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• Bright Midnight - 2016 Astor and Blue LLC, New York, NY

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherformant/

  Christopher Formant
  President of Verizon Enterprise Solutions
  Verizon Enterprise Solutions Washington and Lee University
  Basking Ridge, New Jersey 500+ 500+ connections
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  Senior executive with demonstrated expertise in building and leading turnaround and growth teams in technology and services businesses. Outstanding track record of performance improvement in both public and private equity-owned companies: sales and distribution scaling, product revitalization, cost structure, service quality and cultural transformation.

  Selected Accomplishments:
  * Global Communications Co.: $1.2 billion cost improvement, product line refresh, sales and channel scaling, process digitization and modernization.
  * Value creation for private equity firm: $400 million margin improvement in 8 qtrs.
  * Recognition: Top 25 consultants in the world, 25 most influential technology executives, top 10 UCC leaders.
  * Service turnaround: JD Power award winner at two companies.
  * Built world class businesses in SDN (software defined networking), IOT (internet of things) and advanced communications.
  * Expert at delivering business model scale economics and enterprise distribution.
  * Author of Bright Midnight, a rock and roll murder mystery.
  * Boards: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; Maryland Univ. of Integrative Heath; Vox Mobile; EMTEC; PSI.
  * Advisory Boards: CallPlease See lessSee less of undefined summary
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  Today we are thrilled to share exciting news about major advancements to our hybrid cloud management platform with the release of Turbonomic 5.9. This software release includes new support for AWS and Azure environments that accelerates migration to cloud, assures and optimizes performance, and lowers public cloud costs by 30%, while enforcing compliance policies - across a hybrid cloud environment. https://lnkd.in/dt6bN5u
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  Microsoft thinks blockchain tech could solve one of the internet’s toughest problems: digital identities
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  Want a summer job that really rocks? The Rock Hall is auditioning passionate music fans to join our summer crew. Apply now and help us welcome visitors from around the world to the home of rock & roll as we kick off our most exciting season yet! https://lnkd.in/e6z2kBx
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  Experience
  Verizon Enterprise Solutions
  President
  Company NameVerizon Enterprise Solutions
  Dates Employed2014 – Present Employment Duration3 yrs
  LocationBasking Ridge, NJ
  Responsible for delivering advanced technology, communications and business solutions to Verizon's global enterprise clients in key industries: healthcare and insurance, financial services, technology, manufacturing, automotive, retail, energy and public sector.
  Leads the teams driving sales, delivery, operations and marketing of Verizon's strategic solutions in intelligent networking and SDN, mobile workforce, IOT, advanced comms, security and professional services.
  Avaya Global Services and Government Solutions
  Senior Vice President and President
  Company NameAvaya Global Services and Government Solutions
  Dates Employed2008 – 2013 Employment Duration5 yrs
  LocationBasking Ridge, NJ and Washington, DC
  Responsible for $2.5 Billion, 9000 person services and $900 million government businesses. Including all Sales, delivery, marketing and operations for advanced collaboration and communications solutions, contact centers, networking, managed services and related professional services.

  * Recruited by Private Equity owners to revamp poor performing business
  * Dramatic cost and service improvement: 15% margin improvement and JD Power award winner
  * Consolidated global business for scale economics
  * Built leading communications managed services business
  BearingPoint
  Executive Vice President, Financial Services and Middle Market
  Company NameBearingPoint
  Dates Employed2003 – 2008 Employment Duration5 yrs
  LocationGreater New York City Area
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  Responsible for key verticals at management consulting firm that worked on business strategy and related issues; customer relationship management; supply chain management; financial management; mergers and integration; human capital management; business process and performance improvement; growth and innovation; IT services and business transformation.
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  • Directed $750MM consulting and IT services business, including banking, insurance, real estate and hospitality units.
  • Developed, communicated and deployed a global sales and delivery model, expanding margins by creating cost-effective centers of excellence in India and China.
  • Named one of the Top 25 consultants in the world by Consulting Magazine.
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  Scient Inc
  President and Chief Executive Officer
  Company NameScient Inc
  Dates Employed2001 – 2003 Employment Duration2 yrs
  LocationGreater New York City Area
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  Responsible for restructure then sale of Internet consulting company who provided customer experience, strategy, and technology services to global clients who were expanding their digital presence in the rapidly expanding online business ecosphere.
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  • Recruited by the Board of Directors to dramatically restructure business operations, liabilities and business focus.
  • Reduced headcount by 80%, real estate liabilities by over 90%, shrunk office network by 60%, and sold non-essential businesses.
  • Sustained client relationships throughout, including American Express, GE, DuPont, Discover, JPMC, Lloyds, Kraft, Pepsi and other top global clients.
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  PwC
  Managing Partner and Global Banking Leader
  Company NamePwC
  Dates Employed1993 – 2001 Employment Duration8 yrs
  LocationGreater New York City Area
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  Responsible for $1B vertical business delivering myriad services including management consulting, systems integration, and application management services.
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  • Global and Americas practice leader for banking and capital markets consulting and IT services businesses.
  • Clients included many of the world’s top financial services companies.
  • Teams created and delivered some of the world’s most advanced CRM, web, ERP and business intelligence solutions at that time.
  • Led large scale client performance improvement, cost reduction and merger integration initiatives.
  • Rated one of the top PwC partners worldwide.
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  MBNA
  Executive Vice President
  Company NameMBNA
  Dates Employed1983 – 1993 Employment Duration10 yrs
  LocationBaltimore, Maryland Area
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  Senior management responsibilities for bank holding company and parent company, headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, then Wilmington, Delaware, prior to being acquired by Bank of America. At the time of acquisition, was the world's largest independent credit card issuer, specializing in affinity cards.
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  • Management responsibilities, increasing in scope, for credit card, consumer lending, credit and collections, asset securitization.
  • Developed and executed a number of high visibility and successful marketing and retention programs that became industry best practices.
  • Member of founding group responsible for IPO in 1991.
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  Education
  Washington and Lee University
  Washington and Lee University
  Degree Name Bachelor's degree Field Of Study Commerce
  The George Washington University - School of Business
  The George Washington University - School of Business
  Degree Name Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) Field Of Study Finance & Investments

• Bloomberg - https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=665387&privcapId=6517132

  Executive Profile
  Christopher M. Formant
  Member of Leadership Council, Roundabout Theatre Company, Inc.
  Age Total Calculated Compensation This person is connected to 0 Board Members in 0 different organizations across 8 different industries.

  63 --
  Background
  Mr. Christopher M. Formant, also known as Chris, served as Senior Vice President of Verizon Communications Inc. since October 21, 2015 until January 7, 2017. Mr. Formant served as Senior Vice President of Verizon Enterprise Solutions, Inc. since April 2014 and served as its Group President until December 31, 2016. He is responsible for global sales, operations and marketing of Verizon’s cloud, machine to machine, data center and security products and solutions at Verizon. He has deep enterprise and global technology leadership experience in professional services, private & public sector sales and service delivery and support. He combines a unique blend of enterprise, early stage company and world class consulting experience. He served as the President of Camber Government Solutions Inc. since August 23, 2010. He served as an Advisor/Investor to early stage technology companies. He served as Senior Vice President of Avaya India Private Limited. He served as Senior Vice President of Avaya Inc. from August 16, 2010 to April 30, 2013 and served as its President of Global Services until August 23, 2010. Mr. Formant served as the President of Avaya Government Solutions Inc. from August 2010 to April 30, 2013. He served as Senior Vice President and President of Avaya Professional Services. He was responsible for IT and core communications products and services for the federal government that focused on optimizing customer communication and collaboration in a meaningful way. Additionally, he was responsible for the global Professional Services organization, developing and delivering the entirety of Avaya voice, video and data portfolio as well as custom application development. He joined Avaya in February 2008. He served as an Executive Vice President of Financial Services for North American Division at BearingPoint, Inc. since February 6, 2003 until January 2008. He served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Scient, Inc. from July 31, 2001 to July 30, 2002. He served as the President of Avaya Global Services from June 2008 to August 2010 and served as its Senior Vice President, where he was responsible for the $2.5 billion, 9,000 person global services business, providing unified communications, contact centers, networking and related services to companies of all sizes around the world. He served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of iXL Enterprises Inc. From 1991 to 1993, Mr. Formant served as Managing Partner of Farash & Co. From 1990 to 1991, he served as an Executive Vice President of MBNA Corp., where he held senior executive positions. Prior to iXL Enterprises, he served at PricewaterhouseCoopers from 1993 to January 2001, including as its Senior Partner and Global Banking Leader. He served as Global Banking Consulting Leader and Americas Banking Industry Chairman with PricewaterhouseCoopers' predecessor firm, Coopers & Lybrand. He serves as a Director of Avaya GlobalConnect Ltd. He serves as a Member of Leadership Council at Roundabout Theatre Company, Inc. He served as a Director of Emtec, Inc. since December 01, 2011 and Scient, Inc. since July 31, 2001. He served as an Additional Director of AGC Networks Limited from July 18, 2009 to August 31, 2010. He served as a Director of iXL Enterprises Inc. since February 2001. He was named one of the top 25 consultants in the world by Consulting Magazine while at BearingPoint. Mr. Formant holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Commerce from Washington and Lee University and an MBA in Finance and Investments from George Washington University.
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  Corporate Headquarters
  231 West 39th Street
  New York, New York 10018

  United States

  Phone: 212-719-9393
  Fax: 212-642-9630

• Crimespree - http://crimespreemag.com/behind-the-book-by-chris-formant/

  QUOTED: "Besides being the soundtrack of my youth, there was something else that connected them. Jones, Hendrix and Morrison all died at the age 27 under cloudy circumstances, had poor to non-existent autopsies with weak investigations of the circumstances. Urban legends and conspiracy theories have swirled around their deaths for almost 50 years.
  An idea got in my head at just that moment that I couldn’t shake and kept haunting me for days. What if they didn’t die by accident? What if they all were murdered?"
  "a fictional murder mystery that reimagines the deaths of iconic ... rock stars, not as accidents but as murders."

  BEHIND THE BOOK BY CHRIS FORMANT
  POSTED BY CHRIS FORMANT ON SEP 12, 2016 IN BOOKS, ESSAY
  Bright Midnight coverOne evening, I was walking through my rock memorabilia gallery, with The Doors music in the background, and I stopped to study my latest addition: a two-page article in the Record Mirror from 1964 announcing a hot new band: The Rolling Stones. What struck me the most was how young they were. Before me was a fresh-faced Keith Richards, a teenaged Mick Jagger, and Brian Jones, the founder of the Stones. Hanging beside them were articles about Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison and The Doors.
  Besides being the soundtrack of my youth, there was something else that connected them. Jones, Hendrix and Morrison all died at the age 27 under cloudy circumstances, had poor to non-existent autopsies with weak investigations of the circumstances. Urban legends and conspiracy theories have swirled around their deaths for almost 50 years.
  An idea got in my head at just that moment that I couldn’t shake and kept haunting me for days. What if they didn’t die by accident? What if they all were murdered? I started writing down some ideas, doing a little background reading and some light research. The more I scratched the surface, the more deeply I got drawn in.
  That is how BRIGHT MIDNIGHT got started. A fictional murder mystery that reimagines the deaths of iconic late 60s and 70s rock stars, not as accidents but as murders.
  With the fictional murder hypothesis as a starting point, I read everything that I could about the rock stars: their lives, their situations at the time of their death, how they died, their autopsies, the investigations or lack thereof, and the state of the music industry during that time period.
  The original story line and characters, which changed dozens of times, was the easy part. Bringing them to life as empathetic victims was more challenging. But the most difficult part was in crafting a believable investigation and possible sophisticated murder techniques that would be intriguing and believable through the eyes of a 21st-century reader.
  A former editor of Rolling Stone magazine helped provide some insight into the personalities of many of the stars. Almost all of them had been caricatured over time as drunks or drug-addled hippies. The reality is that most were jovial, smart and extremely creative musical geniuses. Few had much business sense. The result being they were taken advantage of from the start and had little to show for their success. Most suffered from continual management and contractual issues. Each was a victim, in their own way.
  I also gained access to some of the unique information that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has in its archives, including original editor and reporter files on each rock star at the time of their death and cassette tape interviews of key people after they died. These artifacts brought the era to life, and illuminated the weak investigations and adversarial relationships that the rock stars had with the authorities.
  A former senior FBI official and a former FBI investigator, along with a former NYPD investigator, helped me understand the processes and techniques used. But most importantly, they guided me toward the textbooks and modern cold-case investigative techniques that could apply.
  Lastly, a top neurosurgeon and researcher from Johns Hopkins Medicine interpreted the autopsies and suggested alternative means by which the stars could have died physically and chemically. Those insights were extremely insightful in identifying fundamental flaws in previous autopsies and investigations, as well the limitations of forensic technical analysis 50 years ago.
  That set the stage for a creative re-imaging of the deaths, seen through the lenses of modern forensic practices and with the application of the latest technology. But even the latest technology couldn’t bridge some of the investigative gaps.
  So, being a technologist, I imagined new technologies that are not currently in existence or considered highly experimental. The joys of fiction!
  One of the technologies I created was a digital fabric analysis via photo analytics, not unlike the technique used when a clothing fiber is found at the murder scene. In this case, it is digitally identified and deconstructed from photos or surveillance tapes. In BRIGHT MIDNIGHT, this allowed the FBI to identify the fabric type, the manufacturer, and the possible retail outlet and time period. Ultimately it is narrowed to a retail location, where access to surveillance video identified a key person of interest in the story.
  Another imagined technology was the use of a virtual crime scene simulator that created life-size holographic murder scenes from the original crime scene photos. Extremely graphic, these allowed a unique 3-dimensional recreation of the murder scene that could be simulated and alternative scenarios tested in order to try to isolate and confirm or contest the original investigation findings. Additionally, 3-D printed life-size component parts could be made from the holographic images, allowing an external physical examination of the body or areas of interest at the crime scene. Both technologies sound like they could be possible in the future, so their application in BRIGHT MIDNIGHT as current advanced forensic technologies used by the Behavioral Analysis Unit in Quantico seems realistic.
  One thing that proved key to creating unique murder devices and creative delivery mechanisms were actually the autopsies themselves combined with the limited forensic techniques used at that time. That combination allowed me to envision a much wider set of possible murder options than I could have otherwise. For example: I was able reverse engineer possible chemical causes of some of the murders by accumulating a list of all the possible drugs/chemicals that would leave the chemical traces identified in the original autopsy. Then I brainstormed the possible undetectable delivery vehicles at that time. The result was shocking but possible murder scenarios.
  I included the application of the massive computer capability of big data analytical platforms and applications that could be used to stitch disparate data bases together and create unique analytical insights to help guide the investigation. It could also compare patterns of behavior as to possible motivations based on historical multiple-killing behavioral patterns.
  The result of this melding of modern forensic techniques, imagined future technologies, and advanced analytics with old fashioned investigative gut instincts created a unique, fictional rock-and-roll murder mystery that brings the craft of thriller writing to the genre for the first time.
  Chris Formant

• Reading Frenzy - http://thereadingfrenzy.blogspot.com/2016/11/interview-with-chris-formant-bright.html

  QUOTED: "The myth of 27 has been around for a long time and has provoked a number of urban legends, hippie mythologies and conspiracy theories. But nothing that re-imagines the deaths as serial murders. And nothing that views them through a twenty-first century forensic lens."
  "I started my background research not expecting to find any inconsistencies or material flaws in how the deaths had been characterized. I just wanted some facts for my fictional novel. But candidly, once I started juxtaposing what could have motivated murders with the flimsy to non-existent autopsies and investigations, I believe that if they occurred today, more comprehensive murder investigations may have been launched."

  November 9, 2016
  Overview:
  Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones, Jim Morrison, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, Peter Ham—all of them iconic rock stars, all of them dead at age twenty-seven. How could a group of great musicians all die at the same age? All evidence points to the deaths being unrelated, but were they really?
  Gantry Elliot is a relic of rock and roll era still writing for Rolling Stone magazine—covering “classic” rock and roll and struggling for relevance in the age of hip-hop and electronic dance music. Even though he’s an encyclopedia of music trivia, Gantry can’t compete with the new kids on the block and is now reduced to watching the clock tick down on his once dynamic career. But Gantry’s vast knowledge may be the only thing that can unravel the Myth of 27.
  When anonymous packages start showing up at his office and then his home, Gantry initially shrugs them off as another Myth of 27 conspiracy nerd trying to get attention. As the clues became more intimate, more personal, more sinister, he realizes this is not a game: someone knows the truth, and the truth may put Gantry’s life in serious danger.
  Aptly called, "The Da Vinci Code for rock and roll fans,” author Chris Formant has written a terrific debut novel that creatively and deftly takes readers on a dangerous cold case hunt to uncover the mystery behind these deaths. Truth or fiction, lies or conspiracy, 'Bright Midnight' will keep you guessing until its final chorus.

  Read an excerpt:

  CHAPTER 1
  PART ONE

  10 PM, November 17, 1967
  Reading, England

  The opening chord exploded like a thunderclap, silencing the raucous late night crowd in a nanosecond as it reverberated off the walls and ceiling, almost shaking the beer and wine glasses off the flimsy cocktail tables.
  Nearly every head snapped toward the stage in unison straining to see, through the smoky club atmosphere, just who was playing with such power and precision.
  The unmistakable dominant seventh sharp ninth chord of "Purple Haze" and the tamed fuzz buster distortion could only announce the arrival of Jimi Hendrix.
  The crowd went wild and surged toward the stage.
  Only this was not Hendrix.
  This otherworldly sound was coming from a scraggly teenager with a forty-year-old whiskey voice.
  He moved effortlessly from hard rock to sing-along English folk ballads, the crowd silenced as he channeled the best of Hendrix, then segued to the Beatles, then Stones, then his own catchy songs.
  They were in awe as he played with their emotions, drawing them in and twisting them around his finger with each song.
  He owned the room full of stylish mods and black leather rockers and everyone instinctively knew that this kid and his group from Wales were destined to explode onto the music scene.
  He was good. Really good.
  Unfortunately, he was too good for the record company representative in the audience, who stormed out before they were even finished. Wheezing and coughing, he hurriedly waded through the Vespa scooters, past the Norton and Triton motorcycles, to the beaten up old red phone booth on the edge of the parking lot. Gasping, he leaned against the phone booth and pulled out his inhaler and took two deep breaths.
  Calming himself, he dialed a familiar number. "Boss," he said slowly, "we have a big fucking problem ..."

  Present Day
  Rolling Stone Magazine Offices, NYC
  Early Afternoon
  "No one's gonna give a shit about where we place the Rock Hall piece," the new staffer curtly commented. "Our readers don't really follow stuff like that anymore. The latest focus groups suggest that we need more current and diverse material, like EDM ... or Electronic Dance Music, for you Gantry." The new staffer condescendingly looked at the older men, and went on. "Grammy's, yes. Oscars, yes. But our readers weren't even alive when most of these groups were popular. Maybe the AARP might be interested?"
  The young staffer laughed at his joke.
  Gantry stared at the staffer with a perplexed expression, like a spoiled teenager. Alex sat back and rolled his eyes. He knew what was coming next.
  "Young man, do you know the derivation of the metered heartbeat, the backbone of EDM?" Gantry asked in a slow Texan drawl as the smiling staffer shook his head. "It was introduced by Greg Errico, the drummer for Sly and the Family Stone. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. One of the most influential drummers in rock history."
  The kid sunk down in his chair as Gantry continued.
  "It's the basis for much of Rock, Funk, Hip Hop, and EDM ... electronic dance music for us old timers."
  Alex smirked at Gantry.
  A soft knock on the glass conference door interrupted Gantry's lecture. It was Dave Grohl of The Foo Fighters. In awe of the rocker that they'd idolized since they were young, the staff jumped up as if the president of the United States had walked in the room.
  "Hey Alex, sorry to barge in, but I'm in town for a show at the Garden and thought I'd stop by and say hello," he explained as he stuck his head in.
  "Anytime," Alex responded as he introduced the rocker to his staff. They were star struck.
  "And here's the MAN," Grohl exclaimed when he spotted Gantry, and ran over to shake his hand.
  "Hey, can I ask you a question?" Alex interjected, "Do you know Greg Errico?"
  "You've got to be kidding! He's one of my idols ... the father of modern drumming. I learned to play by imitating him. Why do you ask?"
  "Ah, no reason. No reason at all." Satisfied, Alex slyly glanced over at Gantry, who couldn't help but smile.

  Gantry Elliot was a tough son of a bitch, but always fair, and much smarter than his appearance let on. Now at age sixty-five, he looked as out of place working in Rolling Stone's Manhattan offices as "a centipede at a toe-tappin' contest," a term he liked to use in the rare instances when the opportunity presented itself. His well-worn, dark crocodile cowboy boots were always propped on his desk when he was deep in thought. He'd come a long way since leaving Irving, Texas, but Gantry never lost the boots. They meant home to him.
  He had joined Alex Jaeger, Rolling Stone's publisher, more than four decades earlier. He was a wunderkind when he first came on in the late sixties — a smash investigative reporter — but now he was just a relic to the rest of the staff. Holding the title of "Classic Rock Editor," Gantry had been relegated to commenting on rock & roll stars, writing the occasional article on the "classic" era, or reviewing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony every April. Though he tried to pitch substantial stories, lately he had been shut out of every promising lead. Frustrated, he seldom left his back office.

  Gazing out the window at the bright rays of morning sun over the East River, Gantry made his first cup of strong coffee and settled in for the day. He'd been thinking about his life lately. Turning sixty-five tends to focus a man on what's important, what he's accomplished, how he'll be remembered. He tried not to dwell on the writing opportunities he was losing to younger staffers, but it nevertheless ate at him, as his boredom grew month after month.
  After taking a large gulp of coffee, and with little else to do, he began to reorganize his file drawers which were filled with stories dating back to 1968. Occasionally, Gantry liked to read his old copy to remind himself he really was a writer. He pulled out an article, dated July 1999–skimming the coffee stained paper, his eyes softened as he read the opening words.

  I believe we are moving toward a new age in ideas and events. Astrologically, we are at the end of the Pisces Age ... soon to begin the Age of Aquarius, in which events as important as those at the beginning of Pisces are likely to occur. There is a young revolution in thought and manner about to take place.
  — Brian Jones
  It all came rushing back to him as the words triggered memories of a time when a new form of music filled the air. The unusual blended dissonance of sitar and guitar was still fresh in his mind. He could almost hear it ... Inspired by creative bands, a devoted following of avid disciples actively searched the music and lyrics for the signposts and symbols of peace and love. A new musical religion emerged. It was truly the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.
  Gantry's adrenaline started pumping, remembering the familiar hum and feel of the perfect keyboard of his beat up IBM Selectric 11 typewriter — the little golf ball whirling and punching the paper ... he sped through the old article.
  Juxtaposing this free love culture was the "us vs. them" militaristic stance of the government and local authorities. Musicians, singers, poets, and songwriters became enemies of the state. It became almost a form of "rock and roll McCarthyism."
  Damn fine quote, he thought to himself. Then, smugly, These fucking Millenials can't write four sentences in a row without adding a link to Wikipedia. His eyes lingered on the page, and with a sharp cold inhale of his breath, he felt the tragic reminder of the untimely death of a great artist ...
  Because of an unwritten code, when a rock & roll star suddenly died, generally of what was called "excess" (drugs and alcohol), investigations were grossly inadequate and superficial, leading to wild speculations and urban legends that have persisted over time.
  Then darting to the conclusion, he recalled rewriting the last line about sixty times. It was a killer line ... worth a Pulitzer.
  "Electricity was in the air. Everything was in a state of upheaval and chaos. It was reflected, even inspired by the music. It was a renaissance."
  Suddenly his office door swung open
  — a major affront and an unpleasant surprise. No one ever came into his office without knocking first. Who the hell was this?
  His heavy boots hit the floor with a thud as he looked up at the tri-colored, spike-haired kid standing before him.
  "Hey, Mr. Artifact-oh!" the kid said in an irritating voice, with a heavy emphasis on the last syllable. The kid had called him this once before, and Gantry had told him if he ever did it again, he'd find his multicolored head on a spike.
  "What the fuck do you want, rainbow head?" Gantry retorted, turning back to his computer as if busy with something important.
  Rainbow head was the first thing that had popped into his mind, and he wished he'd been cleverer. Of course now, seconds later, he could think of at least ten good retorts. Perhaps something about the large black plug that was stretching the kid's earlobe to the size of a quarter. "Ubangee freak" would have worked well.
  "Hey, Gantry, I heard you covered the classic-rock show over at St. Agnes Retirement Home last night. Did that Beatles cover band really drive up in a paisley, psychedelic VW Microbus?"
  The kid waited, his left hand propping him up in the doorjamb, his right hand fingering the plug in his ear.
  "I told you what I would do if you ever called me that again, you little Ubangee freak," Gantry said without turning, his fingers working his keyboard, typing xjglskpg fstxpmonc, fhghfkdl, xtufrohpzzid.
  "Yeah, yeah," the kid murmured, knowing when to quit.
  When the kid finally left, Gantry had to get up and close his door again — they never did, another sign of youthful disrespect. But he had to smile as he sat back down, thinking of all the shit he pulled during the halcyon days of the late sixties and early seventies back in Texas and, later, in the magazine's home office in San Francisco.
  What a trip that place had been. Especially Haight-Ashbury. What these kids do now pales in comparison. With Alex as the ringleader, it was as if the inmates had taken over the asylum.

  "Did you know there is a town in Texas called Useless?" Gantry had opened his unsolicited query to Rolling Stone with what he thought was a little-known fact about his home state.
  He was a college junior living in Austin, and Buddy Holly was a favorite of his. Holly was a Texan from Lubbock and was later one of the original inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Together, Holly and the Hall of Fame comprised Gantry's two favorite subjects.
  He knew back in 1968 that Alex, and by extension Rolling Stone, shared his interests because Alex's thoughts permeated those pages, and Gantry had read every word. He wanted desperately to get published in Rolling Stone because it was the only magazine of its kind. Nothing before or since compared, and with only five issues out that first year, getting into it would be like winning a Pulitzer.
  He poured himself another cup of coffee, remembering with a silent laugh the way Alex had responded to the grabber line in his query.
  Gantry had proposed a creative and unusual sort of obituary for Buddy Holly in his query letter. It would be a post-epitaphic, wherein he would write something about Holly, that had been whispered, but never written about: the possibility that the plane crash that killed him, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. Richardson, the Big Bopper, might not have been an accident.
  Gantry's letter had caught Alex's eye.
  Why not? He thought.
  Alex responded to Gantry with a surprise phone call. On that day, Gantry had been engaged in a protest and was working on a report about it, which he'd hoped to sell. As a student he was so poor that he was living on whatever leftover condiments were still in the refrigerator and visiting hotel happy-hour bars three nights a week for free buffets. He had perfected the art of ordering one beer and nursing it until he'd had his fill of appetizers.
  So when Alex called that day, Gantry was speechless. When the voice on the other end of the line said, "Hello, is Gantry Elliot there? This is Alex Jaeger calling from Rolling Stone," his hands began to tremble.
  "Shit," he remembered saying, covering his mouth too late to grab back the word he had now flung out into the world and into Alex's holy ear. This was the man. This was Rolling Stone magazine. He could barely breathe as he pulled himself together, the receiver in his left hand, a cowboy boot in the other — he'd been caught dressing.
  "Uh, umm, yes, this is Gantry Elliot," he said.
  "Got your note. Do you know you spelled 'Euless' wrong?" It's "you less," he said phonetically. "Not useless." This became a running joke for years.
  Before Gantry could reply, Alex laughed and said, "That's okay. I like your idea about Buddy Holly's plane crash. I like it a lot. I'd like to talk to you about it."
  Gantry didn't know how to respond. He was paralyzed. Not only was he talking to the publisher of the country's premier rock magazine, but said publisher liked his idea a lot.
  He took a deep breath and got into gear. "Yes. I'd like that. I'd like that very much. You're in San Francisco, aren't you?" He tried to sound worldly, having never been out of Texas.
  "Yep. Give me your address and I'll send you an airline ticket. Next Monday okay with you?"
  A meeting tonight in a woodshed would be just fine. Are you kidding?
  Gantry closed his eyes and savored the memory. So many years had passed since then.
  The respect and admiration cut both ways. Alex knew that first month that he'd found a diamond in the rough. Gantry's obsession with the integrity of the music, his detail-oriented stories and his creativity were the perfect complement to Alex's tough-minded business style.

  One of his Hendrix favorites was softly drifting out of his vintage Emerson radio ... "There must be some kind of way out of here said the joker to the thief ..." Hendrix's cover of Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower," voted the best cover of all time. So good that Dylan was now covering Hendrix's cover in his concerts.
  Bam!
  A loud thud awakened Gantry, who, despite multiple cups of coffee, had dozed off, his feet up on his desk, his disheveled salt-and-pepper hair scattered across his face. Anyone passing by might have thought he was just in a state of deep concentration. A shard of bright sunlight had filled his office through his east-facing window, pouring across his dark, old oak desk and illuminating a credenza, a worn brown-leather couch, and a bookcase filled with old LPs.
  The afternoon mail had arrived, as always, piled in a cardboard box on his side of the wall, under a small opening he'd asked maintenance to cut so the mail boy could leave it without disturbing him. Glancing over, he saw that the envelopes were piled higher than usual, a sign that it was time to rummage through a week's worth of unread mail. He did it in a hurry, giving only a passing glance to most of it as he fanned through the envelopes, promptly trashing them.
  Rarely did anything catch his interest. He figured, as he did with his e-mails, that if something was important enough, it would resurface or someone would call to follow up. He was known to ignore e-mails for weeks, and then just clear out his inbox and let it start all over, which drove his colleagues crazy. But what they hated more was the fact that he rarely answered his antiquated cell phone, one of the few remaining not-so-smart phones in Manhattan. Only Alex knew how to reach Gantry most of the time, knowing that he would either be in the office, at home, or down at Marty's for an after-work whiskey.
  The sound of mail hitting the bottom of the box was followed by a knock on the door.
  "Yeah, what is it?" he yelled out.
  "Mr. Elliot. There is one more package. It's too big for the slot. Someone left it downstairs at the mail room counter."
  Gantry swiveled around and opened the door and took the large manila envelope from the boy. As he began to close the door, he could hear the kid muttering sarcastically as he walked away, "Thank you Dustin, for picking up the package for me."
  Gantry took the envelope to his desk and grabbed a letter opener out of a coffee cup. The opener was lethal looking, with a sharp blade and a heavy knob on the top embossed with a black-and-white skull and crossbones; a gift from Keith Richards for a favorable review of his solo album back when Richards and Jagger were having problems.

  (Continues...)

  Chris welcome to The Reading Frenzy, I LOVED Bright Midnight and even though I am a boomer who rocked along with Morrison, Joplin, Hendrix, and the rest I know this novel will appeal to readers and rockers of all ages.

  So tell my readers how on earth the Senior Vice President & Global President of Verizon Enterprise Solutions in his day job came to write this amazing story?
  One evening, I was walking through my rock memorabilia gallery, with The Doors music in the background, and I stopped to study my latest addition: a two-page article in the Record Mirror from 1964 announcing a hot new band: The Rolling Stones. What struck me the most was how young they were. Before me was a fresh-faced Keith Richards, a teenaged Mick Jagger, and Brian Jones, the founder of the Stones. Hanging beside them were articles about Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison and The Doors.
  Besides being the soundtrack of my youth, there was something else that connected them. Jones, Hendrix and Morrison all died at the age 27 under cloudy circumstances, had poor to non-existent autopsies with weak investigations of the circumstances. Urban legends and conspiracy theories have swirled around their deaths for almost 50 years.
  An idea got in my head at just that moment that I couldn’t shake and kept haunting me for days. What if they didn’t die by accident? What if they all were murdered? I started writing down some ideas, doing a little background reading and some light research. The more I scratched the surface, the more deeply I got drawn in.
  That is how Bright Midnight got started. A fictional murder mystery that reimagines the deaths of iconic late ‘60s and ‘70s rock stars, not as accidents but as murders.

  I did a lot of googling during the read and have to admit that I’d never heard of the “myth of 27” or realized that we lost all those icons at the same age or that so much had been debated and written about it in the past. After your extensive research for the book, what camp are you in -- accidental/suicide/overdose, something more sinister or the jury’s still out?
  You’re right, Debbie. The myth of 27 has been around for a long time and has provoked a number of urban legends, hippie mythologies and conspiracy theories. But nothing that re-imagines the deaths as serial murders. And nothing that views them through a 21st century forensic lens.
  I started my background research not expecting to find any inconsistencies or material flaws in how the deaths had been characterized. I just wanted some facts for my fictional novel.
  But candidly, once I started juxtaposing what could have motivated murders with the flimsy to non-existent autopsies and investigations, I believe that if they occurred today, more comprehensive murder investigations may have been launched.

  Chris your book is being called “the DaVinci Code for Rock and Roll fans”
  Do you like the comparison?
  I’m very flattered. Bright Midnight is a good story, but I am an average writer and not a Dan Brown. But the suspense, intricate plot and how the murder evidence and forensics build to a crescendo with an unexpected ending, is why some have made that comparison.

  The way you handled your investigation during the novel had a very genuine feel to it. How did you conduct that part of your research?
  First, I gained access to some of the unique information that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has in its archives, including original editor and reporter files on each rock star at the time of their death. These artifacts brought the era to life, and illuminated the weak investigations and adversarial relationships that the rock stars had with the authorities.
  Second, a former senior FBI official and a former FBI investigator, along with a former NYPD investigator, helped me understand the processes and techniques used. But most importantly, they guided me toward the textbooks and modern cold-case investigative techniques that could apply.
  Third, a top neurosurgeon and researcher from Johns Hopkins Medicine helped me interpret the autopsies and suggested alternative means by which the stars could have died physically and chemically, as well the limitations of forensic technical analysis 50 years ago.
  That set the stage for a creative reimaging of the deaths, seen through the lenses of modern forensic practices and with the application of the latest technology. But even the latest technology couldn’t bridge some of the investigative gaps.
  So, being a technologist, I imagined new technologies that are not currently in existence or considered highly experimental. The joys of fiction!

  So now that you’re no longer a “debut” author are you busy thinking of plots and story lines for novel number 2?
  I have been hard at work on my next book, a Revolutionary War fiction. That said, I do have a story line for a follow up to Bright Midnight, if readers want the story to continue!

  Chris thanks so much for taking time out of your incredibly busy schedule to answer my questions. Good luck with the novel! It was unforgettable.

  My Review
  Bright Midnight
  By Chris Formant

  Sex, drugs, rock n roll and a mind-boggling mystery take center stage in this unique, exciting debut by Chris Formant. Using a mesmerizing mix of facts, fiction, urban legend and pop culture he builds a true-crime worthy mystery/thriller from the “myth of 27”, (the untimely death of rock star icons all at the age of 27) in his amazing debut, Bright Midnight. His characters are all award worthy especially his aging reporter star, and his use of hard-boiled investigation techniques keeps the story engaging, reader’s pulses pounding and the pages turning. With Rock N Roll as a constant even using Jim Morrison song lyrics for the title and a Pandora’s box for a plot he brings his audience a riveting extraordinary, keeper shelf, read!
  Gantry Elliot has spent over 40 years writing for Rolling Stone magazine, he’s gone from headliner to at 65 the butt of the younger writer’s jokes and is wondering if its time to hang up his credentials. When he starts receiving anonymous packages containing “clues” that the rock n roll legends all who died at 27 didn’t die from their addictions but were in fact murdered he thinks he may be onto something big. He knew all of these infamous rockers some intimately and he wants this story more than he wants his next breath so now he just has to convince his boss to let him pursue it and convince the FBI to investigate it. No problem!

  Connect with Chris - Facebook - Twitter

  Meet Chris:From his early “garage band’ days, to a seat on the Board of Trustees of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Chris Formant has been a student of rock and roll his whole life.A collector of rock memorabilia and an avid reader of rock histories, he has absorbed the stories of rock legends in much the same way as his lead character, Gantry Elliot, in Bright Midnight.As an executive in a leading global company, running a multi-billion dollar business, Formant is the unlikeliest of authors of a murder mystery.But the continued unanswered questions surrounding the deaths of our most iconic rock legends led Formant to first speculate and then re-imagine what would happen if cutting edge technology were applied to these famous cold cases.Doing his own research into the archives of the Hall of Fame, studying advanced forensics techniques and gaining creative insights from top doctors, FBI investigators and a former editor of Rolling Stone Magazine, Formant crafted what is being referred to as the “Da Vinci Code for Rock and Roll Fans”.

QUOTED: "Conspiracy buffs and classic rock fans should enjoy Formant's exhaustive knowledge of his subject."

Bright Midnight
Publishers Weekly. 263.38 (Sept. 19, 2016): p53.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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Bright Midnight

Chris Formant. Astor + Blue, $16.95 trade paper (275p) ISBN 978-1-941286-92-0

In this provocative if rather labored first novel, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame trustee Formant explores the early deaths of Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and other rock stars of the past. At the Manhattan office of Rolling Stone magazine, veteran reporter Gantry Elliot starts to receive anonymous messages with assertions of murder and tantalizing clues that only an insider might have. The first, about Jones, gets Gantry thinking about the so-called Myth of 27--the age that so many performers died. Convinced that there may be something to the story, Gantry takes it to Rolling Stone publisher Alex Jaeger, record expert Dennis Briganty, and FBI agent Raphael Melendez. Identifying and locating the anonymous tipster prove difficult. Eventually, other agencies get involved in reexamining these very cold cases, which heat up considerably as they become active homicide investigations. Conspiracy buffs and classic rock fans should enjoy Formant's exhaustive knowledge of his subject and the possible threads connecting Myth of 27 victims. (Nov.)

QUOTED: "Considering that it is author Chris Formant's debut as a novelist, Bright Midnight is an exceptionally compelling and consistently engaging read from beginning to end."

Bright Midnight
Internet Bookwatch. (Nov. 2016):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com
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Bright Midnight

Chris Formant

Astor + Blue Editions

9781941286920, $16.95, PB, 275pp, www.amazon.com

Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones, Jim Morrison, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, Peter Ham - all of them iconic rock stars, all of them dead at age twenty-seven. How could a group of great musicians all die at the same age? All evidence points to the deaths being unrelated, but were they really? Gantry Elliot is a relic of rock and roll era still writing for Rolling Stone magazine covering "classic" rock and roll and struggling for relevance in the age of hip-hop and electronic dance music. Even though he's an encyclopedia of music trivia, Gantry can't compete with the new kids on the block and is now reduced to watching the clock tick down on his once dynamic career. But Gantry's vast knowledge may be the only thing that can unravel the Myth of 27. When anonymous packages start showing up at his office and then his home, Gantry initially shrugs them off as another Myth of 27 conspiracy nerd trying to get attention. As the clues became more intimate, more personal, more sinister, he realizes this is not a game: someone knows the truth, and the truth may put Gantry's life in serious danger. Considering that it is author Chris Formant's debut as a novelist,"Bright Midnight" is an exceptionally compelling and consistently engaging read from beginning to end. While very highly recommended for community library Mystery/Suspense collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Bright Midnight" is also available in a Kindle format ($7.99).

• Screamer
  http://screamermagazine.com/reviews/done-bright-midnight-chris-formant/
  Word count: 520

  QUOTED: "This book will draw you in and may even have you starting your own research into what might actually have happened to these young musicians. Formant does a great job of raising questions and proposing possible answers."
  "This book would look beautiful on any bookshelf."

  BRIGHT MIDNIGHT – Chris Formant
  Posted on October 26, 2016 by Hilary Mahoney

  bright-midnight-300px“They were the voices of Gantry Elliot’s generation- Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison- comets that lit up the sky and disappeared too soon. Elliot longs for the days when rock and roll blazed with fierce originality, even as he struggles to keep up with current trends as an investigative reporter for Rolling Stone. Still, it was a comfortable living, until someone started sending him anonymous packages containing cryptic notes and eye-popping revelations. As the packages grow more urgent and frightening, Elliot is forced to confront a terrifying possibility-could someone be behind the deaths of these music legends? With the help of the FBI, he follows the trail, which might lead to copycat murders, a serial killer- or something even worse.”

  So reads the description of Chris Formant’s new book Bright Midnight. Focused on members of the “27 Club” (musicians that died at the age of 27), this book follows Gantry Elliot as he leads the investigation into these cases from years ago. Gantry, a writer for Rolling Stone, has been with the magazine since the days these stars were in their prime, and may have had some close relationships with them as well.

  This book is a very entertaining read. For one, there are “cameos” from people such as Dave Grohl and Lenny Kravitz. Things keep popping up-little snippets of information or names of people that may be involved- that will have the reader running to Google to see if that might be true or if that person really existed. These deaths have long been the subject of conspiracy theories as well as simple disbelief that the deaths were as cut and dry as they were reported to be, and though this is a work of fiction, it does raise valid questions.

  Author Chris Formant is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Board of Trustees. His bio states that he conducted exhaustive research into the archives of the Hall of Fame, which leaves us to wonder what kind of secrets might be hiding in those archives. He has also clearly researched current forensic techniques and there is no question he knows his stuff. The beautiful cover art is by legendary Fillmore poster artist, David Singer.

  This book will draw you in and may even have you starting your own research into what might actually have happened to these young musicians. Formant does a great job of raising questions and proposing possible answers. Although this is a work of fiction based on true events, believe me, you will start to question your beliefs about these stories. Definitely a great book-beautiful cover art as well! This book would look beautiful on any bookshelf!

• Mystery Maven Blog
  http://www.mysterymavenblog.com/american-mysteries/bright-midnight-by-chris-formant
  Word count: 548

  QUOTED: "Bright Midnight is an inventive read sure to please those who are nostalgic for the Age of Aquarius and its rock legends and those who enjoy speculating on conspiracy theories such as the 'Myth of 27.'"

  Chris Formant is a life-long student of classic rock and roll and a collector of rock memorabilia. He holds a seat on the Board of Trustees of the Rock and Role Hall of Fame in Cleveland. “Bright Midnight” is his first novel and it will be a crowd-pleaser for all the baby boomers who love classic rock and all those conspiracy theorists who believe in the “Myth of 27.”

  For the uninitiated, the “Myth of 27” hypothesizes that there is simply too much coincidence around the fact that so many rock stars, and particularly during the height of rock and roll post-Woodstock, died of mysterious causes at the age of 27– too many for it to simply be coincidence. While Formant’s work is fiction, he has thoroughly researched each of the artists who died within a few years of each other in the late 1960s and early 1970s including Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Ron McKernan, Peter Ham, Jim Morrison, Brian Jones and Al Wilson. Formant uses modern forensic analysis techniques to combined with clues from research of memorabilia and historical records to pose plausible explanations as to why all these deaths were not just accidental deaths or suicides, and how they were related. Certain sinister aspects of the rock and roll record industry seem to have doomed some of the more rebellious and independent artists to short lives.

  The protagonist is a classic rock editor for Rolling Stone, Gantry Elliot. He is an aging “has been” struggling to keep up with the the changes in rock music until he begins to receive anonymous tips about the rock stars of the 1960s and 1970s who all died at age 27. The tipster maintains that all of these artists were murdered and presents clues with each package to support the claim. By the time Gantry has received several of these packages he takes the evidence to the head of the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit who, after expressing initial doubts, decides to take on the cold cases and involves associates in Scotland Yard and the French National Police to take the lead on solving the deaths that occurred within their jurisdictions. Gantry involves his boss, the editor of Rolling Stone and eventually gains his full support.

  There are fascinating details about the music industry, and modern day forensics. It turns out that as good as technical forensics is now, old-fashioned interviewing of former associates of the dead and people who might shed light on the commonalities between all of the victims is what actually breaks the case. The closer Gantry gets to breaking some of these cases, the more dangerous the international crime thriller gets for Gantry and the people who open up to him and the FBI.

  “Bright Midnight” is an inventive read sure to please those who are nostalgic for the Age of Aquarius and its rock legends and those who enjoy speculating on conspiracy theories such as the “Myth of 27.”

  Reviewed from a supplied copy.

  Liz Nichols