Chris Stout

Educational Background:

In 2003, I graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a Bachelor of Arts in History (with honors) and a minor in Legal Studies. After being steeped in revolutionary readings and a prolonged study of terrorism, I needed a break from heavy academia.

Nearly every professor I ever had told me to avoid becoming a professor, so I listened. After contemplating law school, journalism school and various Arab Studies programs, I decided to forgo a master's degree and see what I could do in the real world with the skill set I developed at the age of 22

Work History:

After college, I became a notary. That was boring, so I started writing content for the web. As a freelance mercenary writer, I wrote football articles, World Cup previews and other sports content. I churned out blog content, movie reviews, travel articles, musician bios, press releases, script material for podcasted programs, restaurant reviews, business plans and entire websites.

That's when I found my way to CKMG. I started working as a contract writer for the company almost two years ago. Gradually my role shifted from an in-house feature writer, to an editor and now a project manager. I still like to write, and I produced all the content you see on our new corporate site.

CKMG is a fun place. There's a lot of love in the CKMG office, and my long term goal is to keep it that way.

Interests/Likes:

I've been covering the NFL since 2005, and every Sunday, I watch as many games on as many TVs as possible. When football season ends, sadness sets in. Especially when the Steelers get bounced out of the playoffs while I'm snorkeling in Boracay Island in the Philippines (much to my dismay, Filipino TV broadcasted the first game of an NFL playoff double header, only to switch to golf when the Steelers were supposed to take the field).

I love funky music and I have a sick vinyl collection. I've been collecting funk, disco, soul, hip hop and electro records for years now. I started listening to house music in high school, but since then, my tastes have gravitated toward the old school. I like to find out where funky samples came from, and when I turn up the original track, it's almost always a better listening experience.

I enjoy cutting up beats and videos in the wee hours of the morning, spending time with my gorgeous girl and sporting track jackets on a daily basis.

Best Travel Story:

Excusi, Excusi

While taking an extended European vacation back in 2003, I tried to sneak in a photo of Michelangelo's frescos on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. The Vatican police weren't too happy about it and they chased me out of the place.

The Italian Handshake

Same trip, a gypsy kid comes up to me to shake my hand in Rome. The handshake extends to an arm-shake. The arm-shake becomes a leg lock. Next thing I know, the gypsy kid starts humping the entire right side of my body. As the festive gesture turned invasive, I tried to detach. The gypsy didn't disengage, so I had to pick the dude up and throw him. After making sure I still had my wallet, I gave the kid on the ground a weird look and kept on walking. Italian handshakes are just different I guess.

Run-By Squeezing

Later, in Vienna, some 10-year old kid did a run-by boob squeeze on my girl. Like an Olympian sprinter, I went from null to 60 in four seconds. After chasing the kid through a mall, I cornered him and spewed forth a crazy-faced, busted-German lecture about things that are "not right." Terrified, the kid started screaming. With a mall full of people looking ready to call the police, I had to cut the kid loose.

Favorite Restaurant:

After my good friend Ashot sold the Kabab Factory in Burbank (soon to be, much to my dismay, The Flavor of India), I've been hitting up an old favorite -- Zankou Chicken. Yea, I know it's Armenian fast food, but I don't care. Those people in the yellow shirts can slice me off some shawarma any day of the week. In fact, I'll take some tarna too.

FAVORITES

Food

You can take the bro out of Glendale, but you can't take the love of Horavatz out of this Rabiz.

Chicken kabab, beef shawarma, lule, barg, anything with Tahini -- I love it all. Armenian, Persian, Mediterranean -- call it what you want, I'll be there to eat it up.

Wiener Schnitzel is another classic dish that I can eat at any time. Throw in a Gösser, some gemischtem Salat und eine Mélange, and I'm happy for like a week.

TV/Movies:

The Shield (best show on television, having a German chick play an Armenian mob boss was a bit questionable though), Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares (the real BBC stuff, none of this U.S. crossover nonsense), Top Gear, Project Runway (there, I said it), 30 Rock (Baldwin is classic), GI Joe cartoons, Jeopardy, the original Twilight Zone, anything on the NFL Network, Star Trek TNG and old school SNL.

Office Space, Die Hard anything, Star Wars Trilogy (the disco era one), Goonies, any Clive Owen movie, The Usual Suspects, Enter the Dragon, any Indiana Jones flick, Jack Ryan movies (even that one with Affleck), Dr. Strangelove, Old School, Mean Girls, Ben Stiller comedies, The Shawshank Redemption, Metropolis, The Manchurian Candidate (Ol' Blue Eyes version), Donnie Darko, Shaun of the Dead, Network, Heat, Toy Soldiers, Three Amigos, The Black Swan, Tango and Cash, The Last Boyscout.

Websites:

ProFootballTalk.com

I've been glued to this site every single day for like 2 years. Mike Florio is so plugged in to what's going on in the NFL -- it's silly really. This guy breaks stories days before major news outlets. Sure, it's a rumor site, and sometimes Florio misses the mark. But no worries -- Terry Bradshaw is still alive and Florio still produces the most addictive, up-to-the-minute football content on the web.

FunkDeli.com

This site is so amazing…seriously go check it out. Do it.

Bands:

Al Kent -- The man behind Million Dollar Disco
The Avalanches -- Since I Left You is a solid album
Brass Construction -- All-time favorite band without a doubt, every album is classic
Brick -- Disco, Jazz, Dazz
Brothers Johnson -- You don't like my music, you don't have to use it
B.T. Express -- Randy Muller keeps it funky
The Bar Kays -- What's there not to love?
Cerrone -- Disco done proper, sampled more times than hot wings near Dabiri
Con Funk Shun -- Classic tracks on every album, check out "Time" and "Miss Got the Body"
Cut Chemist -- Always delivers the goods
D-Train -- Electro-funk at its finest
DJ Marc Langsman -- Eclectic funky mixes that include everything but the kitchen sink
DJ Cuebism -- The man behind EbonyCuts.com
ESG -- Punk and disco can be friends
Fatback -- Too many classic tracks to list
Frank Sinatra -- Ol' blue eyes always pulls through
Freda Payne -- This soul sister can wail like there's no tomorrow
Funkadelic -- "Can You Get to That" is one of my all-time favorites
The Gap Band -- "Early in the Morning," "Burn Rubber on Me," the list goes on and on
Gene Chandler -- You gotta love the Duke of Earl's disco phase
Gino Soccio -- Montreal's finest disco producer
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five -- Beats that never get old
Hashim -- I'll never get sick of the timeless electro vibes of "Al-Naafiysh (The Soul)"
The Isley Brothers -- OG Funksters that stuck around for decades
James Brown -- The Godfather of Soul
Joe Bataan -- Afro-Filipino soul man and co-founder of the Salsoul disco label
Jurassic 5 -- Keeping hip hop alive since 1993
Machine -- Produced the greatest track of all time: "There But For The Grace of God Go I"
Marvin Gaye -- Pure genius
Mr. Flagio -- Italo Disco at its best
Ohio Players -- Party music
Pretty Tony/Freestyle -- Back when hip hop and electro were friends
Rick James -- Rest in Peace Rick
RJD2 -- Since We Last Spoke is still my favorite
Roy Davis Jr. -- If only house music still sounded like this guy's sets from '98-'99….
Salosoul Disco -- Ripple, O.R.S., Instant Funk, Bunny Sigler, Double Exposure, First Choice…
Shalamar -- "Make That Move" and "Take That to the Bank" never get old
Skyy -- Randy Muller strikes again!
T-Connection -- Underrated disco-funk powerhouse
Zapp and Roger -- Their signature sound gets revived constantly