Singer-songwriter Nick Howard talks with Long Island kids

We met singer Nick Howard at Sweet 'n’ Savory restaurant in Port Jefferson right before he was going to board the ferry to do some interviews in Connecticut. We love his song “Our Time.”

What inspired you to write “Our Time”?

You know, I was inspired by people like you guys. I think it’s important to remind everybody that people are good and we do our best stuff as humans and people when we work together and when we’re kind to each other. And when we work as one and we remember that we are all the same on the inside. There’s always some bad news somewhere, on TV or on Twitter, and I just thought we need to remind ourselves that we can do great things when we’re kind to each other. And so I’m always inspired by young people, who go out there in the world with that idea. And just that I know that humans are good on the inside.

Where did you film the video for “Our Time”?

We showed that in Atlantic City, New Jersey. But everybody thinks it’s California. The day the song came out they were tweeting it, and putting on their surround. They were super-excited. But I played about two weeks of shows in Atlantic City last year in the summer. And CMT said, "If you make a video, we’ll play it on the TV." So I was like, "Oh, we’ll make a video then." So we just went out and did it on the beach, made it really quick — it was fun. I should have said it was somewhere in the Hamptons or Fire Island or something. In Long Island.

If you could perform with anyone, who would it be?

If I could perform with anyone, who would it be? Um, wow, that’s a good question. Do you guys know The Beatles? OK, so Paul McCartney. Do you know who he is? He is one of the main Beatles. He is my favorite Beatle. And he’s still rock-and-rolling and playing shows. I would love to perform with him. That would be pretty amazing.

Do you ever get nervous when you perform?

I get excited, nervous. You know there’s those two types. One is like when you’re nervous in your stomach and you can’t speak. I get more excited just to get going and get started, and when I’m going and we’ve begun, everything kind of goes away. So excited, nervous for sure. I think if you don’t get excited about performing, you’re not doing the right job, because you’ve got to always be a little bit nervous. Yeah, good question.

Do you have any brothers or sisters? And if you do, do they perform?

They like to perform. I do have brothers and sisters. I have some back in England, where I’m from. And my sister actually lives out here on Long Island. She would like to think she’s an artist, too. And she loves singing. And I would say — how would I put it nicely? She gets an A-plus for effort. But both of my brothers back in England, they are both musicians as well. And my parents were musicians. And we have a lot of music in our family.

Out of all the songs that you’ve performed, which one was your favorite?

Out of the songs I’ve performed, I really like how people are responding to “Our Time” right now. And any time you write a song that people can ad-lib and you can see that it moves people in some way, and resonates, that to me is the best feeling in the world. So whenever I play a show, people sing the lyrics back. That's the best thing you can ever ask for. Because it’s like, OK, I did it, I wrote a good song. I have a song called “Dancing as One,” which we usually finish our concerts with, and I ask everybody to jump around in the chorus. So I thought that’s a good way to end things.

How do you get inspired to start singing?

I get inspiration from everyone and everywhere all the time. But music was just part of my household growing up. We had a piano in the house. And my parents were both musicians. And I was inspired just by the fact that music was all around me. They played music that was great from the music they listened to. Michael Jackson was my first real inspiration. But I’m really inspired now by people and what I see in the world. And like I said, I’m inspired by you guys. I’m inspired by my family and my friends. And I can write a song about this chair, if need be, if it were inspirational or not. So yeah, inspiration comes from everywhere.

How many world tours have you done?

I’ve played about a thousand shows over the last few years. So it ends up being about 150 a year, and I’ve been so lucky. I've toured all over the U.S., all over Europe. I went to China. I love traveling. I love seeing different cultures and being with people, so that’s one of the best things about what I get to do for a living.

Have you ever been singing on stage and forgotten your lines?

All the time, yeah. I must have been caught a lot because I’m fairly easily distracted. So when I’m playing a concert and I’m looking out and someone is holding a sign, or I see something happening in the audience, I’m like, "Oh, that’s really interesting" as I’m singing. And then I’m like, "Uhhh, where am I in this song?" But I’ve learned some tricks over the years to get over that. The easiest one is to go, "You guys sing." And then the crowd is singing. And then you go, "Oh, right, that’s where we were." It happens to me quite a lot. We did a TV show yesterday on Fox 5 and I was like, "Don’t forget the lyrics. Don’t forget the lyrics." I wish it didn’t happen.

Do you have any hobbies, and if you do, what are they?

I have the most crazy array of hobbies ever. I love sports. So I’m a big sports fan. And I have lived in New York for a long time. So I don’t want to divide the audience here, but I’ll just reel off the teams I like in New York: I’m a Knicks fan. So no one can be mad at me for that. More feel sorry for me. New York Giants fan. I hope I didn’t lose all my Jets fans. And I’m a Yankees fan as well. You know the Yankees. I love soccer as well. And my team in England is called Crystal Palace, which a lot of you haven’t heard of it. But I love playing sports as well. I play soccer a lot. And outside of being a music fan, which is obviously a big hobby, sports would be my other good thing. And travel.

Amy Gammon and Karen Gessner's sixth-grade class, Greenport Elementary School