Spencer Battiest

Spencer Battiest
Born Plantation, Florida
Nationality Seminole Tribe of Florida
Occupation Singer-songwriter
Notable work The Storm

Spencer Battiest is an American Indian singer-songwriter, musician, producer, and actor from Hollywood, Florida. In 2013, Spencer became the first American Indian artist to sign with Hard Rock Records. His music release song "The Storm" garnered his first music video win as a musician that soon followed up with his single "Love of My Life."

Growing up on the Hollywood Seminole Indian Reservation in Florida, Battiest's passion came from singing gospel hymns in the Miccosukee and Choctaw languages before turning his sights on Pop/Rock and R&B music.

In 2002, at the age of 11 years, Spencer became the youngest singer to ever perform solo among an audience of 17,000 singing the National Anthem on live television for an ESPN NHL hockey game match between the Florida Panthers and Chicago Blackhawks. From this point he was invited to sing the National Anthem for National boxing matches on Showtime, HBO, and ESPN2.

As a musician, from 2007–2010, Battiest performed at the annual Calling Festival (formerly Hyde Park Calling and Hard Rock Calling) among musical artists: Stevie Wonder, Aerosmith, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Sting and The Police, performing compilations of pop/rock music for an audience of more than 100,000 at London's High Park arena.

In the summer of 2015, Spencer performed at the annual Hard Rock Rising Barcelona Global musical festival opening up for noble artists: Robbie Williams, Kings of Leon, Juanes, Lenny Kravitz, Avicii and Steve Angello. The weekend-long event took place at the Platja del Forum (Parc de la Pau, s/n. Sant Adria de Besos, Barcelona) on Friday, July 24, and Saturday, July 25, 2015.

Early life

Spencer was born in Plantation, Florida, to June Lena Baker Battiest (Seminole) and Henry Lee Battiest, Jr (Choctaw). Spencer grew up between Broken Bow, Oklahoma and the Hollywood Seminole Indian Reservation. He graduated from Hollywood Christian School. Spencer has 4 sisters and 2 brothers – his older brother Zachary aka "Doc" collaborates with his music.[1]

Spencer's first appearance on stage was at the tender age of 4 years old, in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, singing at his grandfather's home church. His father, (who is full-blood Choctaw) came from a long line of gospel singers and taught Spencer to sing hymns in his traditional tribal language. His father saw his son's interest in singing and groomed him as a vocalist. By 11 years old, Spencer was invited to sing live during the opening NHL game on ESPN between the Florida Panthers and Chicago Blackhawks. From this opportunity he was invited to sing the National Anthem for National boxing matches on Showtime, HBO, and ESPN2.[2]

While attending a Christian school in Hollywood, Florida, Spencer took part in stage plays and musicals. At 14 years old, Spencer broadened his talent even more by studying acting. That led to an invitation to audition for IPOP – International Presentation of Performance among prominent directors of various television production companies, top talent scouts and Broadway talent agents. Spencer was 1 of 15 chosen from over a thousand kids invited internationally to participate in the grand finale showcase production. Spencer won the award for "Best Top Male Teen" overall award at IPOP.[1]

Music

Spencer started molding himself into an Artist. Without formal training, Spencer continued to sing and study music independently and learned that through songwriting he was able to have a deeper connection with his audience. Spencer's musical influences include: Stevie Wonder, Barbra Streisand and Prince.

As a musician, from 2007–2010, Battiest was invited to perform at the annual Calling Festival (formerly Hyde Park Calling and Hard Rock Calling) among musical artist: Stevie Wonder, Aerosmith, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Sting and The Police, by performing compilation of pop/rock music for an audience of more than 100,000 at London's High Park arena.[3]

"Whether or not I become a huge success, my goal is to elevate Native Americans and encourage my people to go after their dreams in whatever field they choose, to do it to the best of their ability and at the highest level they can. "
—Spencer Battiest[4]

In 2011, Spencer collaborated with his brother Zachary (aka "Doc") to write and produce "The Storm," a personal song about the history of his tribe which was directed by Kiowa/Choctaw filmmaker Steven Paul Judd and part of a summer youth program provided by the Seminole Tribe inviting students to participate in film production. The music video was filmed entirely on the Seminole Reservation in Florida highlighting historical tribal land, ancestry and culture. The song was written as a tribute to the Seminole tribe of Florida, and homage to his parents, grandparents and tribal leaders. The video garnered their first award for "Best Music Video" at the 36th Annual American Indian Film Festival held in San Francisco, California, and was an official selection at ImagineNATIVE – Film & Media Arts festival held in Toronto, Canada and the Santa Fe Native Cinema showcase sponsored by the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indians and SWAIA Santa Fe Indian Market where it won their second "Best Music Video award. Additionally it was nominated for three Native American Music Awards (NAMMY's): "Best Rap/Hip Hop Recording," "Debut Artist of the Year," "Song/Single of the Year" and continues to be showcased internationally at all Hard Rock Restaurants and various events.[4][5]

In 2014 Battiest once again collaborated with Steven Paul Judd to direct his first ever-single release by Hard Rock Records, "Love of My Life," which he co-produced with music producer Brandon Howard, also known as "B" Howard. The music video was filmed in the heart of Hollywood, California as it follows the cinematic journey of a young couple's deep love for one another. Spencer's lyrics evoke the heartfelt passion of lost love. Following his passion, Battiest involved Native American talent in the video for his song featuring Dakota/Cree actress Shayna Jackson and Navajo producer Pamela J. Peters. As Spencer has highlighted in interviews, his goal is to elevate other natives because there are many out there in the entertainment field that need to be seen.[4] Love of My Life was nominated for "Best Music Video" at the 39th Annual American Indian Film Festival and was also nominated for "Song Single of the Year" as well as "Best Music Video" at the 2014 Native American Music Awards (NAMMY's). The music video won "Best Music Video" at the Native Cinema showcase sponsored by the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indians and SWAIA Santa Fe Indian Market Class-X category.[6] The video has been screened at the 3rd annual San Diego American Indian Film Festival, 2015 Talking Stick Indigenous Film Festival, Museum of New Mexico Media Center's Today's movies: Yakona and Something to Talk About Shorts Native Cinema Showcase and was part of an exhibit at The Helen Hardin Media Gallery as part of the SWAIA's Indian Market Moving Image Classification X winners. In addition to the single The Storm – Love of my Life is also showcased internationally at all Hard Rock Café Restaurants.

In April 2015, Spencer and the Osceola Brothers Band performed in Miami, Florida as part of the first Hard Rock Rising concert in the U.S with an audience of over 52,000 on Miami Beach which celebrated the city's 100th birthday. Other notable artist included: Andrea Bocelli, Jon Secada, Gloria Estefan and Barry Gibbs.[7]

In the summer of 2015, Spencer performed at the annual Hard Rock Rising Barcelona Global musical festival opening up for noble artists: Robbie Williams, Kings of Leon, Juanes, Lenny Kravitz, Avicii and Steve Angello. The weekend-long event took place at the Platja del Forum (Parc de la Pau, s/n. Sant Adria de Besos, Barcelona) on July 24 and 25, 2015. Spencer provided a sneak peek to some of his new music along with compilation songs from The Beatles, Come Together and Darkness I believe in a Thing Called Love.[8]

Battiest is planning to release his debut EP in the fall of 2015 entitled Stupid In Love with four original songs entitled: Mary Jane, Right Here, Stupid In Love and Over You.

Acting

In 2013, Spencer took the lead roles for Native Voices at the Autry's developing plays: Distant Thunder (a Blackfeet musical), The Day We Were Born, and Champ. In 2013, Spencer participated in a multimedia project conducted by Navajo filmmaker Pamela J. Peters project Legacy of Exiled NDNZ which documents young American Indian currently living in Los Angeles, California as a tribute to the first generation of relocated Indian of the 1950s. The project has expanded to a full-documentary entitled Exiled NDNZ. Thus far, the filmmaker has been documenting Spencer's musical career in the past year and will continue to for the next 2 years.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 DoBosz, Felix (2005-07-12). "Battiest Wins Big at iPOP! Showcase" (PDF). Volume XXVI (11). The Seminole Tribe of Florida. The Seminole Tribune. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  2. ↑ Tiger, Ernie (2002-02-01). "Seminole Youth Spencer Battiest Sings National Anthem At Panther Game" (PDF). Volume XXIII (2). The Seminole Tribe of Florida. The Seminole Tribune. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "Introducing Spencer Battiest". Hardrock Records. Hard Rock International. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 Bidney, Beverly (2014-05-29). "Spencer Battiest signs with Hard Rock Records". The Seminole Tribe of Florida. The Seminole Tribune. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  5. ↑ "VIDEO: Doc feat. Spencer Battiest – "The Storm"". Revolutions Per Minute. MBM Digital. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  6. ↑ "SWAIA'S INDIAN MARKET MOVING IMAGE CLASSIFICATION X WINNERS". Museum of Contemporary Native Arts. Institute of American Indian Arts. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  7. ↑ Bidney, Beverly (2015-04-25). "Seminole musicians rock the crowd at Hard Rock Rising Miami Beach". The Seminole Tribune. The Seminole Tribe of Florida. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  8. ↑ "Schedule". Hardrock Rising Barcelona. Hardrock International. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  9. ↑ Rose, Christina (2014-12-15). "Still Here, in the Big City: Meet the Legacy of the Indian Relocation Act". Indian Country Today Media Network. Retrieved 5 October 2015.

External links

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