Singer-songwriter Ari Hest is a self-made success story. Even while under contract to a major label, he decided to break loose so he could record and release new music directly to fans on his own terms. The result was “52″, a collection of 52 individual songs written, recorded and released one at a time every week for an entire year.
Ari recorded almost all the songs on “52″ using Apple’s Garageband, a laptop and a microphone. One of the songs, “The Weight”, made USA TODAY’s “Listen Up Music Pick”.
The ambitious project yielded a follow-up album called “Twelve Mondays”, a collection of 12 fan-selected songs from “52″ reworked in a studio.
Ari took some time away from his busy schedule to share some of his insights about songwriting in the email interview below. His achievements show what is possible for aspiring, talented songwriters willing to put the time in to make things happen for themselves.
1. How long have you been playing music?
I’ve been singing since I was a kid, playing guitar since age 16 and writing music for a decade now.
2. Did you take lessons or are you self-taught?
I took a handful of voice and piano lessons, but my piano skill is questionable…guitar came much easier to me, didn’t need lessons for that.
3. When did you write your first song?
My first song was called “Surrounded By Surprise” and was written around ’98. I burned the lyrics in shame, but I still remember the melody, so that part is good.
4. When did you record your first song?
I recorded an EP my sophomore year of college at Cornell in 1999 called “Incomplete”.
5. What was your first gig like?
My first gig was a battle of the bands at my high school. I lost to a math teacher whose Axl Rose impression was spot on.
6. What made you decide to persue a music career?
I’m not really sure why, I guess I just enjoy music more than any other activity, and it comes naturally to me. So I figured it’d be wise to do something I love for a career and started to work hard at it.
7. When did you decide you wanted to take the DIY (Do It Yourself) route?
I’ve been DIY since ’07, but was also independent from ’99 to ’03. I’ve enjoyed it a lot more than the stint I had on a major label. I like the freedom of putting out music whenever I feel like doing so.
8. What is your writing process? How do you go from spark to finished song?
My writing process generally begins with a melody and then chords underneath it. I usually flesh out a whole song of music before getting into lyrics. Lyrics take a considerably longer amount of time for me, and I like to have the music in place before I focus on them.
9. How do you decide if an idea is worth persuing?
An idea is worth pursuing if I can’t stop humming it for at least 24 hours. I come up with a lot of musical snippets all day long, and most of them I don’t do anything with. The few that survive are usually good, and I go from there.
10. Do you copyright everything before you release it to your fans?
Yes, copyrighting is a necessary step at the beginning.
11. What are the pros and cons of doing everything yourself vs. working with other musicians?
I work with other musicians. I just dont have a record label supporting my albums, so I cover the cost of having musicians play on my records and on tour. I have a band that generally plays on everything I write these days.
12. Do you ever work with producers?
I still work with producers as well. I’m working on a new album now which is tentatively titled “Sunset Over Hope Street” with a producer named Alex Wong. Producers can help sculpt your songs and make the process of making a record more efficient, and Alex was great for that.
13. Do you miss working with a major label? Would you do it again?
I don’t miss the major label but I wouldn’t rule out signing with someone in the future. It’s nice to have the financial backing. Ideally I’d just like to take someone’s money and use it the way I see fit to promote my album, but that’s a rarity these days.
14. There’s been a lot of press about your use of Apple’s Garageband, especially for the Green Room Sessions and 52. Are you still using it? What do you like/not like about it?
I use Garageband every day for my demos. I also occasionally use Logic to record. Both are essential to how i create and work. They’re a huge asset, and really easy to use, even for computer idiots like me.
15. Do you use anything else for recording?
I use an Apogee Duet which links the signal from my instruments to my computer. It’s great. Small and portable, very handy. Thats pretty much it. Oh, and a mic. I bring a Shure SM-57 on the road for most of my tours.
16. What’s your current home studio rig?
I use the same rig at home.
17. How important is mastering to the recording process?
Mastering can help a lot, but that’s one of those things I really know very little about. There are preset mastering tools in Logic that anyone can use to enhance the sound of their recordings, but if you don’t know what you’re doing that can get dicey. Better to ask a pro about that.
18. What was the inspiration behind the 52 project?
The 52 project came about because while on a major label I didn’t have the creative liberty to release music when I felt like it, and I wanted to try something that would set me apart from other writers. It was the best thing I’ve done in my career, mostly because I wrote a lot of good material that year. I’m not sure if I could do it again though. It was a strain on the rest of my life. We’ll see.
19. What has been the response to 12 Mondays after the release of 52?
I think the response has been better than any album I’ve had, and it makes perfect sense, because this is the best record I’ve made. It’s the best representation of what I do. My other albums were good but in some cases, in my opinion, fell short of where I intended to go with them. This one has been received quite well worldwide.
20. What are your plans for the future?
I plan on releasing my next album sometime later this year. After that who knows. There’s no master plan, I just wanna enjoy doing this.
Learn more about Ari and his music at arihest.com.
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