HIS TIME IS NOW | JOSEPH SIKORA

Throughout the past few months we have loved interviewing those who have been in POWER, POWER BOOK II: GHOST, POWER BOOK III: RAISING KANAN and with the release of POWER BOOK IV: FORCE on Feb 6th, we were excited to chat with Joseph Sikora (POWER, Ozark, Jack Reacher) who is back playing fan favorite, Tommy Egan. We talked about how he got into acting, being on POWER, where we find Tommy in the latest series and what projects he has coming up that we should keep an eye out for!

ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you realize that you wanted to be an actor?

JOSEPH SIKORA: I was 10 years old. There was a show that used to be on called KIDS Incorporated. Fergie used to be on it and I think even Jennifer Love Hewitt. They were just the kids that were being rockstars and actors. I went to my mom and I said, I’d love to be an actor. She said that if I still wanted to be an actor in a month, come back. So I’m waiting and counting down the days. I said, “ma I want to be an actor.” She says ok and pulls out the Yellow Pages and we look up acting and there isn’t much in there. We look up theater and my mother, to her credit starts cold calling theaters and says, “my son wants to be an actor, how do we do this?” Eventually, I auditioned for a role in A Christmas Carol at The Goodman Theater in Chicago, but I didn’t get it. The casting director said that I was really talented and that I should audition for The Little Prince which was up in a far suburb in Lake Forest in Chicago. I ended up booking the role so my mother had to trek me out all the way to Lake Forest for rehearsals and performances. I did it and it was really a bug. Then my mother again cold-called agencies and said, “my son is in a play will you come watch it and would you want to represent him afterward?” Some of them came and then I got representation, I did some commercials which really helped pay for college and saved all of my money and even when I was just getting into mischief in high school, I kept paying my SAG dues and I have been a member of SAG since 1988. That’s how I started acting, it was through the theater and doing little bits of pieces here and as you know, I have done a ton of stuff! But none of it was any real success until really the POWER show. It’s my biggest thing for sure!

I was a series regular one of the series leads of an Adult Swim show called The Heart, She Holler that I am very proud of. It was directed and written by Vernon Chatman and John Lee starring Patton Oswalt which was so much fun. I did stuff here and stuff there, but acting is a tough thing and it’s truly a calling in some ways that I just never gave up.

So in a lot of ways, Tommy Egan, he’s that same guy. Tommy Egan never gives up and he says as much in episode 1 of POWER when he takes Holly out for their first date to the bar. He just keeps fighting and so I really just kept fighting and I did it not for reasons of fame. I didn’t want people to recognize or know me, I did it because I wanted to be able to explore the human condition and to see what it would be like to be other people and from what other people experienced. To see what it’s like to love, lose and win in other bodies.

AM: What made you want to be part of POWER?

JS: I mean, I was starving! I had no money, I was auditioning, I had a couple of little things around that time that I was really happy to do. I had just done Jack Reacher and I had done True Detective, the series Banshee – I was dating a girl who is now my wife and I had found something that I loved more than acting. For whatever reason in the irony that is life, when you don’t want something so bad, things start coming to you. This is one of those things.

There were 5 auditions for POWER for Tommy Egan, which was originally called Eddie O’Neal by the way!

AM: Where did we leave Tommy in POWER and where do we pick him up again in FORCE?

JS: Well, where we leave Tommy in the POWER show, is with Tommy and NY in his rearview mirror. But then, in POWER BOOK II: GHOST, we realize that he made a U-turn to take care of some unfinished business with Tasha played by Naturi Naughton and obviously the lead of the series Michael Rainey Jr who plays Tariq. After he leaves Tariq in Monet’s capable hands, but makes an enemy of the Tejada group, it’s even more of a reason for Tommy to get out of town. He’s not welcome back in the town of the city that raised him, so now he’s on his way to Los Angeles to take care of the ports and to work at the ports of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles. But he makes a pit stop in Chicago for what people will find out in the first episode. But then he ends up saying, “you know what? Chicago may be talking to me right now. This may be my land of opportunity.” It’s a harkening back to the 1890’s where the NY papers said, “go West young man, go West!” Tommy did it and he ended up in Chicago and he sees a possibility of a future in the gem of the prairie in Chicago, Il.

AM: How does it feel to have this whole spinoff wrapped around your character?

JS: It’s great! I love working and I get to work more, it’s a win-win! I’m so happy and grateful for the audience demanding it and that Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson made it happen!

AM: Is there anything that you can tell us about it as I know it’s out very soon but any insights would be appreciated!

JS: Absolutely, I think that it’s super exciting and that it’s really truly different city, different rules, same Tommy. I’m so excited about the pilot directed by Larysa Kondracki (Legion, Gotham, THEM) and then we have Kieron Hawkes (POWER, POWER BOOK II GHOST, POWER BOOK III: RAISING KANAN) a POWER alum who directed in Raising Kanan and on the POWER BOOK II: GHOST, he’s an amazing director – so it’s great to have Kieron Hawkes! Another director that I am so excited about is Deon Taylor (Kicks, Meet the Blacks, Black and Blue) who directs our incredible finale. Everyone knows him from The Intruder and Black and Blue, Supremacy, and I am doing another film with Deon that’s going to be coming out in March called Fear, also starring Andrew “King Bach” Bachelor, T.I., Annie Ilonzeh, Iddo Goldberg and Terrence J – so a bit of an all star wonderful cast that is a thriller and a horror film that revolves around our current state of pandemic so you have to check that out!

AM: I just finished watching Ozark Season 4 part 1. It was nice seeing you in that!

JS: Nice! Frank Jr! Frank Jr is the antithesis to Tommy! Tommy is everything that Frank Jr is not. But they share the same struggle. They want to be able to make their way, they want to get outside of somebodies shadow, but Frank Jr is as unsuccessful as Tommy is successful.

IG @JosephSikora4

PHOTOS COURTESY | STARZ's POWER BOOK IV: FORCE

Hear STARZ's POWER BOOK IV: FORCE's Joseph Sikora on our show, #TRIBEGOALS - which is a part of Athleisure Studio, our multimedia companion podcast network! Subscribe to be notified when the episode drops. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts or wherever you enjoy your podcasts.

Read the JAN ISSUE #73 of Athleisure Mag and see HIS TIME IS NOW | Joseph Sikora in mag.

PUSH THE SOUND FORWARD WITH VALENTINO KHAN

Valentino Khan is a DJ/Producer with a lot of personality and a passion for his favorite teams - LA Dodgers and LA Lakers, where he had an epic concert celebrating their wins last year! In addition, last fall, he re-leased his EP on Diplo's label, Mad Decent. We caught up with him to find out about his passion for the industry, how he works creatively and more!

ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you first fall in love with music and when did you realize that you wanted to create music?

VALENTINO KHAN: I think my earliest exposure to who and what a producer was came through listening to stuff that The Neptunes, Dr. Dre and Timbaland were making. It gave me an understanding that there was a lane for people that “make the beat.” I became fascinated with the idea of creating something that gave people a wow factor in some way.

AM: You started in the music industry as a hip hop producer and have worked with artists such as T.I., 2 Chainz and B.o.B, when did you transition into doing music for yourself?

VK: It all happened for me at the same time more or less. I discovered dance music and began taking a shot at creating my own interpretation of it around the same time I started getting placements on rap projects. The artist side has just kept growing in such a great way for me and I’m thankful I still have my hands indifferent things both as a producer and an artist.

AM: Who were your mentors or sources of inspiration when you began your journey as DJ?

VK: I was inspired by nothing and every-thing at the same time. I’ve always want-ed to be versatile and try whatever I was feeling at the moment. So I gravitated to-ward having a catalog like someone like Diplo who has been involved with so many different genres. I wanted to be able to showcase a wide spectrum of sounds that I could create.

AM: What would you say is the Valentino Khan sound?

VK: I think a lot of people associate me with a very bass driven house music sound and that’s fine. But I think people that actually have listened to my discography know I’ve done many things outside of that too. I try to not get too caught up in that and just put out dope music.

AM: When you begin working on a new song or album, what’s your process in terms of how you begin to create it?

VK: It all depends on what the first point of inspiration is. I think I’ve been doing this long enough and I’ve put myself in situations where I can jump off from a number of different points. It could be the vocals, a synth line, the drums, whatever. I think the ability to take that original component and be able to have a vision for what the rest of the track will sound like is so important.

AM: How do you go about deciding to collaborate with others and what do you look for?

VK: I think it’s gotta be organic. I just look for people that try to push the sound forward because that’s huge for me. I want to continue to make music that raises the bar and pushes the envelope for every-one. It’s so important because that’s the same energy that has inspired me to do what I do.

AM: From a creative standpoint, is there a difference between when you’re doing a remix versus collaborating with an artist on a new song?

VK: I think the biggest difference when working with an artist is the focus on building a track around their vocal to let them shine. A huge part of it is giving your beat an identity but leaving space within your track for the artist. Otherwise, it can end up sounding too convoluted. I always try to keep that in mind when I’m doing a session or producing for someone else.

AM: When did you realize that you had made it?

VK: I don’t think I’ve ever had that moment. My career seems to have the most gradual steady climb but I’m fine with that. There’s more value in longevity.

AM: How have you been spending 2020 and how have you stayed inspired?

VK: Mostly making music and cooking at home. Or learning how to be a better cook at least. I think my goal is that I want to come out of this a better artist and a better person. Hopefully, I can achieve both of those things.

AM: How have you stayed connected to your fans to continue sharing your music with them?

VK: Streaming has been a huge way that has allowed me to stay connected with fans. Most of us haven’t been doing itas often as we were back when this first started, but I think it’s been cool to provide people with a brief distraction from the craziness that has been going on in this past year. Social media as a whole really helps me connect with my fans in the most organic way.

AM: I know you’re a Laker and Dodger fan and you did sold out shows for the Lakers Championship Victory Stream as well as one for the Dodgers! How did this come about and why did you want to do it?

VK: The new normal for now has been doing drive-in shows that are socially distant. And unfortunately, we never got to have proper parades for the Lakers and Dodgers winning it all in 2020. So I thought what better way to do the closest thing to a parade in a safe environment? I did back to back shows at the NOS Center in SoCal and sold out both nights. It was great to have that theme with those shows and celebrate together. It really gave perspective as to how important live music is and I’ve tried to not take for granted that it gives people a bit of joy.

AM: You’ve been doing drive in shows which is a great way to still be on stage and to have a version of fan inclusivity as well, how has that been and do you have more planned.

VK: It’s been an awesome experience. It’s a bit trickier to organize those but it’s become the solution for now until things get back under control. I’m definitely looking forward to doing more of these whenever the opportunity arises.

AM: We look forward to seeing you at E-Zoo later this year, what is your favorite festival to play?

VK: Fingers crossed on the festivals later this year. My favorites include all the Lollapaloozas and EDC of course because it feels like the Super Bowl of all of them.

AM: When you’re about to perform, do you have a routine that gets you ready for the show and do you have things you do after the show?

VK: I just stretch because I move around a lot, that’s it. I don’t really get any pre-show jitters so things are pretty simple for me.

AM: What have you learned about yourself this year as we have all had time for self reflection?

VK: I’ve learned that I can’t take for granted that I have a unique career that provides people with fun every night. There’s very few people that can say that, so I'm blessed I’m in that position. It’s also been a gut check in many ways and I’ve learned I can be alright when touring suddenly comes to a halt.

IG @ValentinoKhan

PHOTOS COURTESY | Valentino Khan

Read the Jan Issue #62 of Athleisure Mag and see Push the Sound Forward with Valentino Khan in mag.