Today we’d like to introduce you to Vincent Veloso.
Hi Vincent, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I graduated from Ridgewood High School, Ridgewood, NJ, where I enjoyed doing many of the arts/music activities there; marching band, jazz band, region band, wind ensemble, sax quartet downtown for the holidays, New Players pit orchestra.
I completed my undergrad, studying music at NYU with Frank Foster, Vincent Herring, George Garzone, Kenny Werner and many other amazing instructors. As a professional saxophonist, I toured around the world with bands like the Venezuelan band King Chango and Pacha Massive. I made recordings and albums with many varied artists. The longest tenure is with M’lumbo, 27 years performing and recording with great band mates and guest musicians including Jane Ira Bloom, Page Hamilton and Gary Lucas.
I got into acting when my singer-actress friend Margarita Monet, the current lead singer of Edge of Paradise, was trying out for a commercial and asked if I could play bass accompaniment on it. I had taught 15 different instruments and music theory at the Academy of Music of Ramapo College, From the Top Music, The Crimson Kings Drum Corps, and privately, so, yes, I could help out on bass. We didn’t get cast, but I was introduced to my first acting agent.
I did parts in commercials, TV and films, eventually joining SAG-AFTRA. It led to more co-star, supporting roles and stunts in films and TV , as I had studied different martial arts at the Self-Defense Company, and had picked up some weapons and firearms training. From there, I got into writing-producing-directing. I created the supernatural cop show “Changelings” which ran on Amazon Prime with Eric Roberts, Catherine Curtin, Karlee Perez, Stormi Maya, Jacob Berger and Lauren Francesca in the cast, and produced and directed several short films. I’ve been a juror in The Big Apple Film Festival, The Ridgewood International Film Festival, and The NYC Indie Film Festival for several years now. I did voice-over work on different productions including “#Matter” with Snoop Dog and Haley Joel Osment, and “What happened in Skinner” which had been named Spotify’s top 5 best new audio dramas.
Over the last 5 years I have co-written 5 feature film scripts and 5 music albums. “Half Broods” written by Vincent Veloso & Anthony Miller was awarded U.K . Page Turner awards WINNER best screenplay: Paranormal & Supernatural Genre and “The Old Brood”, by Vincent Veloso & Matt Meinsen, made quarterfinalist in The Big Apple Film Festival.
Currently, I am co-writing an episodic compendium and a novel, as well as another feature film script. I am also still acting, auditioning, writing and making music. Last year, I acted in “Pointing Fingers,” a feature film written by Daniel Bergmann and directed by Michael Bergmann, in Lawrence, Massachusetts, as Detective Crimp, as well as “Bug” by Pratima Mani ( writer on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert). I voice acted on the “Midnight Caller” podcast series as Officer Fernandez in 2 episodes of “The Skinwalker,” set in New Mexico, by Scott Marcano (diablocomics.com.) It has been a fulfilling and challenging journey so far.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have been many obstacles and challenges in each endeavor, too many to mention. Different financial hardships in creation of productions, physical injuries in martial arts training , burnout, imposter syndrome, and a slew of self doubts at times, those come to mind. But it’s not what happens, it’s how you respond that matters. We all get knocked down, but we just have to get back up somehow. Adapt, improvise, overcome. Find a way, make a way.
The odds of being cast as an actor can be astronomical. I’ve been on the opposite side of the casting table. For example, I put out a casting release on a project and for one role I had received 4000+ submissions from agents, managers, and individual actors. Eventually, only one person gets cast. I know this as I go through my own numbers every year as well that for X amount of submissions, you might be called to do a self tape or in person audition Y number of times. If you book, great, but if you don’t book, that’s fine too because you aren’t just auditioning for the current listing giving them options, you are doing it for your own training and also for possible auditions with the same casting offices in the future. You miss 100% of the shots that you don’t take.
A mentor said to me that many times, often times, “The obstacle is the way” and that in order for an arrow to fly to the target it must be drawn back in the bow with enough tension and force and released in order to propel it forward. Stumbling blocks are stepping stones and within every adversity is the seed of a greater benefit.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc ?
I am a writer-producer-director, actor and musician. The writing and co-writing I’ve done for feature film scripts and different series has been known to have a supernatural-thriller vibe and flavor. As an actor I’m known to have portrayed lots of cops, detectives and sometimes darker characters in shows like “Daredevil” and “Doomsday,” and as a voice actor in the cartoon “Ethan Art Venture” and several award winning dramatic podcast series. I’m also known for being a musician, a world touring sax player/multi-instrumentalist and a teacher for decades.
What are you most proud of?
I’m most proud of the things created with friends, family and colleagues over the decades, shows like Changelings and music created with King Chango, Pacha Massive and M’lumbo and many others. As a music teacher, I was proud of seeing my students learn and progress and perform on stages and on the field for Drum Corps events.
What sets you apart from others?
I’m paraphrasing this, but the great saxophonist Wayne Shorter mentioned that the difference between he and John Coltrane was how they (musically) “scrambled the eggs.” The stories I write and the music and the acting performances I do are a reflection of all the experiences in my life (e.g. music and life experiences, and my Filipino-American heritage, martial arts training insights, etc) So what sets me apart from others would be how I scramble the proverbial eggs, with some adobo and pancit.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
The 1980’s were a great time to be a child growing up. There were so many iconic movies, shows, toys and music that came out in that era. So anything Star Wars, Batman, Transformers, Aliens, GI Joe were pretty fun to have fun playing and pretending with friends would be favorite memories. That, and family vacations. All those experiences definitely are still part of my storytelling reservoir.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://vincentveloso.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/vincent.veloso
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/vincentmveloso
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vincentveloso/
- Twitter: https://x.com/vinceveloso
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@vincentmveloso
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/mlumbo
- Other: https://imdb.me/vincentveloso
Image Credits
James Ciccone, @Sincerely Doe, Xavmax Multimedia, Matt Meinsen, Anthony Miller, M’lumbo
