John Vincent III

“Come on maker is there something that I’m missing,” a quote from the band Alberta Cross, stands alone on the website of a young ambient folk artist, JOHN VINCENT III. The quote, a meaningful and inspirational message to John probes the meaning of life. John noted, “We can do all the things we think will make us happy… but it’s never enough.” This question of life and happiness is one that John often asks himself. He noted how he sometimes wonders if he’d be happiest living in a tiny cabin in the mountains. John foreshadowed, “So it’s just a lyric I love and begs a bigger question and that’s one the topics my next album will be touching on… it seemed fitting for where I am at in life.”

John is a budding musician who is making waves with his recent song release, “Back to My Ways.” This song is really a product of overcoming an emotional and distraught mental state. In a conversation with Local Wolves, John spoke on this dark period in his life. He noted, “I had never experienced anxiety or depression or horrible self doubt before… for a few months I basically spent all my nights in my tiny apartment bedroom smoking and feeling really horrible about myself.”

After his move to Los Angeles, John found himself almost unrecognizable. Feeling alone and dejected, he began wasting his time with viscous thoughts of self-doubt. Then, John noted, “One day I decided I was going to work towards getting, as the title says, back to my ways.” This song really centers on the importance of having a strong relationship with yourself— John shared that the “you” he sings in the song is actually referring to a version of himself he missed having around.

John nostalgically discussed the concept of feeling so disconnected to his younger, excited, and exploring self. “Life happens,” he noted, “And your emotions take control and you lose yourself.” Ultimately, “Back to My Ways” is song about John’s journey out of self doubt and loneliness. John hopes that this song can relate to other people as a reminder for hope and self-love. “It’s a song to show myself and others that it’s more normal than you would expect for people to have these problems, but that we need to make it a continuous effort to bring ourselves back to reality and form that relationship with yourself.”

Before John’s formative journey that led to “Back to My Ways,” he was still playing and creating music. John started playing guitar and singing around his junior year of high school. In his journey with music, he discovered a myriad of artists who made him fall in love with capturing emotions and creating classic, timeless pieces of art. John’s career really began through his connection with social media— “I posted signing videos online and got feedback,” this feedback helped him really believe in the possibility of his dreams.

40John’s musical inspiration stems mainly from two of his favorite artists, Justin Vernon and Rob Grote. Now, for those non-music buffs out there, Justin Vernon is most known for Bon Iver, an amazing and mystifying folk-indie band. You can almost feel Bon Iver’s influence behind the emotion evoked by John in his songs— both artists truly aim at capturing heavy and powerful emotions. Rob Grote is known for being a part of the band The Districts, “His writing is crazy… he’s for sure the reason I found a passion for writing,” noted John.

Thus, John’s musical style and journey is widely inspired by passion for writing and emotion. Beyond playing music, John has a multitude of other passions. Road trips, hiking, exploring, and Thai food (obviously) are all important passions of John. When it comes to exploring and his more adventurous pursuits, he noted that “having meaningful conversations along the way” with his friends are his favorite elements of these adventures and memories.

Following passion, is massively important to John. “Feeding your passions and allowing yourself to be happy doing the things you love is beneficial when it comes to writing.” For an artist, creating new experiences helps in garnering an understanding of what to create and write about. For John, adventuring gives him the freedom and opportunity to reflect and release. These cathartic experiences help John grow as a human being, thus aiding his creative pursuits, even if just by happenstance.

Written by Mackenzie Rafferty | Photography by Natalie Dunn