Page 32 - Flathead Beacon // 1.7.15

32 | JANUARY 7, 2015 & FLATHEADBEACON.COM ARTS
ENTERTAINMENT
When the New Year came to the Flathead Valley, Nick Spear was battling the flu. It’s not unusual to be sick this time of year, but Spear had an ever-important duty to fulfill: Sing as the frontman for The New Wave Time Trippers during the band’s performance at the Great Northern Bar in Whitefish.
“It was a little scary, being up on stage and singing while sick,” Spear said. Spear eventually found some time to rest up, but his performance on New Year’s Eve is an indication about how passionate he is about his being a mu- sician. And his work ethic is paying off:
The New Wave Time Trippers are as popular as ever, and he has a new single playing on 103.1 The River.
He also released a new music video for his song, “I Had a Nice Time,” which debuted during a release party in White- fish on Dec. 30.
Add doing all of this while working on a new album that he hopes to release by the summer and teaching at Flathead Valley Community College as adjunct faculty with his wife Rebecca Spear, and it’s easy to see why he might need a time machine.
“I’m busy,” Spear said. “It’s the Flat- head; you do a million things at once.”
In 2012, Spear released the album, “A River Below,” and since then, has been working on new music while putting together the Time Trippers. He’s also a familiar face for those who frequent the Alpine Theatre Project in Whitefish, and he’s got the acting chops to match his musical talent. But music is where his heart is, he said.
“Acting comes naturally but I defi- nitely prefer playing music and writing music,” Spear said. “That was sort of my first love. I was always getting awards for consistent effort in music.”
His commitment to music paid off last summer, when he earned a scholar-
COURTESY PHOTO
ship to attend the Crown of the Conti- nent Guitar Festival’s workshops, taught by some of the top guitar talent in the world.
There, he had the time to stop run- ning around, and was able to focus on writing “I Had a Nice Time,” which he performed as an opener before the Liv- ingston Taylor and Mac McAnally con- cert.
He said it was almost surreal, to write a song in four days and then per- form in front of such a large crowd and open for such big acts. That’s the beauty of living in the Flathead, he said, because there is so much musical talent here, all
Nick Spear’s Nice Time
Local musician releases music video, fronts popular band, recording new album BY MOLLY PRIDDY
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