Amir Oosman – Drummers I Like Podcast #17

Summary: Hey, everyone! Welcome to another episode of the Drummers I Like Podcast! Today we have the joy of chatting with creative mastermind and renaissance man Amir Oosman!<br> Amir is an L.A. Native and after a handful of attempts to meet up, the forces aligned and we finally got the call in for the show. Amir is the epitome of what all creative drummers should be striving, to be quickly rising up in the social media ranks as a quality content producing machine.<br> In a world with so many voices, it is harder to stand out, more than ever, so stay tuned as we pick apart the mind of Amir Oosman and break down what it takes to really stand out! From basically walking into the Blue Devils ( killed his audition ) to playing drums in the car, Amir is an encyclopedia of information. <br> 0:00-9:00 - Show Intro<br> <br> 9:00-17:00 - Amir breaks down his journey in music leading up to now touching on how drum lessons didn't really work for him in the beginning. It wasn't until age 13 when he saw the blue devils play at his school driving him to audition on quads only a year later. He talks about these core periods being a part of his technique and approach today.<br> " there is not one right way to play drumset, there is not one right technique, there's a lot "<br> 17:00-22:00 - Amir talks about his time at Berklee summer music college and how it played a big role in driving him to take his craft more serious than ever. Rich and Amir touch on local musicians and the awesome community built around Los Angeles Musicians.<br> <br> 22:00-30:00 - We talk deeply on social media playing an essential part in his growth with his online community. Rich and Amir point out the lack of posting from some of the bigger players in the industry. Amir breaks down the steps it took for him to reach his current popularity and the daily work he is putting in. We talk about his mentor, Jack Jacobson, teaching him some of the core functions of having a good attitude. We also get into what it took to break through to the next level.<br> <br> 30:00-36:00 - We get into what it takes to tour with new artists, working with different personalities and how to fit in with everyone. Amir talks about how time-consuming building his brand and creating all his materials has become when you are the one editing your videos, mixing your audio and doing your marketing.<br> " I thought I needed expensive mics, but instead I just went with the basics, that way, if you learn to do a lot with a little, you can do a lot more down the road. "<br> 36:00-43:00 - We talk about his intro into the Motown world and how he got his foot in the door. He mentions how a performance reel on his Google Drive account leading to him landing a gig. Amir preaches being prepared heavily and uses this experience as the prime example.<br> <br> 43:00-53:00 - Amir and Rich get into the topic of playing drums in the car and how much of a role it plays in his practice regimen. He touches base on the car being his favorite place to mentally practice because he is consistently learning music. We also touch on diversity and how he didn't want to be known as " that guy who drums in his car ".<br> <br> 53:00-1:00:00 - We touch on focusing on doing the things you love and not " forcing it " as many musicians do just to get the gig. We talk about learning things you want from the drummers who do it best and taking the time to break things down.<br> " if you like Steve Gadd listen to what he played on "<br> 1:00:00-1:05:00 - Amir gets into discipline and the eye-opening moments during his time with Randy Gloss at Cal-arts learning to really take his time learning Table and breaking things down on drumset to build a serious mental strength. Richard and Amir touch on Chris Coleman and Rich's obsession with Chris when he first learned of him.<br> <br> 1:05:00-1:13:00 - Amir talks about what he has going on now and what is to come with him as an artist.