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

Hi John, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

My most meaningful project is my most current one. Indie Soul Journeys is a television music docuseries that chronicles the personal and professional lives of independent soul music artists from around the country. I began this project in 2014 when I was fan of all of these artists within the indie soul community and believed they were worthy of a much bigger platform to showcase their talents and their artistry. ISJ is meaningful to me because it was born out of my love for the music and the art these perfromers created. It was, and has been, a pure labor of love to bring these artists to the attention of music fans who might nothave otherwise known about them, if not for Indie Soul Journeys.

John, 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?

MY BIO – Storytelling can be defined as the social and cultural activity of sharing an account of events for the purpose of entertaining, educating, and instilling moral or cultural values. Stories define who we are and allow us to resonate with the similarities we have with others or learn about what makes us different. John Jointer’s story is one of unexpected achievements, persistence, plus a life-long passion for music and the fascinating narratives that shape the harmonies we love.
Nothing about John’s story, which starts with being born to a 14-year-old mother and 15-year-old father, is typical. As a child, John was drawn to music. But if you think pop music and a young Michael Jackson and were his favorites, you’d be wrong. John’s first music love… jazz. John listened to countless hours of Sarah Vaughn and Nat King Cole, his favorite artists as a child. Of course, having a close relationship with his grandparents was most certainly instrumental in fueling John’s distinguished and mature musical tastes. His passion for storytelling and filmmaking was awakened in his 20’s by Robert McKee’s book, Story, which is a screenwriter’s bible. It helped him fall in love with the craft of filmmaking.
Fast forward 20 years and the spark to create a film was re-ignited as John got involved in a promotional effort for the record launch for independent band, Innosphere. Working on that project exposed John to the fascinating world unique to indie artists. It also connected him to radio and PR folks while in New York City attending an annual Indie Soul Mixer event. As a younger man, he didn’t complete the requisites at Xavier University to earn his degree, but John drew upon innate tenacity, determination, and ingenuity to study the fundamentals and elements of filmmaking from available resources such as online classes, articles, experienced filmmakers and books. He also knew the importance of surrounding himself with people who could open doors with music and film connections, so John rolled his sleeves up and went to work, making his circle of music and film influencers as wide as a coastal horizon.
Armed with a promoter that supported his film dream and had countless independent artist connections, a production company–3919 Filmworks–whose name pays homage to the modest beginnings he considers his badge of honor and an unyielding drive, John began creating the music documentary and series, Indie Soul Journeys. Crooner and indie superstar, Eric Roberson, saw John’s zeal for this project and was all in. Eric is just as passionate about sharing little-known stories of the independent artist community, a select group of talented individuals who made a conscious decision to sing on their own terms, not a record company’s.
Indie Soul Journeys brings to light that vocalists and musicians have options. They make their own decisions, they tour how they want, they do the work, the promotion and the scheduling. Each and every day, indie artists make a choice to pursue their passion in a way that nourishes their joy and happiness. They stick together and look out for one another like a real community. It reminds John of the close-knit culture within the housing community he grew up in before society’s ills took hold. Indie music holds a special place in his heart, much like building 3919 of the Robert Taylor Homes.
John pours his love of music into his five children daily and still makes Chicago his home. Indie artists understand, a win for one artist will always help the rest. John hopes his victories, demonstrate to kids from the projects that they are made of winning stock too.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Truth, honesty and a strong passion to tell Our (African- American) stories are at the root of what drives me and my creative journey. There’s a dearth of compelling and honest storytelling that truthfully reflects the myriad of layers within the African American experience, and I feel strongly about bring more of our stories to the world.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Back in 2014, I began this journey towards becoming a filmmaker and storyteller, I had no formal filmmaking experience and no financial backing to fund my vision. So, I knew that I would have to invest in myself and my vision in order to make this a reality. So, I gave up my home, my furniture, and all of my belongings except my 12 year old car and two bags of clothes, asked my mother if I could move back into her house so that I could put every single dime I had (save the money that went towards caring for my children) toward financing this project. And, every since that decision, I have continued to put everything I have into making Indie Soul Journeys a reality.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.indiesouljourneys.com