Meet Amy O. | Drummer & Creative

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amy O. and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amy, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
I’m currently still a student so naturally a handful of my time goes towards coursework. My drumming, music, skateboarding and YouTube channel are what I spend my time on (most of the time). When I first started university I dedicated probably 90% of my time to my art and craft and got super behind in my classes, my grades were crap and I was always catching up and never ahead on stuff. During the end of my second year I got fed up with always being behind and put drumming on hold, I didn’t practice much, and I would upload a YouTube video maybe once every three months. Didn’t skate for months. So I went from one extreme to the other. Fast forward to now (I’m in my fourth year in school) and I think I’ve perfected my balance. It’s so simple: invest the majority of my time on what makes me HAPPY. Get what I need to get done (schoolwork, work, appointments, whatever) and just spend the rest of my time doing what I genuinely enjoy, whether that be drumming, jamming with friends, skateboarding, playing video games, whatever. As long as I’m happy. Everyone’s lives has one thing in common: they die at the end. So, why not live a life where your time is joy-filled, versus things that “should” be done. Obviously it’s not always as simple as that, but yeah. So I’m really digging this current balance that I’ve got going on.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
So I’m a drummer. I’ve been doing it for about 14 years now. I think what sets me apart from a lot of drummers is that I’m a sponge. I just wanna absorb as much as I can. Every drummer is an inspiration to me, there’s always something I can grab from another drummer and from there make it into my own. I’m currently located in Denver and have played numerous local shows, played with a number of bands, and have done some studio work. I opened up for Oshun once which was really cool. I just love to play. I don’t do it for the money or recognition (which are both nice perks), its all just so fun for me. I love representing the underrepresented in the music performance world. The world needs more queer black drummers. I also run a very nichey YouTube channel that started as a place for my drum covers, then blossomed into a community of the best Neptunes and N.E.R.D fans. It’s so fun to interact and chat with the subscribers of the channel and talk music, learn about music I may have slept on, and just geek out about Neptunes production. So basically, the concept of my channel is that I’ll loop a part of a song (mostly Neptunes bridges because they are literally GOAT), and then I’ll add footage that I dig up from the interweb. It’s fun for me and people dig it so that’s really cool. Most of what I’ve done as a drummer and a creative and the opportunities that have arouse came through meeting people who have known people, and just saying ‘yes’ to everything to be honest. I’m almost always down for any opportunity where I’ll get to play drums and I think people really notice that. There’s definitely been some challenges, more so around scheduling and getting classwork done as I’m still a student. It’s more of a ‘being smart with my time’ issue that has been getting a lot better. In my opinion that’s a very small issue so I’m grateful. In terms of my YouTube channel I really want to host a meetup one day. Who knows when that will be with the pandemic that’s currently going on, but I have some really cool ideas that I hope I get to see come intro fruition once it’s safe to do so. I’ve learned a lot about valuing myself, and holding my own so I don’t get walked on. I feel like women in music are often taken advantage of in terms of their worth and I’ve definitely had my experience with that. I feel like the most important lesson of all is to make sure I’m having fun in whatever endeavor I take with my music and craft. If I can’t find joy in it, then it’s not valuable to me. I want people to know that everything I do is genuine and comes from a place of joy. None of this was calculated or mapped out. I’m just intensely tuned into what I love and enjoy and that comes out in my drumming and my creative work. I love being inspired by others and incorporating that into my craft, kind of like a mosaic. Everything I do today is a mosaic of all who have inspired me.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
So I’m actually currently living in Denver, CO, but I’m planning on moving to ATL by the end of next year! I have my eyes set on the Midtown area

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Enormous shoutout to my mum who put up with my musical indecisiveness and enrolled me into drum lessons and made my dad buy me a drumkit. And everyone who lived either in my household or in my neighborhood that put up with my endless hours of drumming.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amy.ooooo
Youtube: http://youtube.com/amyonwoo