Life & Work with Jamie Alimorad of Beverly Hills

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Alimorad.

Hi Jamie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve had music within me as long as I can remember. My dad was a musician and there was always music playing. My parents and I would sing in the car together and eventually I started taking piano lessons. That branched out into the church choir, school band, garage bands, musical theater, and eventually earning a degree in music technology from Northeastern University.

The four years I spent in Boston is what really got me going. As a college kid you’re discovering yourself in many ways, and the most important one for me was who I wanted to be as an artist. I had to find my voice. Playing campus, bars, clubs, showrooms, and theaters showed me what life was like outside the bubble I had at home. I had never played to a crowd that didn’t know me until I stepped foot onto the broken down stage of the All Asia Bar in Cambridge. Sure I had a loyal band of friends and other Northeastern students there, but the rest of the crowd were the local bar flies, and they were not shy to share an opinion. Doing those gigs several times a week was the best school a live musician could ask for.

Eventually I worked my way up to the bigger rooms in town; The Paradise Rock Club, The Middle East, even the showroom at the Hard Rock. I released an EP after months of doing the circuit, and before I knew it I had a tour booked and was traveling nationwide. I’ve gotten to work along side with several of my idols, and meet some of the most incredible people and musicians around! It’s incredible to look back on.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I don’t think anyone’s road is perfectly smooth. We all hit bumps and get bruises along the way. That’s part of it. Without those experiences you don’t learn. I’ve had musicians quit the day before a show, or even days before a tour. I’ve had to navigate to rural recording studios in the middle of an ice storm. There have been more shows that I can count where equipment fails. As you start building momentum the sharks start to circle and they seemingly peel back the curtain to show you how they’ll achieve your dreams, only to take your money and run. That’s the nature of the business. All in all, I’ve done very well for myself and am happy with who I am. At the end of the day, that’s what really matters.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a singer/songwriter and musician. Music is everything to me – my greatest love, my greatest joy. Like anyone that loves something, they have strong opinions and feelings about it. There’s a difference between the art of music and the music business. I think every artist has their own qualms with the business side of music, and everyone has their own preferences when it comes to the artists side of music.

The thing I’m most proud of myself for is, in a day where it seems everyone is more focused on how they shock people with how they look or how they say things, I’m a throwback to a person that just wants to sing and play. Don’t get me wrong, my favorite band of all time (The Tubes) were known for their over the top live shows, full of explicit material, exotic dancers, and more satire than a Monty Python film, but they still put the music first. They wrote their songs around concepts and built a show around it. It was like seeing a Broadway musical every night. There’s integrity behind that. I think that’s the big difference. I stay true to myself.

I think the thing that sets me apart from others is also my vocal ability. I have a big range, both in register and stylistically, which allows me to write songs that fuse genres and stretch melodies. I also tend to record my vocals as a full take, meaning I sing the entire song in one take. It’s very common today to record vocals line by line, or even word by word, and then tune it into oblivion. I take great pride in honing my craft to not rely on the machines to fix me, and it shows when you see me live.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I don’t go to those outlets too much. I enjoy an interview with an artist, songwriter, or producer I admire, but my dad told me from a very young age that if I wanted to sing, I should listen to certain singers and mimic them. When you’re a kid and your mind is a sponge, it’s easier to just copy than to understand what they’re actually doing. As I got older and more seasoned I began to peel back the layers to understand what exactly I was doing, and how to harness that.

Outside of music, I’ve studied martial arts all my life. Those teachings followed the same path. At five years old, I just wanted to be a Power Ranger. Then I started to compete, then I got more into the history of the art, then I hung with the older kids that could do the crazy moves and they were applying the teachings in every facet of their lives. It’s really beautiful.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jamiealimiorad.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/jamiealimorad
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/jamiealimorad
• Twitter: https://x.com/JamieAlimorad
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/jamiealimorad
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/jamie-alimorad
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/59UqIZrZFo3Um9jqgdavic?si=l0-hJnmyQfOlVJVBin50gQ

Image Credits
Alain Vasquez