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{{Infobox person |
{{Infobox person |
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| name = Christian Picciolini |
| name = Christian Picciolini |
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| image = File: |
| image = File:Christianpiccioliniphoto2.jpg |
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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1973|11|3}} |
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1973|11|3}} |
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| birth_place = [[Blue Island, Illinois]], U.S. |
| birth_place = [[Blue Island, Illinois]], U.S. |
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Revision as of 05:11, 25 October 2013
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Christian Picciolini | |
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| File:Christianpiccioliniphoto2.jpg | |
| Born | November 3, 1973 Blue Island, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Peace Advocate Entrepreneur Business Executive Television Producer Music Executive Visual Artist Author Musician |
Christian Picciolini (born November 3, 1973) is a Chicago-based peace advocate, entrepreneur, television producer and director, music executive, visual artist, author, musician, and CEO of Goldmill Group.
After attending DePaul University, Picciolini spent time writing his currently forthcoming autobiography, Romantic Violence: Memoirs of an American Skinhead, about his experience as a youth involved in the early American white power skinhead scene. His writings and editorial pieces have appeared in magazines like Alternative Press and news outlets like Huffington Post and Al Jazeera. Picciolini's writings are known for their use of natural language and poignant dialogue. He was formerly the Community Partnerships Manager at Threadless, an online global community of artists and an e-commerce platform based in Chicago, Illinois. In 2008, Threadless was featured on the cover of Inc. as “The Most Innovative Small Company in America.”[1]
From December 2009 until March 2012, Picciolini was Executive Producer and General Manager of JBTV, a nationally broadcast, Emmy Award and Billboard Music Award winning music television program and entertainment media network based in Chicago. He is the co-founder of the peace advocacy and consulting group Life After Hate and a contributor to his personal blog. In 2011, Picciolini was twice nominated by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for a Midwest Regional Emmy Award for his role as Executive Producer of JBTV. He was also nominated in 2010 for a Midwest Regional Emmy Award for Directing, became a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Grammy Rock Committee, and currently sits on the advisory board for the City of Chicago's 2013 Chicago Music Summit, VOXi, and Beamboard. For a time, Picciolini was an Adjunct Professor at Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy.
Life and Career
Picciolini was born and raised in Blue Island, Illinois, the son of Italian immigrants. His father was a hair salon owner and his mother is a restaurant owner. After several years at IBM Corporation as a Senior Marketing Operations Specialist, he left and formed his own record label, Sinister Muse Records, and brand development and entertainment company Goldmill Group. In the 1990s, he also founded the punk rock band Random55. Picciolini currently manages Los Angeles punk band The Briggs, known for their anthem "This is L.A."
Picciolini also managed, co-managed or released albums for such musical acts as Flatfoot 56, The Frantic, Street Dogs, Treaty of Paris (band), The Briggs, Joey Briggs, Blacklist Royals, State and Madison, Urbanites, The Noise FM, Random55, Dead Town Revival, The Spent .50s, Graham Isaacson, Koo Koo Kanga Roo, and The Tattle Tales.
In 1990, Picciolini started his first musical group White American Youth, or W.A.Y., and released a record entitled "Walk Alone" (RRR123) on influential and controversial record label Rock-O-Rama Records from Germany. The group disbanded in 1992 and Picciolini went on to form the band Final Solution who, along with fellow pioneering American hate rock band Bound for Glory, were the first American white power bands to play a concert in Europe or abroad, setting a historical precedent that gained exponentially as the years went on. The concert in Weimar, Germany had over 4,000 attendees from all over Europe. The concert also included the German bands Störkraft and Radikahl.
Picciolini denounced his belief in the white power racist movement in 1994 and in 2009 co-founded a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization called Life After Hate and penned a memoir about his experiences, Romantic Violence: Memoirs Of An American Skinhead.[2] In 2013, Picciolini contributed to Google Executive Chairman, Eric Schmidt and Google Ideas Director, Jared Cohen's book, The New Digital Age.
Currently, Picciolini is CEO of Goldmill Group, a brand innovation and entertainment company, and co-founder of VOXi, an online social platform, and acting Executive Director and board member of Life After Hate.
Television Producing, Acting and Directing Credits
His producing and directing credits include over 80 episodes of JBTV and JBTV Static Age, as well as the Smashing Pumpkins "Gish" and "Siamese Dreams" re-issue DVDs, and The Frantic's "Audio & Murder" music video. Directing credits include several JBTV episodes and segments, the Smashing Pumpkins "Gish" and "Siamese Dreams" re-issue DVDs (2011), and the "Courage" music video by Flatfoot 56, for which he was nominated for a Regional Emmy Award. New television shows currently in pre-production by Picciolini and Goldmill Group are "The Tastemakers" and "Step Off." In addition to producing and directing, he appeared in the Park Forest Theatre stage adaptation of "Man And Superman" and as an actor in the film "Light It Up" with Usher (entertainer) and Forest Whitaker.
Awards and Honors
In 2011, Picciolini was twice nominated by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for Midwest Regional Emmy Awards for his role as Executive Producer of JBTV.
In 2010, he was nominated for a Midwest Regional Emmy Award as Co-Director of the "Courage" music video by Flatfoot 56 and became a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Grammy Rock Committee.
While Executive Producer and General Manager of JBTV in 2010 and 2011, the music program was nominated for four Emmy Awards and won one Emmy Award for motion graphics/animation production. In 2010, JBTV was also nominated and won a Chicago Music Award for "Best Music Video Program."
In June 2011, Picciolini was a panel speaker at the inaugural Google Ideas, Tribeca Film Festival and Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Summit Against Violent Extremism (SAVE) in Dublin, Ireland, convening former members of violent organizations from inner-city gangs to violent terrorist organizations, and right-wing militants and religious extremist groups, who are now actively and publicly working for groups that fight extremism and are recognized by local governments and law enforcement.
References
- ^ Chafkin, Max (June 1, 2008). "The Customer Is The Company". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
- ^ Romantic Violence: Memoirs Of An American Skinhead.