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Ami Kozak, a music composer from Englewood, was eating at Dana's Pizza on E. Palisade Avenue this week when the co-host of his podcast, Michael Weber, of Ami's House, spontaneously decided to do a Portnoy-style review.
He calls the character, Dovid Portnoy.
Kozak, 37, says he never expected the video to take off the way that it did.
"I posted it just to post it for fun," he said. "You can’t anticipate virality."
As of Thursday, Aug. 8, Kozak's video had 44K views on Instagram and 15.6K on TikTok.
Kozak discovered he had a good voice at a young age and taught himself to sing by copying other artists.
His ear for music lent itself to impressions, identifying keys and pitches for different voices and characters. Kozak was just a boy when he began dabbling in impressions, imitating his parent's friends, teachers, and figures within the community — cracking up the room.
"I always had a knack for it," Kozak said.
Kozak earned his bachelor's of music from Berklee College of Music in Boston and went on to form a band, Distant Cousins Band. The band's music has been featured in movies and on TV ("This Is Where I Leave You," "How To Train Your Dragon 3" trailer, on "American Idol," and more).
Kozak only recently began integrating comedy into his career, launching a podcast, Ami's House, and adding stand-up sets into the mix. Videos of some of his impressions helped Kozak launch his comedy career online, where he became most well-known for imitations of of Gary Vaynerchuk, Jordan Peterson, and lately, VP Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
He says adding stand-up, or any type of new endeavor, into his career comes with a touch of imposter syndrome.
"But with any kind of exposure therapy, the more you do it, the more it becomes part of you," Kozak said.
That's clearly been the case for the local dad, who has organically built a social media following of 136K followers on Instagram and more than 253K on TikTok.
One of Kozak's most-viewed videos (1.9M) is his impression of Prince Harry recalling events that transpired at a royal dinner from 2023.
"How do you sound more like Harry does than Harry himself?? 🤣" one fan wrote.
"You’re a better Harry than Harry," another added.
Kozak is hoping his fans will come see him when he performs live standup:
- Aug. 15 at the HPAC - Hurleyville Performing Arts Centre
- Aug. 19 Debonair Music Hall in Teaneck with Elon Gold
- Aug. 20 at city winery with Elon Gold
You can also catch Kozak and the Distant Cousins at the Triad Theater on Aug. 26 in New York City.
"There’s nothing better than connecting with your art, whether it’s the music or comedy," he said. "When it’s done, right, it feels transcendent. Especially in a live setting — not only bringing people joy, but there’s a sense of presence that’s unmatched."
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