For acoustic artist Joseph Vincent, Karaoke music was the beginning
By Christian Catiis
Ever since his appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2010, Joseph Vincent has racked up an impressive resume.
An acoustic artist, singer and songwriter, he grew up listening to all types of musical genre — from hip hop to rock. A YouTube sensation with more than 500,000 subscribers to his pop & soul music channel, he began writing songs at the age of 16. His YouTube channel has nearly 98 million views.
Offline, he plays at The House of Blues in Los Angeles, a southern-style restaurant chain that specializes in live music, and The Knitting Factory, a North Hollywood club that provides venues for emerging musical talents.
The L.A.-born Joseph Vincent Encarnacion is a graduate of the University of California Irvine. In this interview, he spoke to contributing writer Christopher Catiis about his kind of music and what new sounds to expect in the new year.
Christian Catiis (CC): When did you decide you wanted music to be your career?
Joseph Vincent (JV): My parents got me my first acoustic guitar when I was 15 on Christmas Eve. After I wrote and recorded my first original song, I realized that making music is definitely what I want to do for the rest of my life. But it wasn’t until I got my first paying gig that I thought, hmmm maybe I can make this into a real career.
CC: What is your musical background? Do you come from a musical family or did you just fall into songwriting all on your own?
JV: Karaoke is the extent of my musical background. It wasn’t until I got my first guitar that I began to dive deeper into the craft of singing and songwriting, and I’ve been hooked since.
CC: Who are some of your musical inspirations?
JV: Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz, John Mayer, Bob Marley, James Taylor, and Bruno Mars to name a few.
CC: Can you describe your musical style?
JV: I can’t really pin one type of genre to my style since I dabble with a variety of different ones but singer-songwriter/pop/acoustic/soul would be the best way to explain the sound I’m going for.
CC: How did you first get started on YouTube? And ever since launching your channel, how has your life changed?
JV: Ironically, my father was the first one who showed me this amazing platform. I posted audio files of my raw recorded songs on my music Myspace page before I even got wind of what was happening on the YouTube platform. Once I got into college, I had some free time to post covers and original videos on my YT channel. It was a very fun hobby for me at the time, but now my channel has evolved into its own music-making machine. The fact that I can get my music directly to the listener, independently, in a matter of minutes is just mind blowing. I am so blessed that people were and still are willing to listen to the music I create. Thanks to my supporters I’m able to make a living out of making music, and it’s phenomenal.
CC: What are some of the best parts of being an artist?
JV: I think the best part about being an artist is that I have the opportunity to work on my own time. I get to challenge myself creatively every single day, and through the process I learn more about the world and even more about myself. Not to mention that I get a rush every time I’m able to write a song that excites me, and I’m just fortunate enough that there are a certain group of people out there in the world that are ready to hear it at a moment’s notice.
CC: If you weren’t singing, what would you be doing?
JV: I don’t think that I would ever give up singing unless I am physically incapable to do so. Although, if I wasn’t doing this for a living, I would probably open up my own coffee shop/restaurant somewhere by the California coast.
CC: What are you working on now and where do you feel your music is headed?
JV: I’m currently working on finishing up my EP to be released later this year. I feel like my music has definitely matured a bit, but still hasn’t lost its optimistic vibe of love (both good and bad parts of love) intertwined in our lives. Stylistically, my music still has that acoustic/sing-songwriter/pop vibe but now has tendencies towards more soul, blues, and reggae.