We were lucky to catch up with Justin Colvin recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Justin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with 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)
The best investment I made as a musician was buying an old guitar. I found a 1965 Fender Jaguar at Guitar Center in Arlington Heights, IL in 2002 and I bought it for $1800 which was a lot of money for me at the time. Today that guitar is worth more than my car. I’ve played that Jaguar on some famous stages and it’s been my primary guitar for over 20 years.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am the lead singer and founder of LA based psychedelic desert rock band, PRONGHORN. I am also a licensed general contractor and operating partner at Koios Construction in Redondo Beach and a former USMC infantry officer. I learned to play guitar late in life compared to most kids, when I took a guitar class my senior year at USC. What was supposed to be a blow off class ended up being one of my hardest classes and I actually learned how to play a few songs by the end of the semester. I was forced to buy my own guitar for the class so it stayed with me and it proved its value the first time I played Wonderwall for a girl at a party. I started writing my own songs as a stress reliever during my time in the Marine Corps. I actually had a secret rock band with two other USMC officers called Turner Slicko back when I was on active duty at MCAS Cherry Point and Camp Lejeune that my CO didn’t know about. We played shows all over North Carolina and the east coast at night and went to work as USMC officers by day. Once we got off active duty, we moved down to Wilmington NC with some saved up deployment money and we lived live Bohemians for two years where our only job was writing and playing music. We enlisted the help of my friend Devin McGee on drums back in 2002 and he has remained my friend and is the current drummer of PRONGHORN here in Los Angeles. During the Wilmington years 2004-2007 Devin and I played many shows with Turner Slicko and we also both got into acting classes and signed with theatrical agents. The big show in town at the time was One Tree Hill and Devin and I both auditioned for and managed to book roles on the show. I played a cop in a recurring role and Devin landed a bigger part as a creepy stalker named Xavier. The acting gigs were great money, but not regular money, so I had to find a steady day job. I began to apprentice for a master plumber friend of mine and eventually I got my own plumbing license. In 2007 I got married to my wife Melissa and we moved from NC to Los Angeles and I started working as a construction project manager for Kroger, and I built or remodeled many Ralphs and Food 4 Less stores from 2007-2015. During that time I was also in a secret rock band by night called PRONGHORN. My brother Casey was the drummer initially, but my friend Devin eventually moved from NC to Los Angeles as well and we teamed back up to form the most prolific version of the band. I also moved on from Kroger and became a partner in my friend’s construction company in Redondo Beach. As an operating partner at Koios Construction I specialize in commercial construction and building technology for high rise multi-family apartment buildings. By day. By night I am the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for PRONGHORN and we play regular shows each month. Join us at Genghis Cohen on 3/30 or State Social House on 4/12. Our music is spooky and mysterious and the lyrics are rooted in my war experience as an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran. I draw on extreme experiences to produce music that sounds different and stands out with catchy hooks and weird lyrics. Listen to our music on Spotify or Apple Music under the name PRONGHORN LOS ANGELES.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
One night in Iraq on a routine combat patrol from Ramadi to a small village called Rahaliyah, my MRAP driver lost sight of the road during a sandstorm and we drove off the side of a bridge and crashed into a retaining wall below in the dry river bed. I was the platoon commander so I had to think of a plan quickly. I was injured and in pain but I was able to walk and talk and do my job. We came up with an idea to use the tow bar from a good vehicle to pull the downed vehicle back up onto the road. We attached the tow bar to the front bumper of the good vehicle and the rear bumper of the downed vehicle and we slowly dragged it in reverse back up onto the road. Fortunately the MRAP weighed 14 tons and was made out of thick armor so the vehicle and everyone inside survived the crash. But the front driver’s side tire had been shredded and when we tried driving on it briefly, the tire burst into flames and we had to pull over again and jump out and put out the flames with our fire extinguisher. We got the fire out and proceeded to limp the vehicle down the road very slowly until we finally made it to the village. I was supposed to be conducting a key leader meeting with the local chief of police, but we ended up having to go firm and put Marines on the rooftop and the perimeter of the police station after we started getting taunting threats from some of the locals who were using a loudspeaker to try and gather a crowd. We were there on that rooftop for 40 hours pointing weapons outboard while we waited for a wrecker vehicle with a new front wheel to get to us from Camp Ramadi. We were prepared to deal with a hostile crowd the whole time but fortunately the situation did not escalate. That was a long two days, but we got everyone safely back to base eventually.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Leaving behind a finished product that people can enjoy for centuries to come is the most rewarding part of being a musician. If a song is good, it will remain good. I’ve had people recently tell me how much they like a song that I wrote 20 years ago which is awesome. That makes you feel like you did something worthwhile. Or they might like one of our brand new songs and that makes us want to keep going.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.PRONGHORNLosAngeles.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pronghornlosangeles?igsh=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: www.Facebook.com/PronghornLA
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-colvin-4b67bb4?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@PronghornTheBand?si=OYu7R55aunscVgFh
Image Credits
Mathias Fau.