We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Vincent Veloso a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Vincent, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

The first inclination of seriously pursuing a creative/artistic path was in high school.

I am a first generation Filipino-American. A running joke we have is that when you meet a Filipino, they’re probably either a nurse or a musician. I actually had intended to go into the medical profession after high school. However, I’d always been artistically inclined from a young age: singing, music, painting, drawing, movies and films.

I had been playing my saxophone since I was 8 years old and had been good enough to make the middle school and high school jazz bands. Then, I went to a summer jazz band camp at Eastman School of Music my junior year and I encountered great music, seriously talented musicians, and participated in great concerts and musical experiences. It was enough for me to step in this direction and I’ve been involved in music ever since. That music background was the catalyst into my acting, then producing, directing and screenwriting careers.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a musician, actor, screenwriter, producer and director. I had studied music at New York University and upon graduating, I performed in many international tours with King Chango, headlining the Montreal Jazz Festival, and later with Pacha Massive.

Around that time I also joined M’lumbo with Rob Flatow, who was Luther Vandross’s keyboard player, Jaz Sawyer, Cecil Young, Paul-Alexandre Meurens, and Brian O’Neill. M’lumbo has recorded four more album’s worth of material over the last four years. I’m looking forward to their upcoming releases. I’ve made music and performed with these great talented friends, my musical brothers, for 25 years.

I was also free-lance saxophonist in New York, when my friend, singer Margarita Monet (Martirosyan) of the Band “Edge of Paradise” asked if I play bass and accompany her for a commercial audition. Fortunately, I had taught many musical instruments at several music studios and could play, so I said yes. We didn’t get cast, but I was introduced to my first acting agent, the late Anthony Sciviano, and I started auditioning and eventually, I got into SAGAFTRA.

I’ve been fortunate to be on screen with Robert Deniro in the Comedian as his pianist and also to have acted alongside Sean Patrick Flannery, Michael Jai White & Mark Dacascos and doing stuntwork in “Assault on VA-33”, now on The Roku Channel.

I have played cops and detectives in a lot of productions and I am Officer Stevens in the film “Equal Standard” (Amazon Prime) with Ice-T & Treach.

More recently I have been doing more voice acting. I’m grateful to be the cartoon voice of Edward Chin in “Ethan Art Venture” on KWELI TV and Amazon Prime. I joined Snoop Dog, Haley Joel Osment, & the voice cast of the police drama podcast #MATTER on iheartradio and also joined the voice cast of the Ambie award nominee “What Happened in Skinner?”, the thriller, mystery podcast featured as Spotify’s top 5 best new audio dramas.

From acting, I started writing, directing and producing my own shorts and series including a supernatural cop show called “Changelings” with Catherine Curtin and Eric Roberts, which ran on Amazon Prime.

I enjoy writing stories with science fiction, fantasy and horror stories aspects. They are ways to talk about the dark side and the hopes of humanity in ways that can open ideas that may not be easy to talk about otherwise. As an Asian American writer and filmmaker, I strive to make stories that are multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and stories with ideas that can stand alone regardless of gender, age or background

Over the last few years I have co-written several feature film screenplays with Anthony Miller, and also with Matt Meisen that have made honorable mention, quarterfinals and finals in screenwriting contests and festivals, including the Big Apple film festival & Screenplay Competition, Page Turner Awards, ReelHeART International Script Competition, and Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards.

“The Old Brood” by Vincent Veloso & Matt Meinsen
-After a Special forces veteran is murdered at the V.A., the victim’s widow calls on his war buddies to find out who is responsible and avenge his death, which ultimately reveals sinister old wounds and darker secrets.

2024 Big Apple film festival & Screenplay Competition Quarterfinalist

“Half Broods” by Vincent Veloso & Anthony Miller
-A mysterious relative returns with a ring for her niece, attracting a killer cryptid that is obsessed with
resurrecting a malevolent entity.

2024 Page Turner Awards Finalist

“Downsized” Vincent Veloso & Anthony Miller
-The last shift of soon to be laid off workers are mistakenly locked in by a solar storm damaged office A.I. As they unravel bizarre and sinister company secrets, that may save their jobs and their very lives, they must find a way to survive the night, the malfunctioning A.I., and ultimately each other.

2024 Big Apple film festival & Screenplay Competition Honorable Mention

2024 ReelHeART International Script Competition Quarterfinalist

FALL 2023 Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards Quarterfinalist

I enjoy the process, whether on a solo artist or part of creative teams, of taking ideas and transmuting them into music, writing and acting, and then into tangible recordings and productions. I’m looking forward to seeing where this journey continues in my acting, music, screenwriting endeavors with so many great artists, actors, musicians, colleagues and friends..

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

There are many. The ones that come to my mind right now are:

1. “Focal Point” by Brian Tracy
2. “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron
3. “177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class” by Steve Seibold
4. “The Richest Man in Babylon” by George S Clason
5 “Tribe of Mentors” by Tim Ferris
6. “Tools of Titans” by Tim Ferris
7. “Atomic Habits” by James Clear
8 “The Perfect Workweek Formula” by Craig Ballantyne
9 “Mindset” by Carol Dweck
10 “Intent to live” by Larry Moss

A good program to check out: “The Psychology of Achievement” by Brian Tracy

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative artist, both individually and in collaboration with others, is watching the process, the development of a creative endeavor to completion, then seeing it move and affect people.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://vincentveloso.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/vincent.veloso
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/vincentmveloso
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/vincentveloso
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/vinceveloso
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@vincentmveloso
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/vincentveloso
• Other: mlumbo.com
  mlumbo.bandcamp.com
  imdb.me/vincentveloso
  linktr.ee/vincentveloso
  filmfreeway.com/VincentVeloso
  blcklst.com/profile/vincentveloso
  resumes.actorsaccess.com/vincentveloso 
  backstage.com/u/vincentveloso
  800casting.com/profile/115974/492
  .mwatalent.com/talents-men/#model89418
  app.castingnetworks.com/talent/public-profile/vincentveloso

Image Credits

Vincent Veloso, Xavmax Multimedia Productions LLC