Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Vincent John. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Vincent, appreciate you joining us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?
My father, brother, and I created a show called “The Bronx Wanderers” in 2004. We’ve been headlining in Las Vegas for 8 straight years, just performed our 2000th show, and have been touring the world successfully for over 20 years.
We knew we had something special early on, and were each driven by the same thought – “how can we keep making this bigger and better?”
We wanted to combine stand up comedy, a musical concert, and a Broadway play all in one jam packed immersive experience centered around the story of our family. Something we haven’t seen done before, by anyone.
We advanced quickly through the Las Vegas ranks, earning over 9 Best of Las Vegas Awards and having a top 10 show out of 256 shows.
We had something different. There are dozens of magic shows, many Cirque shows, numerous tribute bands, but there was only one Bronx Wanderers that covered music from every decade and humor that appeals to an audience of all ages.
We take pride in the fact a 10,20,30, all the way up to an 80 year old can enjoy the show and come back over and over throughout the years because we constantly update, tweak, and change the show. Never resting on our laurels.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Vincent John and I’m the older son and co-founder of the hit Las Vegas show “The Bronx Wanderers”
The band consists of my father, my little brother, and my two high school friends. We all play multiple instruments, sing, and contribute to the comedy throughout the night. We’ve been performing the show for over 20 years and have had a Las Vegas residency for the past 8 years. We currently perform at the South Point Hotel, Casino, and Spa.
Aside from Bronx Wanderers, I’m also a songwriter and producer. I’ve recorded 3 full length original albums and got to open for Bon Jovi at the T Mobile arena in Las Vegas in 2018.
I play over 6 instruments and I’m the music director in all my shows. I don’t rely on producers or outside companies to run my shows. I create all the video content, come up with the music material, and write the comedy. I’m my own boss. Every success and failure rests solely on my shoulders. That’s why I put so much time and effort in every detail of the shows.
Have you ever had to pivot?
In February of 2020, we received a promotion and got to move our show from the Linq Hotel to Harrah’s. The prime time 8 o clock slot. We finally made it!
6 weeks later, COVID hit and we were all out of work. Everything we worked for, gone.
What do you do? This show is all we do and all we know.
Aside from making a new album to monetize and keep our business going, I came up with a thing called “Custom Live Performances”
We put a song list of 200 songs on a “menu” and gave our fans the opportunity to choose either 3 or 5 songs and we’d perform them, in our living room and broadcast the performance direct to that fan via a private Facebook link. We’d also record the performance and send the finished, recorded video file
People bought this experience for family members, anniversaries, birthdays, just to hang out on a weekend and we managed to survive COVID. By using our heads and the technology at our disposal, we found a safe way to reach our fans and connect with them on such a personal, private level. It strengthened our fan base and kept us paying the bills.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
Our goal is to always make the product better. Always brain storm and come up with new ways to keep the show fresh and doing what no one else can do. That ensures our survival.
The minute you say, it’s done, it’s the best it can be, that’s when you’re dead. In our line of work, we compete on the same street at Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, the Sphere, and Allegiant Stadium. The only way to compete with the biggest names and places in the entertainment capitol of the world, is to give people a unique experience they can find nowhere else and to keep making it better, year after year.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://TheBronxWanderers.com
- Instagram: @vincent_john_official
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=45905018&mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Youtube: @vincentjohnofficial
Image Credits
Patrick Rivera