We were lucky to catch up with Juan Gonzalez recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Juan, thanks for joining us today. What’s been one of the most interesting investments you’ve made – and did you win or lose? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)
My best investment was funding my latest music video Sci-Fi Sam under my stage name Dirty Freaken Joe. It was released in Sept 2023 and has won multiple awards in film festivals all around the world.
I got a role in a upcoming feature film gig called Area 5150 by director Sean Haitz. He casted me a role as a hard core Sci-Fi Sam Show fan which is a podcast in the film. I wrote a little catchy hook for my scene they let me play with and everyone on set loved it. They asked if I could write a whole song and I said challenge accepted. When I finished the song they were all amazed. It was so great I asked permission to make a music video inspired by their movie and even have director Sean Haitz and producer Ryan James make a cameo in the music video.
I funded the whole project myself and assembled a great team including my mother, brother, close friends and actor Brett Wagner and special FX artist Joe Castro.. I’ve won an award for almost everything I invested in from best special FX, best producer, best set design, best editing, best music video and more. This shows my hard work and investment paid off. You get what you pay for.
I have gained a lot of respect from other filmmakers and now being reached out to to be involved in their projects. Stay tuned for upcoming films and projects.
Juan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I started as a musician, I grew up watching my dad play guitar, singing and playing the harmonica. When he passed away, I knew I wanted to continue his footsteps.
I love music, movies and going to concerts which is where I discovered actor Dave Sheridan while performing with his band Van Stone. I had no idea one could be a rockstar and a movie star. Thats where doors opened for me that I myself too can attempt to do both. I continued to follow his band around and hung out with them after the show. Their stage roadie Timothy A. Bennett aka The Hawk kept in touch with me and even helped me shoot my very first music video “Partay” by Dirty Suicide. My band performed in such venues as The Whiskey A Go-Go, The Viper Room, The Knitting Factory, Chain Reaction and even in the Queen Mary being featured as SoCal Top 100 Bands
Eventually my band was put on hiatus, then about a decade later I decided to go solo playing the guitar, bass and doing vocals myself, hiring a drummer. I reached out to Timothy again and we continued to make music videos together, this time I had to fund it all by myself being solo. It was all worth it in the end.
During a meet and greet with Dave Sheridan, he introduced me to actress Felissa Rose who I started to follow after and came across acting opportunities through her story on instgram. I got involved in films she was appearing in and from there I was hooked on looking for movie gigs. From there other directors and filmmakers started reaching out to me to be in their films. Its been a great journey.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect as an artist is the recognition, being recognized for your work. I love when people tell me they loved my music video or when they blast my tunes. It makes it all worth my effort. Im satisfied with that, puts a smile on my face.
Seeing people sing my lyrics, rocking out and even asking to take a picture with me or for an autograph, thats something special only an artist will understand. It warms my heart.
How did you build your audience on social media?
I built my audience on social media by networking. Tagging people and hoping they share your posts and stories. My wife Llesica Gonzalez was a big help. She would vend at horror cons such as Creep I.E, OC Creep It real and other events with her business Janes Earful Creations where I’d help sell her merch at the same time promote any projects I had going on. Through her booth at horror cons I got my name around passing flyers and her tagging me on her stories and posts that musician & actor would be at her booth.
From there any feature film project I joined I met as many people as I could, following them and doing the same tagging them on stories and posts to reshare. Hashtagging helps a bit as well but the more you work with the more you can get around. Just make sure whatever you tag someone on has something to do with your posts.
Dont forget to share others successes as well, even if your not involved. Artists should support other artists. Show some appreciation for what others are doing. Be humble.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/dirtyfreakenjoe?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=ca95feb6-41c5-4a9f-8d5f-fa73dfaea7ea&fbclid=PAAabAR_iWlRlMOnEMe0W3AbMKrSDwj47WCgyt4LZbuPXKtAtNytmJluzV4ms
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dirty_joe87?igsh=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DirtyJoe87?mibextid=ZbWKwL
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@dirtyfreakenjoe9695?si=e2wdwmc9bn35-z94
Image Credits
Ryan Penington Llesica Gonzalez Steve Escarcega