Indie Vision Music: For those who are uninitiated into the Nobody’s Uncle experience, tell us about the project. Where are you based, and how long have you been making music as Nobody’s Uncle?
Nobody’s Uncle: Nobody’s Uncle is the pseudonym I use for this one-man, indie rock passion project of mine. My sole aim is to create gospel-centered alternative music that connects others with the Kingdom of God and magnifies the name of Jesus.
I was born and raised in small-town Michigan where there was (and still is) plenty of time for melancholic rumination. Many of my earliest formative memories revolve around music—learning how to harmonize while listening to Yes in the back of my parents’ sedan, sitting at a cassette deck trying to catch my favorite new song on the radio, singing in the school choir, starting my first garage band with friends to play Weezer covers… the list goes on.
Now, I’m a middle-aged family man attempting to properly steward the time, resources, and gifts that God has given me between working the day job and raising a couple of kids who are growing up way too fast. Recently, the Lord has placed me in a position where I can again devote more time to making music, and so here I am! I started writing and recording as Nobody’s Uncle at the end of 2024, and just released my debut, Mercy Diorama, in November 2025.
IVM: You’ve been pretty committed to the idea of Nobody’s Uncle being anonymous. What’s the reasoning behind that?
NU: There are a number of reasons. I decided pretty early on that I want to try to keep myself out of the limelight so that the focus of the project can be fixed on the One who actually deserves attention. I know myself well enough to know that pride can easily become an issue. That’s the primary reason. I’m also a pretty private person in general (which might seem a little ironic when you read through some of my lyrics). Due to some health issues, I never planned to play shows or tour, so that also makes it even easier to retain anonymity. I joked with my wife that if I were playing shows, I’d have to get myself a Daft Punk helmet.
It does come with its challenges though. Music tends to be very much about personality and charisma, especially in a day and age where promotion happens primarily on social media. It can be tough to connect with people when they don’t see a face. However, rest assured, I am a real person, my name is John, I love the Lord Jesus, and I love you too! Since Mercy Diorama came out, I’ve formed a number of genuine friendships and made meaningful connections simply by responding to comments and DMs and trying to speak to people like a friend would. That kind of connection means far more to me than getting on camera just to chase a massive, faceless following. It motivates me to keep engaging, in spite of my natural tendency to be a hermit.
IVM: Nobody’s Uncle is an unusual name. It suggests familial ties, but juxtaposes that with unfamiliarity. What concept(s) are you trying to convey with that?
NU: I wish I had something more profound to say about this, but the name comes from the fact that I am literally nobody’s uncle. My sister and brother-in-law chose not to have children, so we are left without nieces and nephews and cousins. My wife and I both grew up in fairly large families with a couple dozen cousins each, and we hoped that our kids would have the same childhood experience. God had different plans, and that’s okay (His ways are higher). So, yeah, the name just came to me one day and I thought it sounded like the name of a long-lost 90s indie rock band. Built To Spill, Dinosaur Jr., Superchunk, Nobody’s Uncle—you can hear it, right?
IVM: Yes, I can, actually. Speaking of which, Mercy Diorama is a pleasant romp through 90s alternative fields. Was that a deliberate source of inspiration or just a natural outcome of having grown up in that era?
NU: I was born in the mid-80s, so that 90s sound is baked into my DNA. But I would say that my initial exposure to my parents’ music had an equal or greater amount of influence on what I love and the music I make today. Bands like The Beatles, Yes, Hall & Oates, Seals and Croft, Stevie Wonder and America are what I really cut my teeth on. The musicality and talent of so many amazing artists from the 60s and 70s really informed my taste and my love for melody.
As I started to discover new bands growing up in the 90s, I was always drawn toward those artists that embodied the craftsmanship and sense of melody I had come to appreciate. I listened to a lot of “grunge royalty” (it was hard to get away from), but my favorite bands were always the ones coming at it from a different angle—Hum, Tonic, Toad the Wet Sprocket, The Sundays, Sponge, etc.
In the late 90s, I discovered skate culture via X Games and my brain melted. I never participated in the sport aspect, but latched onto everything else, including the music. I added bands like Lagwagon and Less Than Jake into my repertoire. I also found out about a band called MXPX who were punk AND Christian. “This kind of music exists?” I promptly began begging my mom to drive me up to the local Christian book store to see what other bands like this were out there.
Of course, Tooth & Nail became my bread and butter in the early 00s along with other labels like Militia Group and Drive Thru, who were putting out some of my (still) favorite albums by the likes of Copeland, Lovedrug, The Early November, Dashboard Confessional, and New Found Glory. Later that decade, I was turned onto the greater indie rock landscape and started listening to bands like Spoon, Wilco, Grizzly Bear and Sun Kil Moon. With the advent of digital platforms like eMusic and iTunes, I also began to move backward in time, discovering lesser-known bands from the 80s and 90s like Dinosaur Jr., Pavement, Built to Spill, The Hang Ups, Superchunk.
So, to answer the original question, I’d say it was both natural and deliberate. We’re all a product of our environment to some extent, but I was (and still am) the type of person who will stand in a record shop or sit at my computer for hours trying to find my next favorite album. I think that curiosity has led to a pretty eclectic taste in music, which translates to the type of songs I write.
IVM: While I hadn’t thought of a 70s connection, I can definitely hear that folk rock/soft rock thread running through Mercy Diorama, but there’s also definitely a 90s lo-fi vibe as well, so those influences make a lot of sense.
Changing gears here, there’s a rich theological palette from which you are drawing to paint the colors on the album, though they are expressed subtly. What background and/or life experiences have informed your writing?
NU: Most of my songs are a very specific snapshot of a life event in which I endured an impactful hardship or experienced deep joy. I don’t typically sit down with the intention to write a song, but wait for inspiration to take hold, which is usually either something astoundingly beautiful or a brutal kick in the teeth. The songs on Mercy Diorama took a long time to materialize, spanning well over a decade from about 2012 to the present. During that time, the busyness of everyday life took precedence. Raising kids, working to put food on the table, and engaging in ministry with the church doesn’t always leave a lot of time for personal, creative pursuits. I’ve also had various trials to contend with including chronic illness, the miscarriage of our first child, and the COVID lockdown, to name a few.
When I listen to this batch of songs, I think that’s what comes through. It’s kind of just a photo album of my life with a running commentary in the margins. All filtered through the lens of my understanding of God’s love and provision. Because I know that His hand has been in it all. You always see it in retrospect.
IVM: You can definitely hear, or maybe feel, melancholy or sorrowful tones in the music from time to time, and yet there is clearly a sense of joy—or perhaps contentment—that bleeds through as well. What words of comfort or advice would you offer someone who is going through a painful experience, and hasn’t quite made it to ‘the other side’ of it yet, so to speak?
NU: The Gospel is my source of joy during times of pain because I know that no matter how much I’m hurting, Jesus overcame our greatest enemy, death. Philippians 2:5-8 gives us a beautiful description of what our God did for us: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Jesus left the glory of heaven, came down in our likeness, lived a sinless life undeserving of death, and suffered the cruelest form of punishment in our place—because of our sin—to save us from ourselves. And then, He rose from the grave, conquering death, with the promise that we can also have eternal life if we trust in Him. Christianity isn’t built around a distant God who watches His creation suffer from afar. He participated in it and overcame it on our behalf. How can you top that?
There are also a few ‘anchor passages’ that I go to repeatedly when I’m struggling. I like to read Romans 8 because it reminds me of the temporal nature of our suffering and the glory that awaits (v. 18 – “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us”). I revisit Hebrews 12 quite often to remember that we are called to endure for the purpose of discipline (v. 11 – “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it”). The Lord uses our trials and suffering to refine and sanctify us (see also, 1 Peter 1:6-7). I also like to read the Psalms to see how the man after God’s own heart, David, reacted in times of suffering. They bring me a lot of comfort and encouragement.
IVM: Do you find comfort in music? Whether that’s listening or creating? What role does the creative process take (if any) in remembering “the Gospel as your source of joy” as you stated earlier?
NU: I take a lot of comfort in both. With listening, it’s when you find a song or artist that speaks to your current condition with the kind of poignancy where it’s like, “Ok, the Lord intended for me to hear this right now.” And then you carry that with you for when you need it next. I’ve been listening to a lot more Gospel-centered music lately, and I can see the difference it’s making in my thought process and focus. One of my favorite songs of all time is “Lower Still” by My Epic. Whenever I want to draw close to the cross, that’s a track I know will transition me into a mindset of awe and gratefulness.
As far as creating is concerned, it’s pure catharsis. I know that probably sounds trite, but it really does help me battle my demons. I’ve always been both a very empathetic person and someone who bottles things up inside, which is not the greatest combination of traits. The best way I’ve found to process my emotions is through music. I feel like I can be vulnerable in a song in a way that I just can’t otherwise. Or say things that I need to in a measured and thoughtful way. Writing and arranging lyrics gives you a lot of time to make sure you’re saying important things in the right way.
IVM: I appreciate you taking the time to give such thoughtful answers to my questions. Here’s hoping you don’t stay ‘anonymous’ forever.
Those curious to hear more from Nobody’s Uncle can visit the band’s Bandcamp page where you can purchase a physical CD or stream/download digital files: https://nobodysuncle.bandcamp.com/album/mercy-diorama
