Ari Hest

Infobox musical artist
Name = Ari Hest


Img_capt = Ari Hest
Img_size =
Landscape =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name =
Alias =
Born = birth date and age|1979|6|16 .]
Died =
Origin =
Instrument = Vocalist Guitarist Keyboardist Harmonicist Percussionist
Genre = Rock, Acoustic, Pop
Occupation = Singer Musician
Years_active = 1999–present
Label = Columbia Records (2004-2007) Project 4 Records (1999-2004; 2007-Present)
Associated_acts =
URL = http://www.arihest.com
Current_members =
Past_members =
Notable_instruments =

Ari Hest is an American singer-songwriter and a native of Riverdale in the Bronx borough of New York. Ari Hest, formerly of Columbia Records, is managed by Brick Wall Management and booked by Tree Lawn Artists.⁵

Biography

Early life

Ari took piano lessons as a child and later, as a teenager (around age 15), taught himself to play his mother's nylon string guitar by ear with influences from both his parents' record collection and radio artists. Artists cited as influences are Paul Simon, The Beatles, Dave Matthews, U2, Smashing Pumpkins, Tears for Fears, The Police, Nirvana, and Pearl Jam among others. As a child, Ari aspired to become a professional baseball player and continued to play through the end of high school. During Ari's childhood, his father wrote jingles for toy commercials on television for which he sometimes recruited Ari to sing. One jingle noted by Ari as an example was a commercial for a girl's toy puppy from Hasbro branded "Sweetie Pups". Although he did not win, Ari competed in a “Battle of the Bands” in 11th grade playing Pearl Jam's “Nothing Man” and Led Zeppelin's “Thank You” with another young musician. Ari wrote his first song in 1996 that was titled “Surrounded By Surprise” and is defined by Ari as "something involving a made-up girlfriend and a hot-air balloon". Ari began playing in his first band called “Synapse” between 1997 and 1999. The band played venues such as New York City clubs and graduation parties. Ari's songs “Fade” and “Consistency” were born from this group. Former bandmates of "Synapse" were Markus Dorfmann (drums), Lee Nadel (bass) and David Hyman (guitar). Ari attended Cornell University in Ithaca, NY beginning in 1999 and later transferred to New York University. Ari studied Communication at both Cornell and NYU but graduated from NYU in 2002 with a degree in Communication.

Career

By the end of his sophomore year at Cornell Ari decided to transfer to NYU because of more playing opportunities. At this time Ari began to focus on his career as a musician by touring colleges and clubs across the United States. Ari had sold approximately 20,000 CDs and released one EP as well as 2 records ("Incomplete", "Come Home" & "Story After Story", respectively) under his own independent recording label named "Project 4" by 2003. After his performance at New York's Bowery Ballroom in August 2003, Columbia Records began to express interest. Ari signed a recording contract with Columbia in March of 2004 and later recorded his first studio album entitled "Someone To Tell" with producer David Kos Rolfe. Ari finished recording his 5 song EP "Guilty Hearts EP" in fall of 2005. The "Guilty Hearts EP" disc contains a 'making of' video created by Karen Scott of StarPolish as well as a link to downloadable lyrics. The video features Ari himself, Scott Seiver (drums) and Rob Calder (bass). Ari recorded his 6th album, "The Green Room Sessions", on a laptop personal computer using Apple's GarageBand software. Ari performed all vocals and instruments to include acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, harmonica, and percussion for this album. Ari sometimes gives demonstrations of GarageBand at Apple Stores that are both free and open to the public. [http://www.arihest.com News: Live At The Apple Store - Ari To Give Garageband Demonstrations and Performances] - January 13, 2007. Accessed on January 31, 2007.] Ari has completed the recording of his seventh album "The Break-In" with producer Mitchell Froom. A single from the album entitled "I've Got You" was released on Apple's iTunes on January 16th, 2007 and the full-length album was released by Columbia Records on May 1, 2007.

Family

Ari's father plays a number of different horn instruments and is a college music professor. When Ari was a child, his father professionally wrote jingles for children's toy commercials. His mother is currently a cantor at Temple Beth-El of Great Neck.

Ari has only one sibling, an older brother named Daniel "Danny" Hest who was born on May 26, 1975. Danny was involved in the production and vocal arrangement of Ari's first album "Incomplete". Danny Hest is VP of Artist Development at StarPolish and manages Ari as well as other artists. [http://www.starpolish.com/news/article.asp?id=683 On The Road: A Manager's View of SXSW 2004] , Danny Hest - Monday, April 12, 2004. Accessed on February 6, 2007.]

Television & Radio Appearances

Television

*New York, NY, WPIX-TV 11 Morning News. Monday, August 9, 2004 at 8:45am EST. Live acoustic performance.
*CNNfn "The Biz". Tuesday, August 10, 2004 at 12:30pm EST. Interview.
*Chicago, IL, WGN-TV 9, Wednesday, September 8, 2004. Musical guest. Live performance and interview.
*"Last Call with Carson Daly". September 24, 2004. [http://www.tvguide.com/detail/tv-show.aspx?tvobjectid=192264&more=ucepisodelist&episodeid=4280255 Last Call with Carson Daly Episodes - TVGuide.com] . Accessed on January 31, 2007.] The episode also featured Jim Breuer, Bill Bellamy, Paul Rodriguez and No Use for a Name. Live performances of "They're On To Me" and "A Fond Farewell" from the album "Someone To Tell". This was Ari's network television debut.
*ESPN "Cold Pizza". Tuesday, October 26, 2004. Live performance.
*Philadelphia, PA, WCAU 10, Tuesday, December 2, 2004 at 9:30am EST.
*CBS "Saturday Early Show, Second Cup Cafe". January 1, 2005 at 7:00am EST. Live Performance.
*Kansas City, KS, WDAF-TV 4's "the Noon News", Tuesday, March 29, 2005 at 12:40pm EST. Live performance and interview.
*Austin, TX, KTBC 7, Tuesday, May 17, 2005 at 12:00pm EST. Live performance and interview.

Radio

*Multiple radio stations. Acoustic Café, August 23, 2004. Recorded performance.
*WXPN Experimental Pennsylvania Network (88.5 FM) at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. World Cafe, August 25, 2004 at 2:00pm EST. Live performance and interview with David Dye.
*XM Cafe (45 XM), "Build Your Own Show". September 6, 8th-10th, 2004. Live performance at XM Studios w/ Rob Calder.
*KMTT The Mountain (103.7FM) in Seattle, WA. January 19, 2005. Live performance at the Mountain Music Lounge.
*WRLT Radio Lightning, (100.1 FM) in Nashville, TN. Thursday, March 10, 2005. Live performance.
*WFUV Fordham University's Voice (90.7 FM) in New York, NY. Sunday, March 13, 2005. Live performance and interview on Pete Fornatale's "Mixed Bag".
*WBOS Boston (92.9 FM) in Boston, MA. Saturday, April 30, 2005. Live performance for the 12th Annual 92.9 WBOS EarthFest at Boston's Hatch Shell. Headliner: The Wallflowers. Other artists: Low Millions, Carbon Leaf, Five for Fighting.
*WBOS Boston (92.9 FM) in Boston, MA. Saturday, July 14, 2005. Live performance at the Copley Square Concert at 7:15pm EST.
*WBOS Boston (92.9 FM) in Boston, MA. Saturday, January 6, 2007. Live performance and interview from Bretton Woods Mountain Resort Slopeside Pub in Bretton Woods, NH.
*The Acoustic Lounge on KSFS podcast in San Francisco, CA. Released on June 20, 2007. Live performance of the May 13th, 2007 Bottom of the Hill concert and interview.

Music Videos

A small budget music video was recorded of the single "They're On To Me" featuring Ari moving through several New York cityscapes and playing a sold-out album release concert at New York City's Bowery Ballroom venue on August 10, 2004 with bassist Rob Calder and drummer Scott Seiver. The video was directed by Steven Oritt.

On March 22, 2008, Ari performed a live, interactive concert for his fans at DeepRockDrive. Songs performed include "Sleep Tonight", "Anne Marie", and "I've Got You". Video of all 9 songs from the performance are available [http://www.deeprockdrive.com/vault/4947/ari_hest?ref=wpvp| free and on demand] at the [http://www,deeprockdrive.com/vault?ref=wpvp| DeepRockDrive Video Vault] .

ALSO Ari's video for So Slow was shot in the town of NORTHPORT Long Island (the scenes involving driving down the large hill [Ft. Salonga Rd.] and the Shell Station across from the infamous Steak Port Restaurant, as well as in Hauppauge Long Island at the famous HAUPPAUGE PALACE DINER!

Band Members

Current

Rob Calder • Bassist

Often tours with Ari and can be seen in the 'making of' video on the "Guilty Hearts EP" disc as well as in the music video for "They're On To Me". In addition to working with Ari, Rob has performed and/or recorded with Fiction Plane (Geffen), Cutters (BMG/CMC), Kanye West (Rocafella), The Break & Repair Method (Cement Shoes Records /Universal), Danielle Evin (Lateral View/Sony), Chris Shaffer of The Why Store (MCA), Sue Medley and Ghostface Killah (Def Jam) to name a few. Like Ari, Rob's parents were also musicians. His father was a university music professor and at one time an orchestral conductor in Vienna. His mother was at one time a German opera singer. Rob began playing the bass guitar toward the end of high school and began playing publicly within one to two months. Rob was a member of the Bloomington, Indiana based band Cutters. Cutters released an album named “Sonic Wave Love” in February of 1999. Rob auditioned for Ari Hest in early 2003. Rob currently resides in the Lower East side of Manhattan. Rob is a graduate of Indiana University and a fluent speaker of the German language. Rob's Official website: http://www.robcalder.com.

Former

cott Seiver • Drummer

Also featured in the 'making of' video on the "Guilty Hearts EP" disc and the music video for "They're On To Me". Scott not only plays percussion but many other instruments including keyboard instruments, harmonica & guitar. Scott is currently working with Chewy Puma along with several other projects.

A-Team

The [http://www.arihestateam.com A-Team] is a grassroots group of individuals who promote Ari's music with postcards, posters and through word of mouth. Additionally, members of the team are encouraged to record his live shows, publicly distribute them free of charge, and send a copy of the recording to Ari's website to be distributed over the internet via mp3 audio and videos. Perks for A-Team members include contests with prizes, access to the rep-only website, private rep concerts and exclusive media content.

Covers

Ari covered Fleetwood Mac's "Little Lies" on his album The Green Room Sessions. Ari has covered "I'm On Fire" by Bruce Springsteen, Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah", Radiohead's "No Surprises", Jeff Buckley's "Morning Theft", The Doobie Brothers' "What a Fool Believes" and Elton John's "Daniel" among many others during live performances.

Management

Ari has been managed by his brother throughout his career. Ari continues to be managed by his brother, Danny Hest as well as Karen Scott through StarPolish Artist Management. StarPolish Artist Management is a small New York based firm that manages musical artists. Their clients in addition to Ari are: The Alternate Routes, DADA, The Distillery, Red Heart the Ticker and Virginia Coalition.

Discography

Full-Length, Extended Play and Single Albums

* "Incomplete" (EP, 1999), Project 4 Records
* "Come Home" (2001), Project 4 Records
* "Story After Story" (2002). Project 4 Records
* "Someone To Tell" (2004), Columia Records
* "Guilty Hearts" (EP, 2005), Columbia Records
* "The Green Room Sessions" (EP, 2006), Columbia Records
* "I've Got You" (Download only single, 2007), Columbia Records/Red Ink
* "The Break-In" (2007), Columbia Records/Red Ink
* "Live at the Quick Center" (EP, 2008), Project 4 Records

Promotional, Soundtrack and Other Albums

* "Consistency", Live From The Village Underground (2002), Project 4 Records, included with first 1,000 copies of “Story After Story”
* "Winter Break: The Movie Soundtrack" (2003), Various Artists, with “Strangers Again” from Ari Hest
* "DecentXposure • Volume One" (2003). Various Artists, with “Consistency” from Ari Hest

References

5. ^ [http://www.oncampusbooking.com Ari Hest at On Campus Booking] [http://www.archive.org/details/ahest2005-05-26.mk4.nbox.shnf Ari Hest Live at The Roxy on May 26 2005] . Accessed on 02/10/2007. [http://arihest.chime.com/newsgreenroom.shtml Ari Hest News] . Accessed on February 10th, 2007. [http://www.arihest.com/ Ari Hest Profile/Biography] . Accessed on January 31st, 2007. [http://www.starpulse.com/Music/Hest,_Ari/Biography/ Ari Hest Biography] . Accessed on January 31st, 2007. [http://www.auralgasms.com/browse.aspx?Redirect=frameArtistMain.aspx?BandID=arihest&SampleID= Ari Hest Biography] . Accessed on January 31st, 2007. [http://www.theahsa.com/ About Ari - General Background] . Accessed on February 5th, 2007.

External links

* [http://www.arihest.com Official Ari Hest website]
* [http://www.starpolishmanagement.com/ StarPolish: Ari Hest's management]
* [http://www.arihestfans.com/ Ari Hest Fans]
* [http://www.theahsa.com/ The Ari Hest Show Archive]
* [http://www.glidemagazine.com/index.php?task=Articles&section=94&id=46636&issue=1&PHPSESSID=3e679 Album Review: Ari Hest - Someone To Tell] .
* [http://www.musicbox-online.com/ah-tell.html Album Review: Ari Hest - Someone to Tell] .
* [http://www.stereosubversion.com/interviews-features/03-15-2008/ari-hest/ Ari Hest Interview at StereoSubversion.com]