Ari Hest

Way Cool: 

I started taking piano lessons when I was 7 or 8 years old for two years.  My teacher was probably really good, but also very old, so I didn’t think it was cool.  I didn’t do that for very long.  I played clarinet because my father told me it would be a good idea.  That lasted for about a year.  My teacher was mean in that case, so I didn’t do that very long either.  Then I joined a choir in high school and just started singing Mozart’s Requiem and a lot of traditional choral pieces, most of which I was indifferent about, but some of them I really enjoyed.  I realized at that point the music was more than just a passing phase.  I didn’t know I had any talent until that point.  With Mozart’s Requiem, I learned it so well and was singing the soprano and alto parts because I just remembered them.  If someone was out of the alto class for that day, my teacher would ask me to switch to go there.

I didn’t know what to make of it, but I knew I had some sort of talent.  I did a Battle of the Bands when I was in 11th grade.  After three months of playing guitar, my friend, Ken, who was a big Smashing Pumpkins and Pearl Jam fan, and I did the talent show.  We did a Zeppelin song, a Pumpkins song, and Pearl Jam as a set ender.  And we lost!  We got second place because a math teacher at the school did a really good Axel Rose impersonation.  He was one of two teachers who competed.  It was a charity event, so they were allowed to join.  He was unstoppable!  It was cool to see the teacher up there doing that.  But, he won, which sucked for me. 

So, then I went to college and kept playing guitar.  I formed a band with some guys back in New York.  I was migrating between Cornell University (in Ithaca) and New York for two years.  I used to come home on weekends to play.   It was a good experience.  I got to see what being in a band was like and see how different personalities fit together and if it was possible for it to work.  In that case, we all kind of agreed after a year or so that it wasn’t working for a lot of reasons.  I also wrote a few songs in that band and decided to keep playing.  I found a couple of coffeehouses near NYU, where I transferred halfway through college, and started playing to family and friends.  Eventually a few other people trickled in. 

WC:

What kind of adjustments have you had to make from being an independent artist to being on a major label (Columbia)?

Not a whole lot.  The biggest adjustment is completely mental; it’s thinking of yourself as a business.  I guess I did that a little bit when I was independent, but I wasn’t thinking about it as much as I am now.  There are so many jobs riding on my shoulders now.  I try not to think about it that way, but it’s hard to ignore it.  There’s an A&R guy who signed me to the label, and if it doesn’t work out, that guy’s probably going to go.  That’s why the life span of those guys is usually less than a year.  You sign someone and it doesn’t work out, “Bye, bye!” 

The whole selling records thing?  Yeah, I think about it.  I wish I didn’t think about it as much as I do.  I do think about the music first, which is the most important thing, but there’s more to the whole game now.  It’s not all just fun.  It’s a little more of a grind, I guess.

WC:

What’s been the biggest payoff for you?

I get free clothes when we do clothing shoots.  My record’s in some stores across the country, which is also nice.  I probably could have done that independently too, but it would have been really hard.  My brother (Danny, manager) and I expended so much energy to get where we did and we just got tired of doing everything.  We needed help at that point.  The radio team hasn’t really kicked in yet, but it will in the future.  That’s something that we needed help with.  These days, major label artists are looked at as the way to go for radio stations, at least major radio stations.  They are more interested in music that they get shipped by Columbia or Universal instead of listening to the guy down the street who could very well be awesome.  That’s kinda scary to think about.  Occasionally there’s a station that’s good to everybody, but that’s rare.  I would like it if any radio station played my song!  To this point, it’s been OK, but I think it will get better.

What’s it like to have your brother, Danny, as your manager? 

AH:

Is there anything that you think major labels should learn from independent artists?

Up to this point, Columbia has done what I wanted them to do, which is basically to leave me alone.  They let me make the record and there wasn’t a guy telling me, “I don’t think that song is right for the album.”  There wasn’t that guy.  For a radio single, they may want a remix, and that’s OK, but I have the final say.  That part is the most important. 

There’s a lot they can learn from bands like Guster and Dispatch.  Any independent band that has success did it on their own.  There were secrets that they have that shouldn’t be secrets.  Labels should realize that it’s important to have a rep team.  In a sense that these bands, including me, made their own labels.  As for reps, they didn’t get paid to work for me, but they got perks including going to shows for free.  They were part of the label.  They didn’t have designations as such, but that’s essentially what they were.  We had our own mini label and it was working.  What ends up happening to a lot of artists is that there’s a group of maybe 15 people at the label working on your behalf.  If there’s one downer in the whole group, then it can be bad news.  Everything has to be working for it to go where you want it to go.  It’s a little more difficult now because I have to rely on people that I either didn’t choose or don’t know how to connect with.  They may have other artists and need to work really hard with them. 

But, it’s too early to say whether I like it or don’t like it.  I know that I made the decision I wanted to make and I’m happy about that.  I needed to try this out and felt that I was young enough to do it.  I’m 25, let’s try it!  If it doesn’t work out, then I’m 27 or 28 and I can go back to doing my own thing or join another label. 

What has been the response of your fans about you joining a label?

Mostly positive.  Most of them understand that it was something I wanted to do.  They respect that, even if they don’t like the whole major label thing.  Most of them are cool about it.  Occasionally there are people who say, “I wish you were playing your guitar in a coffee shop again.”  I understand.  I feel what they’re saying.  But, I haven’t had someone say, “I’m not going to be your fan any more.”  And that’s a testament to how great my fans are.  They are smart people and they understand.  They enjoy what I do and let me do what I want to do.  They’re still going to like it.  So, things haven’t really changed since I got on Columbia.  I don’t see any reason why they should be bugged out by it at this point.

Well, in two years when you’re rich and famous, they can call you a sell-out!

That term is so bogus.  Occasionally it makes sense, but it’s so rare that it does.  So many people get labeled as sell-outs who just aren’t.  They get stuck in a situation they can’t get out of and they go with it.  Or they were doing what they wanted to do all along and their fans didn’t want it.  Too bad!  As an artist, this is what I want to do and, like I said, the majority of my fans have been really supportive.

Fans can get a little protective of someone that they feel they helped further that career, or that it’s their secret.

Right!  I get that.  I understand that.  It’s just one of those things that I can’t help.  As I get bigger, I just hope they stay with me.

You’ve been touring constantly.  What has that done for your career and personal life?

AH:

For my career, it’s been good.  For my personal life, it’s been bad.  Let’s talk about the bad first because that’s the stuff I generally think about.  There was someone I was thinking I might spend the rest of my life with that I’m not anymore.  But it’s more than that.  When you’ve been on the road for eight or nine months of the year, you go home and three days later you don’t know what to do.  You’ve slept enough, you’ve seen your best friends, and you have no job, although some people do get a job, but I’m lucky enough not to have to.  So, you pick up your guitar and write for a few hours.  I don’t really read that much, although I should do that more, and I watch too much television.  I don’t really know what to do with myself.  This past December and January were basically off months for me and I had a lot of time on my hands.  I didn’t know what to do.  I had so much time.  It was really strange and weird just being in my own home. 

I hope what will happen is that once I have a break of five or six months, the first month will suck, but eventually I’ll get into it and start to enjoy it.  I guess I didn’t really get the chance to do that last time.  I did write some new songs, so that was good.

What’s your biggest rock star moment so far?

I haven’t had a lot of people hold up signs for me.  In Milwaukee, there was a girl in the front row who had a gigantic poster board that said, “Ari, I’m onto you!”  That was great.  It’s such a nice feeling.  This crowd (at the OAR shows) is a huge group of people who don’t know me.  I’m working really hard to get their attention, so it’s really nice to see some familiar faces, especially when they’re holding up signs like that.  I think, “I’m here to play for you.  Everyone else, I hope they latch on, but you and me…”  I talked to her afterwards and she had seen me once or twice before.  I always talk to people after the show.  I feel that that is something that’s so paramount to what I do.  If you don’t go out and talk to your fans, you’re missing out.  I like to go out there and talk to them.  It’s great. 

You’re CD has been out for about 9 months now.  Tell us about what’s next.  Are you working on new stuff?

AH:

I’m working on a lot of new stuff.  The record is still in motion and I think it will be for the rest of the year.  I can’t wait to get back in the studio.  This band can’t either.  We’re really trying to do that and we have been adding new songs to the setlist little by little.  It’s not that we’re sick of the old songs, but I think this stuff is better than my (current) record.  I feel a sense of pride knowing that each record’s better than the one before it and I think this one will be better than ‘Someone to Tell.’  I guess it’s fun for the fans, too, because they’ve been living with these songs for a couple of years now at least.  It’s nice for them to come to the show and hear something new.

What new musicians or up-and-comers do you think we should be paying attention to?

There are a couple that I’ve played with recently who I think are great.  I think Griffin House is a really good songwriter and performer.  He’s a nice guy, too.  We toured around for a couple of weeks.  He’s good for music.  And Teitur; we did a couple of shows together.  He reminds me of Paul Simon with an effortless voice and really cool and complex, but simple music.  His melodies you can sing along to, but his chord changes are hard.  It’s kinda what I’m trying to do too.  I’m trying to expand on what’s thought of as rock and roll, which is typically three or four chords.  There are some bands that branch out beyond that, but it’s rare.  I’m trying to push the limit of that and see how far it can go and still call it rock.  Teitur does that, although I wouldn’t classify him as a rock performer.  He writes songs that could be considered pop songs, but their really heady and well thought out.  You can tell how musical he is by listening to his songs.