Victor Vincent Fuentes (born February 10, 1983) is an American musician. He is the co-founder, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the post-hardcore band Pierce the Veil, which he formed with his brother Mike Fuentes in 2006.
Biography
Fuentes was born on February 10, 1983, in San Diego, California, to Vivian K. Fuentes and Victor Gamboa Fuentes, a painter and former jazz musician.[1] He has a younger brother, Mike Fuentes, two half-brothers, and one half-sister.[2] He is related to Nick Martin, who currently plays in Sleeping with Sirens, and Coal Flower, a lesser-known independent artist.[3]
He wrote the song "A Match Into Water" on their third album, Collide with the Sky, for his former girlfriend who was suffering from breast cancer.[8]
He is friends with Curtis Peoples, who was co-writer of the single "King for a Day". They played together in a band called 3 Simple Words while attending high school.[9]
During his time at Mission Bay High School Fuentes played in a local punk band called 3 Simple Words alongside Curtis Peoples, who later worked together with Pierce the Veil on some songs, including "King for a Day".
In 1998 he formed a band called Early Times with his younger brother Mike.[10] After releasing three EPs the band was forced to rename due to copyright violation. The group changed their name to "Before Today". After signing a recording contract with Equal Vision Records the band released their only album, A Celebration of an Ending, in 2004 before breaking up two years later.[11]
Fuentes was also a session guitarist for a short North American tour with the short-lived pop punk band Cinematic Sunrise.[13]
In November 2022, Fuentes was featured on Cavetown's album worm food on track 4, titled "a kind thing to do".
Songwriting
Fuentes has written songs with the likes of Tom Denney, Curtis Peoples and Dave Yaden. He doesn't have a concept for writing his songs but gains inspiration from familiar situations, personal experiences in relationships, touring and friends.[14]
I try not to really go with any sort of concept or anything like that. Some bands are very political; some bands only write about love. Our band is always about what has recently happened, whatever is happening in our families, in our lives, our relationships, our tours and our friends. Whatever is weighing heavy in our minds is going to come out.
'Bulls in the Bronx' has a crazy story to it. It's a sad story, but it inspired the song. It's about this girl who is 16, and her friends wrote to me and said she recently committed suicide, along with a link to her Tumblr page. It was one of the most haunting things I've ever seen. It's so sad because she was such a sweet-looking girl too. There were things on there where she would say how she thought she was worthless, ugly, and all this crazy stuff. That whole thing really stuck with me for a while, and I wrote this song about her.
—Vic Fuentes in an interview with Mind Equals Blown[15]
He has written songs inspired by fans, such as "Bulls in the Bronx", on the album Collide with the Sky. This was written for young Australian, Olivia Penpraze, who committed suicide in April 2012. Her friends wrote a letter to the band about what had happened. Penpraze had been a fan of Pierce the Veil.[16]
"I Don't Care If You Are Contagious", from the second album, Selfish Machines, was also a fan-inspired song. The musicians said in an interview with music magazine Alternative Press that a young girl had contacted the band, writing that her boyfriend had died in a car accident,[17] and that they had met for the first time during a Pierce the Veil concert.[17] Fuentes wrote this song as a present for her.[17]
"Million Dollar Houses (The Painter)" from the same record is dedicated to his parents. The song is about their parents, who never separated even in a time when the family had almost nothing.[17]
Many fans thanked the band for the songs they wrote. They certify their lyrics would have a "healing effect". Some listeners prevented self-harm while listening to his lyrics.[8]
Fuentes is known for his mainstay Gibson Explorer, with a finish reminiscent of the EVH 'Eruption' finish. Another notable guitar of Fuentes' is his 'Slimer' Taylor SB1-X, which he used in the King for a Day music video, and while touring in support of their 2012 album Collide with the Sky.
Recently, Fuentes has been using a white-on-white Fender Custom ShopTelecaster while performing Hold On Till May live, often giving a Squier look alike of it to a fan he brings up on stage to sing Lindsey Stamey's lines.
Personal life
In 2012, Fuentes met actress and model Danielle Victoria during the filming of the music video for "King for a Day".[19] The two began a relationship sometime in 2014 and became engaged in 2021.[20] The couple married on April 2 the following year.[21][22] On September 13, 2022, Vic and Danielle announced that they were expecting their first child together.[23] They welcomed a daughter, Violet Valentine, on February 9, 2023.[24]
^Ryan J. Downey: Alternative Press #296.1 (März 2013): Kings for a Day – Finally, S. 76: "Victor Fuentes Sr. still struggles with his painting business."
^Ryan J. Downey: Alternative Press #296.1 (März 2013): Kings for a Day – Finally, S. 79: "Vivian was a teen mum in Oklahoma. Debbie (54), David (52) and Frank (50) are all from her first marriage."
^Karen Cotton: Wyoming Tribune-Eagle: "Pierce the Veil" sings need and desire, S. 4: "I get my music influence from my dad, ... He was the one who taught me how to play the guitar in the beginning. He raised me on jazz and Spanish rock. That's where I first learned to play the guitar."
^FUZE Magazine: Pierce the Veil - My Artwork: Würde ich keine Musik machen, wäre ich wohl Grafikdesigner, Seite 17 (Fuze #35, Sep/Aug 2012, Download)
^Ryan J. Downey: Alternative Press (Ausgabe 321.2): Cabin Fever Dream, S. 76: "That friend, Curtis Peoples, is one of the main songwriters credited with the smash single [King For A Day] from Collide with the Sky, and has been Vic's friend since kindergarten. ... When they were in high school, Peoples invited Vic to join his band, 3 Simple Words."