Attitude
Technical Difficulties ARE Your Fault
Anyone who has seen my solo live show knows that I have a lot going on on stage. I run multiple instruments and microphones through a mixer into my loop station and out to the house. I have quite a bit of gear setup on stage for a solo artist. I've played over 500 shows and just...
Attitude
How To Be A Great Opening Act
Being the opener for a more established act can be one of the best ways to make new fans. I can pinpoint specific opening gigs where I gained a large amount of fans who are still incredibly supportive to this day. I love opening slots for more established acts because I get to wi...
Attitude
I Think You’re An Asshole, So I’m Going To Tell You, Asshole
One of my friends, let's call him Tom, is in a fairly successful band (especially in his local city). Tom couldn't get the radio DJ of the local show to reply to his emails or play his band on the radio show and Tom felt he deserved to get played. After about 5 emails, instead of...
Attitude
Can I Open For You? Maybe. But Probably Not
When I was first getting started in Minneapolis I took note of other local bands who were somewhat successful locally. I was not yet. I sent these bands emails to the extent of 'Saw your show last night. Love your sound. If you ever need an opener hit me up.' As you may expect I...
Attitude
I’m A Tool and I Have Accepted That
The music industry is one of the harshest, most demanding, unsupportive, emotionally exhaustive and flat out difficult fields you could enter. But the payoff is... well you know.You have to have thick skin to survive in this industry. People say this pretty much for any creative...
Attitude
How I Got To Play The World’s Largest Music Festival
The idea that you will work at a coffee shop until your band gets their big break and then you're a rock star is laughably false. I wouldn't even mention this if so many young musicians didn't believe this. I know I did.The days of the 'big break' are over. A music career is now...
Attitude
Don’t Be A Dick
When I was a freshman in college an uncle of a friend of mine was the caterer for John Mayer's tour. This was around the Heavier Things time so he was touring arenas, but not a superstar celebrity by any means. The uncle hooked me up with two 'meet and greet' passes. I was a...
Attitude
How I Reduced The Ari Herstand Hate Club By One
Right when my name was starting to become known around the University of Minnesota, a Facebook Group popped up entitled 'I Hate Ari Herstand.' With notoriety and marginal fame come the haters. The group happened to be started by a guy who dated a girl I wrote a song about, but mo...
Attitude
Gatekeepers
Once you get to know your scene better you'll notice that the gatekeepers at the top are friends with each other and they talk. If the top promoter in the city likes you and respects you then he'll tell the venue he works most with and also the music editor of the newspaper as we...
Latest News
Mixing SZA, Engineering Bob Dylan, Collaborating with Rick Rubin
This week, Ari is joined by grammy nominated engineer and producer Dana Nielsen, to discuss his career journey, collaborating with award winning artists, and making it as a mix engineer.