Fast Five: Nic Fritze
Nic Fritze was born in Kootenai Health (then Kootenai Medical Center) and is stubbornly the last Fritze household in North Idaho. He's the product of School District 271 from K-12. Family time often consists of music and LEGO.
Generation:
Being born in ’78, I believe some call me an Xennial. I prefer to say that I played "Oregon Trail" in middle school.
Career and community involvement:
I manage The Long Ear and have been with them going on 21 years now. We still look at it as the crossroads in town and have a shocking number of senior pictures and even some engagement photos at the shop.
Parental status:
I have one awesome daughter that at the same time proves that karma is real. Three cats and one dog.
1. When did you start at the Long Ear, and what motivated you to work there?
September of 1998, but our HR department isn't sure of the exact date. When I was in high school I basically spent every other paycheck there to expand my music collection and knowledge. My motivation for the job was a love of music and it was just a comfortable place to be.
2. What is the best part about working in a music store?
Showing someone their new favorite band. The internet has made this a little more difficult since everything is more visible to the masses, but that also makes the payoff that much more rewarding.
3. What was the best concert you've ever attended?
Three-way tie: Josh Ritter solo at the U of I chapel, Built to Spill at the Knit and this one Scatterbox show at the Cove Bowl where I wound up getting a bloody nose on the second note but at least the accidental offender saved my glasses from getting stomped on.
4. What is something people would be surprised to learn about you?
I have an insanely large collection of vintage and new razors, shaving soaps, aftershaves and the like. I used to hate shaving but wet shaving changed everything.
5. What do you think will be the next big thing in the music industry?
Music-wise I'm hoping this real country revival will keep going with Tyler Childers, Colter Wall, Margo Price and the like. Business-wise I'd like to see the vinyl market continue to grow, but let's not bring back 8-tracks.
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Devin Weeks can be reached by email: dweeks@cdapress.com Follow her on Twitter: @DevinCDAPress