Record Producer
Owner Shaolin Records
Owner Shaolin Music
Owner Shaolin Pictures

Shaolin Records
P.O.Box 632, Verdugo City, California 91046
858-717-7074

With the release of the vinyl record, TEMPTATION, by Richard O'Connor, in 1984, on my newly formed SHAOLIN RECORDS independent "indie" record label, I began a Hollywood career that included shooting MTV shows, producing music videos, graduating UCLA film school in 1987, and the "Coyote Graveyard" rock opera in 1988. Although I was born Richard Del Connor, I began using our older family name of O'Connor in 1980. Currently, February 21, 2009, I only use Richard Connor. The "O'" is a real hassle on the internet anyway. There are no apostrophes on the internet or on credit cards.

Shaolin Music is my ASCAP music publishing company founded in 1984 when I also founded Shaolin Records and Shaolin Pictures. Although I've had a few songs in movies and dozens on albums and commercials...I am still looking for someone else to "run" my publishing company. We have thousands of songs that I don't have time to shop.

Shaolin Pictures is the new version of Shaolin Film & Records. Shaolin Film & Records was my 1986 union of my two prime businesses. I was working in the movie industry and the music industry and united the two companies to simplify my life. After moving to Utah these were separated into Shaolin Records and Shaolin Pictures. Shaolin Film became my 35mm archive of all my photography from 1970 to 2000, when I stopped using 35mm film. I look forward to editing and playing with my "old school" photography someday. Most of the photography you see in these websites is from Shaolin Film.

Shaolin Records is my recording studio also. I was trained in 16-track recording engineering in 1973 and I've worked in many major recording studios since. Despite my inability to build myself the kind of studio I've designed and built for many other artists and record companies, it has been wonderful to at least afford the ProTools Mbox system. This has enabled me to record in my living rooms and gymnasiums and hallways...

I would like to produce some other artists, for other record labels, but I've become a demanding producer after 25 years of teaching Kung Fu and Tai Chi. I know what people are capable and would only want to work with artists who are willing to "be all they can be." If you're interested, call me and I'll consider being your record producer.

2010
I mixed and mastered the LEVEL 3 = Kung Fu Cowboy PART 1 album in June 2010. I've spent the last few years studying Freemasonry. I was raised to 3rd Degree Master Mason February, 2009. The Masonic teachings blend well with my Buddhist, Daoist, Native American, and Confucian concepts. As a result, I transformed the storyline of KUNG FU COWBOY PART 1 into the story of "Hiram Abif," when he was murdered completing King Solomon's Temple.

2009
My first Chinese World Music album was released on Buddha's birthday April 8, 2009. Although we've been selling cassettes of the original Utah recordings since 1995, this new album has more instruments added to it. Using the talent of American Zen, a pyschedelic folk rock group on Shaolin Records, we added a variety of instruments to the album.

2008
LEVEL 3 = I WANT YOU TO LOVE ME is released on September 11, 2008, two weeks ahead of schedule, as the album was uploaded for our online distributors, radio stations, and iTunes. We enjoyed our promotion of love on a day of mourning and war.

2007
With the release of LEVEL 2 = CHRIST KILLER, I am finishing my analog world involvement. The CHRIST KILLER cd was recorded first in analog, then completed in digital sound designer files in ProTools. Our upcoming records will all be recorded in digital and edited digital. The first Shaolin Records FULLY DIGITAL SONG to be released is, "Peace Of Mind #1" from the LEVEL 2 = CHRIST KILLER album. "Peace Of Mind" was cut this last year in digital after all the other songs had been recorded in Utah in analog.

2006
Coyote Radio .net is a few steps ahead of most all the other podcasts out there. I was a radio DJ at Memorial University of Newfoundland in 1971, so my radio standards require some etiquette and professional recording standards. I'm also putting more HTML into our WebBlog page to create a better look and easier reading. Check it out: Coyote Radio .net

2005
American Zen's debut album, LEVEL 1 = PEACE OF MIND, established Shaolin Records as a new Independent "Indie" Record Label, with distribution in Europe, Asia, and growing market in Africa. Combined with iTunes sales and the shaolinCOM.com shopping cart I'm constructing, I'm discovering a new world of distribution over the internet for our books, videos and music.

1992 - 2004
After a badly advised move to Utah, I resorted to becoming a book publisher, and put Shaolin Records in the closet. Shaolin Communications published a half dozen Kung Fu and Tai Chi books for the students of Shaolin Chi Mantis and Tai Chi Youth. I also published my first novel, Sid's Place.

1984 - 1991
While a student in UCLA's Motion Picture Program, I worked in various capacities for many Hollywood film companies including Disney, Apogee, and Red Car. After graduating UCLA, I established a reputation as a lighting director for MTV and Japanese commercial production companies. Sometimes they hired me for setting up scaffolds, and sometimes I was the Key Grip, or Lighting DIrector, or Prop Master...

My photography talents were also utilized by several magazines and newspapers in Los Angeles where I shot concerts and special political events as a photojournalist of the L. A. Newspaper Guild #69.

The Future:
I want to make movies, rock operas, musical movies, instructional videos, launch more Kung Fu schools, and produce a movie in China to portray the traditional nature and motives of Shaolin Kung Fu and Tai Chi.

I need a business partner / secretary to manage my office and do songplugging.

These are the main divisions and enterprises of Shaolin Communications.   (Listed alphabetically.)

United Brotherhood of Carpenters Apprenticeship Program
San Diego, California
    Four year apprenticeship. Journeyman Certificate 1977. Foreman, superintendent, and Union Steward.

RIAA Recording Engineer Program
San Diego, California
    10 week training program at 16 Track Studio 1973 led to staff producer position at Bonita Studios 1974 - 77.

Prince of Wales Collegiate
St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada
    High School Certificate 1971

Recording Studios

Bonita Recording Studios
Bonita, California
     Redesigned and remodeled control room.

Capitol Records Studios
Hollywood, California
     Remodeled monitor speakers Studio A, Studio B.
     Built console for Studio C.
     Wall remodeling and finish surfaces for Studio C.

Crimson Studios
Santa Monica, California
    Built additional producer's desk on Neve console.

Dave Foster Studio
Malibu, California
    Built custom control room monitor speakers.

Future Disc Mastering Labs
Shaolin Chi Mantis / Tai Chi Youth
     Designer, engineer, architect, blueprint draftsman, superintendent for first mastering room 1982.
     Designer, engineer, architect, blueprint draftsman, superintendent for 2nd mastering room 1986.

MCA Whitney Studios
Burbank, California
    Remodeled echo chamber room, remodeled studio control room, remodeled control room monitors.

Mick Fleetwood Home Rehearsal Room
Santa Monica, California
    Designer, architect, carpenter for Fleetwood Mac rehearsal room in Mick's garage.

Soundlabs
Los Angeles, California
    Redesigned and built studio monitors in control room.

Soundtrax Studios
San Diego, California
   Designed and built main console.

The Village Recorder
Santa Monica, California
    Staff carpenter from 1980 to 1982.

Shaolin Records
North Hollywood, California
    President - Producer 1986-1991

Shaolin Records
Salt Lake City, Utah
     President - Producer 1992 -1999. Home studio, Transwest Apartments, on "5th South."

Shaolin Records
Angeles Forest, California
     President - Producer 2000. Home studio in cabin basement with raccoons and a puma in the backyard.

Shaolin Records
Tujunga, California
     President - Producer 2001 - 2008. Highest studio in Los Angeles atop Verdugo Mountains above Pasadena, California.

Shaolin Records
Montrose, California
     President - Producer 2008 - current. Crappy apartment with limited recording opportunities.

SPECIAL INTERESTS

Yang Style Taijjiquan
Northern Shaolin Gongfu
Book Signing Tour
Software Learning: Photoshop / ProTools / Quark XPress / Adobe Acrobat / Dreamweaver / FileMaker
Webmaster for the Shaolin Communications websites.
Producing records for the Buddhist rock group, American Zen.
President of Tai Chi Youth, nonprofit organization

For more information visit the following websites:
     www.shaolinchiMANTIS.com
     www.shaolinCOMMUNICATIONS.com
     www.taichiYOUTH.org