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

Hi Vinnie, thanks for joining us today. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?

I feel like I’m Young Frankenstein’s monster sometimes. I’ve always wanted to inspire love and happiness, and my art has always failed at that. So instead, I seem to instill disgust and fear, I guess. I was an abrasive comedian, a bad guy wrestler, and even a heel in the touring band I played bass for for years. everything I’ve done seems to be misunderstood at some degree. Some people adore what I do, some people dislike it, almost everyone misunderstands the intent.

Vinnie, 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’m getting older now, so my answer to this could be unbearably long. In short, I’m an entertainer. The rambling answer is that I’m a comic, pro wrestling, ghost hunting, bass slapping, horror-comedy filmmaker who had a career in making bad TV and even worse radio. My company, Big N Funky Productions, makes paranormal TV, horror/ comedy movies, music videos and comedy sketches for those who are funky enough to digest them. I’m proud of the movies we have made/ are making: Six fables about some legends and lore of the Great Smoky Mountains. Movies about Spearfinger, Rabbitman, Y2K, the Oak Ridge Supercomputer and beyond.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I have no choice, I have to be an entertainer. It’s the only time I feel alive, is when I’m making people happy from a stage or in a ring. I feel like in 2022, everyone is trying to be famous, and many don’t have the talent. Talent is not a requirement to be famous, anymore… You see girls doing the same dance routines as each other on Tik Tok and they think that will lead to something… I dunno, maybe it will. But for me, entertaining is about doing something different and new, not about gobbling up followers.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My path, and my tag team partner and Big N Funky Productions co-founder, Big Luke Walker, has been about failing forward. We got fired from Fox. We signed almost a dozen TV contracts that lead nowhere. We created a TV show for Netflix and was inexplicably fired us before production. You take your lumps, you learn lessons, you laugh at the stories and you keep rolling. I believe in what we do… I’m waiting for a group of people to catch up and “get it”.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.big funk productions.com
• Instagram: Funkmaster__V
• Facebook: Funkmasterv
• Twitter: Funkmaster__v
• Youtube: Big N Funky Productions

Image Credits
Gena Tussey Amber Schultz Luke Walker Vinnie Vineyard Tracy Tisdale