We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Greg Nutt. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Greg below.

Alright, Greg thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The stories we tell on The American Landscape through interviews and visual exploration of site we visit are the foundation of the show. The format we started with was visiting three locations per show. Each location was relatively close to each other. The idea being that someone watching the show and wanting to visit each location from a particular episode could easily see them all in one trip.

I had researched the Marysville, CA area for an upcoming episode because I was stationed at nearby Beale AFB in the 1980’s. I found three locations I wanted to film at: The Bok Kai Temple & Museum, The Museum of the Forgotten Warriors, and the Bolt Antique Tool Museum just up the road in Oroville, CA. The latter being just 1..5 miles from the front gate of Beale AFB. It opened while I was station there, yet somehow, it did not visit. or remember it being there.

My crew and I made multiple trips and filmed at each location over multiple days. We even had to re-film at The Museum of the Forgotten Warriors because of some technical issues with the images we had recorded. The phone call to ask and return and re-film was embarrassing to me. But Dann Spear the founder and owner was the most gracious host and welcomed us back with open arms.

Months later while I was editing the episode that would include the Bolt Tool Museum, the Bok Kai Temple and Museum, and the Forgotten Warriors, I received an e-mail I would never forget, It was from Roberta Spear, Dann Spear’s wife. I was not even a few words into the e-mail, and I realized Dann had died. I had not even read the words of his passing yet, but I knew. I was devastated. Yet I had only met Dann in person twice, and talked to him through e-mail and phone a couple times. But he had made a bond. He was a wonderful person, Not just because he cared so much for Veterans and honored them through his museum. He was just such a nice and engaging person. He had a way of making feel like you had bee life lone friends.

I must admit, I felt partly responsible. The day we re-filmed was a long one. At one point Roberta had to remind Dann to take a break, eat, etc. Dann could become so engaged in the stories of the Veterans represented in his museum, that you could easier lose track of time. He has personal effects, hand written stories, and so much more telling the stories of these Veterans.

After reading the e-mail from Roberta I decided to dedicate the entire episode to Dann and The Museum of the Forgotten Warriors. This was the first and only time I varied from the original format of the show until it was retooled and few years later. It would be almost another year before I finished an episode with the Bolt Antique Tool Museum, the Bok Kai Temple and Museum, as well as a new location, the Mary Aaron Museum.

My wife and I attended Dann Spear’s memorial which was very well attended, As the 2nd Vice Commander of AMVETS Post 18, I presented Roberta Spear and the Museum of Forgotten Warriors with to Patriotism Award a year later. As you might imagine, Dann and his museum has been a highlight and a place I will never forget. Today the museum is struggling to keep operating due to an aging volunteer group and financing, Hopefully this story might find someone who can help keep one man’s vision to remember our Veterans and their stories, The episode can be found on our YouTube Channel under season 1, episode 3.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I just passed into my sixties a few months ago and I have done many things in my lifetime. Few that have given me the satisfaction, and sometimes utter frustration, as The American Landscape travel TV show has. I served in the Untied States Air Force, worked for Disneyland Security, and for more than thirty years I have been a draftsman, 3D designer, and project manager for many architectural firms. For the past twelve years in architecture, I have ben an independent contractor.

During the mid to late 2000’s and its recession, I was downsized twice and found work hard to some by. I turned back to an earlier skill set I relied on before my Air Force days, photography. I went back to school twice to update and ad to my skill set.

I found a niche that interested me while visiting and caring for my grandmother, We would watch TV shows like Huell Hoswer, Samantha Brown, and other travel shows. I thought, I’d like to do that. So I hatched the idea of my version of a travel show, presented it to some friends, and we hit the road.

I still work as an independent architectural contractor, freelance filmmaker and photographer. But all of that supports life and the production of The American Lanscape.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My goal is to provide viewers with potential interesting places to visit here in the United States. I am also very interested in telling the stories of the people who own, run, and in many cases, created the places we visit. The real plus to this job is that I also have the opportunity to visit places I’ve never been and meet some very interesting people along the way.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

While I am not creating The American Landscape for the accolades, it can be very rewarding when it happens. Usually it’s through positive comments on social media. Occasionally it’s when I meet someone who watches the show.

Additionally, and maybe more importantly, I am enriched my the people I meet along the way and in the process of creating the show. I love see in scenery on the highways in our country. We really live in a special place.

And finally, while editing the episode, I get to revisit these places through the creative process of post production. Choosing the correct b-roll, music, and moments in an interview can be very trying, exhausting, and terrifying all at once. and Then I am rewarded with the final version I released to the public. It’s both exciting and rewarding. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://theamericanlandscape.tv
• Instagram: the_american_landscape
• Facebook: The American Landscape
• Linkedin: greg-nutt-traveltvhost
• Twitter: @amlandtv
• Youtube: @TheAmericanLandscape