Biography
Tomas Costanza is an American record producer, songwriter/composer and CEO of the Killingsworth Recording Company. He was first noted in the music industry as the lead singer and songwriter for his band Diffuser. In addition to being signed to Hollywood Records in 2000, several of the band's songs were featured on various movie soundtracks including Freaky Friday and Mission: Impossible II. As a record producer, Tomas has worked with artists as varied as Macklemore, Rachel Platten, Alaska Thunderfuck, Boys Like Girls, Benny Benassi, Blues Traveler, Clinton Sparks, Icona Pop, and Matthew Koma. In 2011, he broke through as a producer after Katie Waissel's debut album reached No. 1 on the U.K. (Amazon/iTunes) charts and remained there for 5 weeks.
Tomas was born and raised in the North Massapequa neighborhood of Long Island, New York. His father was a NYC police officer and his mother a school bus driver for the local middle school. While in his pre-teens, Tomas discovered the liberating bombast of hard rock, listening to bands like Van Halen and Black Sabbath while also becoming infatuated with the musical styles of Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley. At the age of 10, he began to teach himself guitar and bass. Costanza explains, "When I first heard Eddie Van Halen's guitar solo on Michael Jackson's "Beat It", I knew I wanted to be a musician."
Tomas attended the High School of the Performing Arts and studied with professors from the Juilliard School. He later attended Berklee College of Music, but dropped out to pursue a career as a recording artist. In 1998, Costanza founded the band Flu Thirteen which later became Diffuser. Hollywood Records signed the band in 2000 and released two critically acclaimed LP recordings Injury Loves Melody (2001) and Making the Grade (2003). Alternative Press magazine recently cited Diffuser as "One of the Top 22 most influential bands of the 2000's." Diffuser disbanded in 2003 to pursue other musical interests. Due to the overwhelming support from a small but loyal following, Diffuser re-united in fall of 2007 to release their third studio album, Sincerely, Wasting Away. The band still plays shows on occasion.
Tomas was hired by Bob Cavallo in 2003 to work A&R under Jason Jordan for Hollywood Records. He also signed a publishing deal with Seven Peaks/Disney during the same time period. In 2007, he became Head of A&R for Chamberlain Records (Universal) where he worked with and produced artists such as Cold Forty Three, The Anix, Brianna Taylor, and Katie Waissel. In 2008, Costanza was noted in Blender magazine as saying, "I'm not chasing after what's current. The music I sign has to be compelling and two steps ahead of the curve. I always hope people will like the artists I work with, but at the end of the day, I'm the one that has to love it." Producing, songwriting, and recognition (2007-2013)
Tomas established the Killingsworth Recording Company in June 2007. Beginning with a facility in New York, he expanded to Los Angeles in 2008. In January 2009 Costanza was recruited by Academy Award winning music supervisor Richard Glasser (The Illusionist, Crash, Revolutionary Road) to write for his film and TV placement company. Costanza broke through as a producer and songwriter in April 2011 when X-Factor finalist Katie Waissel's debut album reached #1 on the U.K. (Amazon/iTunes) charts and remained there for five weeks.
Recent producers and artists that have worked out of Killingsworth include Macklemore, Rachel Platten, Boys Like Girls, Benny Benassi, Blues Traveler, Clinton Sparks, Icona Pop, and Matthew Koma.
Songwriting credits include soundtracks such as Mission: Impossible II, Freaky Friday, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, Summer Catch and Zathura have collectively sold over 4.2 million copies worldwide R.I.A.A.. Costanza currently composes for multiple TV Shows including Viceland, RuPaul's Drag Race, The Oscars, Dancing with the Stars, Insecure, Hood Adjacent, Upscale, Grey's Anatomy, Lucky Dog, Henry Ford's Innovation Nation and The Voice.
