Interview with Nick Major
By Rebecca H.
Nick Major is many things, interviewer, actor, writer, filmmaker and host. Every Tuesday, he hosts his radio show, The Nick Major Show, on Idobi Radio, a California based Alternative Rock radio station. I’ve been listening for over 3 years and I’ve been very fortunate to have met Nick and his awesome friends! I interviewed Nick about his career, the best advice he’s received and more.
When you were younger, did you want to pursue a career in the entertainment industry?
Short answer, yes! Since about the age of 12, I was always making short films. I’d take any opportunity in school to turn in a video project as opposed to a written report because it was such an exciting and rewarding task for me. That passion lead me to leaving my hometown after high school and heading to Los Angeles for film school. Since then, I have created videos with actors I grew up watching and have had numerous sketches featured on the Funny Or Die homepage – a very cool thing for me to personally achieve.
In 2013, I was working at Hot Topic in Hollywood and had a conversation with Mike Shea; the creator of Alternative Press – my favorite magazine since I was a teen. This lead me to becoming a video correspondent for the magazine and spending multiple summers on the Vans Warped Tour. My life now is filled with such love and passion for both filmmaking and interviews–two things that I absolutely adore and fall right in line with my childhood passions.
What were your favorite school subjects?
I loved history and I still love it to this day. Something about learning where we came from, and the mistakes and achievements we’ve made is pretty cool in my opinion. Once I was able to define my education more – in university – I immediately turned my focus to filmmaking and that was awesome. I can’t stress enough the importance of pursuing what you really want to do in life in school. It’s so rewarding to be able to take classes for things that really interest you and nothing is more important than following your own dreams.
What has been your favorite part of hosting The Nick Major Show?
I’ve hosted The Nick Major Show on Idobi Radio for a number of years now and I love so much about it. Firstly, it’s live! I love being live and just being able to speak my mind about whatever! There’s really no limits in regards to what I can and can’t say so it has really been a cool opportunity to have a outlet for me. Plus, it’s great to bring in cool people for interviews; there’s something super fun about conducting a live interview vs. a pre-recorded one.
Do you have a favorite interview from either AP or TNMS?
Blink-182 was my all-time favorite band growing up and I did an interview with Mark Hoppus from Blink-182 a few years back with Alternative Press (AP). Another amazing experience for me was covering the GRAMMYs red carpet. I never thought I’d be at the GRAMMYs but it’s things like this that really made me realize how much I love hosting and interviewing. For The Nick Major Show (TNMS), late last year, I sat down with Mike Hranica of the band The Devil Wears Prada and in high school, they meant so much to me, so interviewing him was special for so many reasons.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
Time and time again, I’ve had people always tell me to just push myself, to give it my all and not slack off, and I’ve come to find how true that is. I just had a phone call with my Dad the other week about some new opportunities I have and even he told me that I have to take it serious and put hard work into it. It’s messages like this that are simply the honest truth if you really are serious about progressing in any career.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to work in the entertainment industry?
You need to motivate yourself and lay the foundation for your career. If you really want it, you should be hungry for it. The mentality of “I could never do it” should never cross your mind. You need to believe in yourself and know what you are capable of. Don’t even THINK you can do it, KNOW you can do it. Anyone is capable of anything but it’s those who truly work for it who succeed.
