Burbank, and we’re still in that position!

All of the above came about because I am interested in life and love creative challenges. It also helps that I get to make people happy in so many ways. There’s no greater joy being part of that experience!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Curiosity, Desire, Persistence!

I followed my heart and acquired the skills to create the things that would have a positive impact on my life and the lives of others. When you love what you do, it’s not work. It’s play! I can “work” 16 hours in my studio or at my bakery and I feel great at the end of the day. Life is a game, play it to win!

What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?
I love challenges. That’s how I’ve learned so many skills over the years and have become competent in my application of them. I’ve found the more things I can do to solve problems, the more fun life is. That’s why anything I’ve taken an interest in, and has value to others, has provided opportunities for me to learn, apply and share my knowledge with others. It’s a great place to be: welcoming problems instead of avoiding them. On the other side of a solved problem is happiness, increased knowledge, experience and the ability to take on more responsibility for one’s success!

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