We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful David Vega. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with David below.

David , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I guess I can say it all started back when I was a kid. As a child I was always one to dance around the room when music was playing, or I was imitating something funny I was seeing on TV and acting out a funny scene.

I was living in the South Bronx with my Mother and five older siblings. I’m the youngest of six, four older brothers and a sister. We lived in the projects and I shared a room with 2 older brothers. Art and music was always a part of my home life, even from a very young age. I was about 13yrs old at the time, two of my older brothers always like to draw and they were very good, I always studied their drawings and was amazed at how much detail and time they took with it, they both attended “Art and Design High School” in NYC, but for them it was just a hobby. I have always loved drawing and painting and I took after them, but I took things in a different direction in my own life. (More of that in a bit)

My Mother and Father are from Porto Rico and she loved playing music at home, if she wasn’t playing one of her records it was an 8 track, lol. She was at the tail end of hippy era so most of the music was classic rock, bands like The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Jimmy Hendrix, Led Zeppelin just to name a few, or she would be playing classic Big Band music from the USA and Porto Rico. This was just about every Sat and sometimes during the week, so there was no getting away from it, lol but I loved it. I would dance around the room and pretend I was singing the songs. I was always looking at her record collection and pulling out music that I liked, but not only for the music but the cover art as well. It left such an impression on me growing up. I truly feel it molded me into the person I am today.

I was about age 16 and my cousin was spending the summer with us, she had a guitar with her but she didn’t know how to play it. I had a friend at the time that would come by to hang out. He wasn’t really a musician but he did know how to play a few cords on the guitar, so he would always grab it and just play what he knew, not songs, just 3 basic cords. I was always intrigued with what he was doing so one day I told him he needed to show me how to play. He showed me the 3 cords, and it took me a few weeks for my fingers to get use to the pain, but I got it. I was so thrilled with myself that I could play something on the guitar. Latter that year my sister was in College and she was taking an elective music class, in H.S. she played the clarinet and flute but didn’t continue with it, this time she was taking a piano class. One day I saw that she had a work book from school that showed all the basics of playing the piano. I was so excited to just read it, I tried my best to make the connection to the guitar but I didn’t know how to read music or know what notes went where. Now, I knew the holidays were not too far out, and I begged and begged my mother to get me a small electric piano for Christmas. I told her that was all I wanted that year, nothing more, just a small inexpressive Casio piano. She looked at me like I was crazy, but in the end she surprised me and got me one. I was so excited I ran to my room and took out the piano book. Needless to say over that winter break, I taught myself how to play the piano, I have an ear for music so I was able to make the connection with the guitar and the world of music opened up to me. The next year I was able to take my first music class in H.S.

I have always loved rock music and always gravitated to playing it. I think I was about 18, I can’t remember who or when, but one day I heard the song “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” by “The Charlie Daniels Band” but this time it was played with an electric guitar, not a violin. I was so taken back with what I heard, and the idea behind it. In the song the devil challenges a boy to a “play off”, if the boy loses the devil will take his soul but if he wins he will get to take the devils guitar. Well, once the idea of it hit my brain, it changed my life. The boy would be winning the devils guitar… and that’s when it hit me, he would win “Lucifers AXE”. This is how I came up with my band name. In my beginning years of playing music I tried to start up a band with other people, but it never really worked out. Something always got in the way of us playing music. I always keep up with it so over the years I got a drum machine, a Bass guitar and a 4 track recorder and started to record by myself and write songs. Over the years I have completed four albums of all original songs. People always ask me, where we can see you play, but that’s kind of hard when you’re a one man band lol. I am currently working on my filth album. In H.S. I continued to work on my art skills, my art teacher studied at the “School of Visual Arts” in NYC and he had a big influence on me. When I went to college that is the school I went to, I majored in illustration but I ended up working at a Graphic Design firm. I was lucky that I learned the knowledge of art, so I did all of my own album cover artwork.
I always had a dreamed of being in the art or entertainment industry and I feel that a lot of my life skills have naturally taken me in that direction.

David , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

After living in NY until I was in my mid 20’s I decided that I needed a change in my life. I have always Loved NY and everything it had to offer at the time but I felt it was time for a change in my life. NYC was expensive, very fast pace, lots to see and do every day, with ever changing in art and music, but I felt my life going into a different direction and I needed a change. So I moved out to NJ for a short time and lived with my brother, and that is where I first started to record my music. I finally had the time and space to be creative with my music. After recording the first album called CD1 “The Coming”. I felt myself and my surroundings shifting again and I knew that it was time for another change in my life, I felt like I was stuck and needed to do something more. I’m a firm believer in paying close attention to my inner feelings. Some will describe it as an itch or a voice in your head, for me it’s like butterflies in my stomach or a deep inner feeling in the back of my head that talks to me, either way over the years of my life I have learned to pay close attention to it.
After thinking long and hard over things I decided to contact my Brother that lived in Fl. I was looking for work and felt a need to really change my life, emotionally and physically. So I made the long move, I found a job at a retirement home and worked there for about 3 year. It was not something I thought I would be doing but I had a roof over my head, food in the house, money in my pocket and I was still working on my music. At this point I had recorded two other full albums CD2 “Symbiosis” and CD3 “Mausoleum” with a forth in the works that would end up being called CD4 “Mortality”.
Sometimes we have to make choices in life, it’s not always what we want but that’s how life is, ever changing and to survive we have to change with it.
This is the time in my life when I met my partner, and we have been together now for over 23years. At the time I was not looking to be in any kind of relationship, but when we meet, he changed my life. We dated for a short time and I was just head over heels in love, we just clicked. He’s not a musician but he is into the arts and stage work. One day he said “don’t you want something more out of life”, “you’re a talented artist and musician, and your spending it hear, in your room, and not out in the real world”. After talking things over we decided to move in together and my life changed in a way that’s hard to put into words. I had to learn how to “Trust” I had to learn how to “Give of Myself Freely” I had to learn how to be “Honest with Myself” not be afraid to truly “Look in the mirror” and know where I stand in life, how to make the change and how to get to the next level. My partner has always stood by my side, he accepted me when I was finding it hard to except myself.
About 15years ago we were out with some friends one of them, his name was Anthony, told us he knew someone by the name Sean Haitz who was fresh out of HS and was doing an open casting call for a film he was working on. Anthony said he was young but really talented, and had a strong drive and passion for the film industry. After talking with Anthony and explaining we were a bit different and didn’t know how Sean would take to our kind personas, Anthony said he had talked with Sean and let him know all about us. We talked about it and decided to take an afternoon and go to the open casting call, just for fun not knowing this would be a pivotal time in our lives.
He was getting done shooting a film called the “Mangrove Slasher 2” https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2592964/?ref_=tt_mlt_i_2 (there was never a part 1, lol) Now, neither of us are actors, my partner did spend many years on stage as a female impersonator but was now only doing it for charity events, and I have always loved getting dressed up for Halloween and renaissance fairs. (Over the years I have made a lot of outfits for my partner and myself) and my original rock music. We went to the casting call not knowing what to expect, we gave him a Head shot with a short resume about who we are and our talents, my partner being able to impersonate females and I gave him my rock music. Little did we know this was going to be the start of an amazing carrier in the film industry as actors. After a week they called us both up and told us we were both cast in the film and would be playing two crazy Drag Queens (spoiler) who will be killed on the beach, lol. We had a blast working on this first film. Once it was done Sean entered it into the Sarasota Film Festival. Because of my Graphic Design background I helped with making alternate posters for the film and some advertisement to help promote the film. The film was a big success, the Festival added two more showing dates at the “Regal Hollywood – Sarasota” they ended up being all sold out shows, people really liked the quirky 80s vibe the film had, It was funny, crazy, and a total spoof on 80s horror. The following year Sean came to us and told us he had another film he wanted to shoot called “Big Top Evil” https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2596246/ and he really wanted us to be a part of it. We instantly said yes, we had such a good time working with him on the first one and he was willing to fully except us as a gay couple working together. “Big Top Evil” was another successful film, he was able to get “Bill Moseley” to be the headline star acting as “Mr. Kharver” and “J.LaRose” as “Roadside Jake”. I was going to be playing “Bellevue Bob” a crazy clown and my partner would be playing the “8ft Creature Clown”.
After getting done with the shooting the film a few years had passed, we didn’t want to ask Sean too much about the film, this is his project and when the time was right it would come out. (Patience) One day My partner asked me “what do you want to do with the rest of our lives, he said let’s move out to Palm Springs CA, so we decided to move out of FL and go across the country to Palm Springs CA. It had been a lifelong dream of my partner to move out here. So we packed up the house, the two dogs and the cat, got rid of just about everything that really didn’t matter and sold the house. We didn’t know it at the time but Sean had also moved out to Hollywood CA as well, looking to further his film career. One day Sean got in touch with us and told us that “Big Top Evil” was finally coming out on VOD. He was driven and able to get it on most streaming sites like Tubi, Pluto TV, Roku Channel just to name a few. We were so excited, after so much time passing we thought we would never see the finished film.
But that is one of those lessons in life, to have patience, lots and lots of patience, when the time is right the universe gives us what we need, and when we need it.
We just loved how “Big Top Evil” came out, we got to finally see the completed film, and it blow us away. Sean gave us some great news, and he told us that he wanted to shoot another film and had some ideas and would keep us in mind for his next movie. We were shocked and over joyed, after almost eleven years we were going to be back in front of the cameras and this time with leading roles. A few months passed and he reached out again with the big news, the next film is called “Cannibal Comedian” https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11383000/?ref_=tt_mlt_i_2, my partner would be playing “Eleanor” and I would be playing “Sheriff Weaver”. This time Sean got two major starts to be part of the film, two stars from “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” -1974, “Allen Danziger” would be “The Narrator” and “Edwin Neal” would be “Skelly” with us in “Cannibal Comedian”. This time I got to do an original rock song for the film as well called “Cannibal Lust”. Never in my life would I think that I would be fortunate enough to work with people that are considered “Horror Icons” in the film industry.
Over the years we have been very lucky, getting to work with Sean Haitz on so many of his film has been a dream come true. After working on “Cannibal Comedian” We have worked on a few other films together. “Area 5150” https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13728628/?ref_=nm_knf_i_1 still in post-production. We also did a short film called “Bellevue Bob” https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32509141/?ref_=nm_flmg_job_1_cdt_t_1 based off my character in “Big Top Evil”. I’m supper excited that “Bill Moseley” played “Mr. Kharver” again for this film, I did a song for it as well called “I’m Bellevue Bob” that plays for the end credits.
It may sound a bit cliché but I would like people to know if you have a dream or if there is something you truly want in your life it can happen. We have to see it, want it, speak it, know that it’s out there, and work our way to it, that dream you have is there and who knows one day it could be yours. We can’t let life, people, bad thoughts in our head, our own insecurity’s get in the way.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I want people to know they too can live a dream, as a young gay boy growing up in the South Bronx in NYC I have seen a lot, some good and some really bad. I sometimes wish as a young boy I would have seen more people like myself growing up. Sure I didn’t know what it was called at the time but I knew I was different and I felt like the world around me was one that really didn’t want or understand where I was coming from. I know now that I’m older that people like me have always been here from the beginning, living there lives, being an important part of the fabric of history and time. That’s what drives me now, letting people know it’s ok to be you, your true self no matter what life puts before you. We all have dreams, and we have to sometimes fight to make it happen.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I would have to say the time just before I moved to Fl. I was living in NJ, I was unemployed, living with my brother, I tried to find work only to be told I was “over qualified” because I went to college, and I previously worked at a Graphic Design Firm. I tried every place in town and no one would take me. I was at my wits end, I passed the time with recording my first CD but in my mind that really didn’t help. I knew I had to make that change in my life. When I talked with my brother that lived in FL I told him I would do anything for work, I didn’t care what it was. He put the word out and by chance he talked with his coworker about my situation, they knew how despite I was. His coworker asked around and by chance a job came up. I was told, if I can make it down to Fl the following week the job would just about be mine. Now they still wanted me to do an interview and I had to give them my resume. I packed what I could, all my music first (guitar, bass, 4track recorder, all my recordings and every cabal and peace of equipment I could fit in the bag) and some clothing. I left everything ells at my sister’s house in her basement, all my artwork and household things, and took a greyhound bus to FL, It took over 26hr to get there. And the next day I had my interview. I was so nervous, I didn’t know what to expect, I knew once he saw my resume things could change. He read things over and then he looked right at me, “so, why should I give you this job, you could find something that pays way more and be gone in a week” I thought, “here we go again”. I explained that I just wanted a job, I’m a hard worker, I’m dedicated in everything I do, I always give 100 present. I know how to do the job, and the last thing I want is to be a burden on my brother. Now this wasn’t something I truly wanted to do for the rest of my life, but it was work, and that’s what I needed. I was going to be the “in house maintenance man”, not the most glamorous job he biggest plus and I didn’t know this at the time was the job came with a small apartment. I didn’t have to pay rent or electric, I would only have to get a phone but I was going to be on call 24hr a day for two weeks, then I would have a weekend off. I was shocked when he said I got the job, I was so happy. So I slept on the floor for a few weeks, my brother had a sleeping bag and I made the best of it. This is what I needed at the time, and I knew my life would be changing for the better.

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