Today we’d like to introduce you to John Orr.
Hi John, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m an actor, singer, and multi-instrumentalist, originally from the Indianapolis area. I started playing saxophone at an early age, which led to my love of performing in many different avenues. I began writing songs at age fourteen (good songs at age eighteen), and played in numerous bands throughout my school years. After college, I created my solo musical alter ego, The Last Domino, which was a byproduct of my diagnosis – and subsequent treatment of – severe depression and anxiety. The moniker has a “carpe diem”-ish meaning to me, and the music ranges from acoustic folk to alt rock to 808 electronic to jazzy R&B to baroque pop to hardcore punk; basically whatever I feel like playing at any given time. During TLD’s early stages, I also acted in independent films by a local sketch comedy troupe. After performing at SXSW in 2010 as a stand-in guitarist for another band, I fell in love with Austin, and moved there the next year.
I established myself in Austin almost right away, playing at venues like Stubb’s, Kick Butt Coffee, and KLRU’s Studio 6A. Around this time, I did creature acting in local productions including Bigfoot Wars (feature), “Cluck Ol’ Hen” (Whiskey Shivers music video), and We Summoned A Demon (comedy short). Also, I performed in my first musical theater role for the show Let It Be Christmas (a Christmas story with Beatles songs) as the villainous Taxman. Additionally, since I love spreading myself as thinly as possible as an artist, I hosted burlesque shows in Austin, Houston, and Dallas, typically as characters befitting certain themes.
After some incredible experiences working with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and on a project by Robert Rodriguez, I figured it was time to take the plunge and move to Los Angeles, where I would live for the next seven years. I continued acting in creature and character capacities alike, most notably as the Realtor.com vampire in a 2021 series of commercials, and as the hooded skeletal man in the recent “Dungeon And Dealers” episode of Ted. Sadly I didn’t have much time for music in L.A., but The Last Domino played its one and only full-band show at the legendary Whisky A Go Go in Hollywood, where I sometimes performed as a saxophonist for their monthly Ultimate Jam Night series.
Long L.A. story short, the cons repeatedly outweighed the pros, so I decided to move back to the chiller atmosphere of Austin, which is much more my speed. Currently, I’m scouting band members to perform songs from my most recent Domino album, Two Thirds Of Our Lives, and I’m recording my third full-length album of videogame cover songs under the name Kid Overdrive. Acting-wise, a short film that I star in, Mordock The Merciless And I, is about to premiere at the Austin Horror Film Festival on October 17th. After that, I will collaborate with my longtime friend Matthew Alson Thornbury (a fellow sax player from high school) for his second feature film.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The biggest hurdle in my life has been my ongoing bout with depression and anxiety. Before my diagnosis and treatment in my early twenties, the condition was utterly debilitating in terms of having confidence in myself as an artist, and in general. Though I still have my bad days, I consider myself to be extremely lucky that one of the first treatment methods I tried worked like a light switch. Almost instantly, the constant looming negativity was gone, and I could be the confident and productive version of myself that I always hoped was in there somewhere. I became an outspoken advocate for the understanding and destigmatization of mental illnesses. I have no qualms with talking about my experiences if they can help others to learn, understand, and heal as well.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
It’s difficult to pin down one specialty, considering I always seem to have irons in many different artistic fires at once. Ideally, I’d love to be a successful actor, recording artist, touring musician, writer, and voice over artist. Pretty tall order there, so one thing at a time, I suppose…
What I’m most proud of in my work is that my tendency to bring uncompromising artistic visions to life has been appreciated by others. For example, I recorded an a-capella cover of the song “Muzzle” by The Smashing Pumpkins, and made an arty (some would say pretentious) music video for it. It received mixed reviews, as I figured it would, but Billy Corgan caught wind of it, and reposted it on a couple of outlets. Even if he hadn’t, I still would have been satisfied in the knowledge that I had made exactly what was in my head from the inception of the idea.
Similarly, when it comes to booking acting roles, it’s always great to know that my initial instincts prove to be what creators want in terms of voice, look, physicality, and whatever else I feel should go into how a character is portrayed. I’ve learned that it’s best to follow my gut instinct rather than overthinking what someone else might be looking for. Inauthenticity definitely reads to an audience. To me, a successful audition is one in which I perform to the best of my ability regardless of whether I get the part. And if I do, then that’s icing on the cake!
This all plays into what I believe sets me apart as an artist. I value experimentation, unexpectedness, and change, even though it has often made my work difficult to market/promote. I strive to continuously outdo myself. The feeling of learning and growing is far more rewarding to me than not giving 100% in order to produce content for content’s sake. Especially in this time of AI “art”, I feel it’s crucial to bring a genuine humanity to my work, such as keeping a botched note in a song if it results in a unique, memorable moment! Pleasing all of the people all of the time is a fool’s errand. Stay true to yourself, and the rest will follow.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
Any of the numerous sleepovers with friends spent swimming and playing Nintendo.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thelastdomino.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelastdomino/
- Facebook: https://www.instagram.com/johnorrtheactorist/
- Twitter: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2mE5TmZx4qNtBwo03a02DE
- Youtube: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6owYnntb6nKaq17SffcU2T
- Yelp: https://www.youtube.com/@TheLastDomino
- Soundcloud: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3237011/
