Ari Herstand

Height: 183 cm

Most musicians now know Ari Herstand as the guy who helped them fly with their instruments. His Carry Your Instrument On The Plane... It's The LAW blog post went viral and has been viewed over 30 ...Show More

Most musicians now know Ari Herstand as the guy who helped them fly with their instruments. His Carry Your Instrument On The Plane... It's The LAW blog post went viral and has been viewed over 300,000 times with over 40,000 Facebook Likes. In just under two years, Herstand's music business advice blog, Ari's Take, has been nominated by the LA Weekly as the best music blog in Los Angeles and has become a go to resource for DIY (Do It Yourself) musicians. Herstand started the blog to help musicians from his own experiences managing his music career.Herstand has played over 600 shows, toured with the Milk Carton Kids and Ron Pope, opened for Ben Folds, Cake, Matt Nathanson, Joshua Radin and Eric Hutchinson, and performed with Thirty Seconds To Mars on the Ellen Degeneres Show. He's had countless songs placed on TV shows and charted in the top ten on iTunes - all as a DIY musician. As an actor, he has co-starred in TV shows like 2 Broke Girls, The Fosters, Sam & Cat and Touch. Best known for his live looping shows, Herstand records and layers the acoustic guitar, keys, beat boxing, trumpet and vocals for a full sonic live experience.Herstand quickly rose to prominence in Minneapolis, consistently filling the 800 capacity Varsity Theater. As a student at the University of Minnesota (for just 1 year), he played the college cafes, bars and clubs and built his following on campus. With 40,000 undergraduates, it wasn't a bad market to target. Word spread about Herstand's popularity on campus and he got a call from a college booking agency.Herstand started playing colleges all over the Midwest. He showcased at the National Association of Campus Activities (NACA) Northern Plains region, in the Spring of 2008 and booked 50 shows on the spot. A NACA record.That year, he also opened for Ben Folds, played (and booked) a stage at the "World's Largest Music Festival" Summerfest in Milwaukee, released his Whispering Endearments record and self-booked his first couple tours to the coasts and back.He continued to tour the Midwest and his regional club turnouts kept growing. Soon he was playing packed rooms in a 5 state region. His Minneapolis local shows were always a welcomed return and the Varsity Theater remained his home.Herstand always toured solo accompanied by his loop station- incorporating the acoustic guitar, keys, trumpet, percussion, beat boxing and vocals. The song "Minnie and Me" on the new album, Brave Enough, is about falling out of love with Minneapolis.Herstand moved to Los Angeles in the Summer of 2010 to begin the next phase of his artistic journey (and get away from the cold).He quickly found a home at the popular Hollywood music venue, The Hotel Cafe.He continued touring extensively, but after returning from an extended run in the summer of 2012, he realized he needed to take some time off the road and explore what LA had to offer. On a whim, he sent out head shots to acting agents. He hadn't actually acted since he played Peter in Jesus Christ Superstar in a Madison, Wisconsin community theater production the summer after high school. The day after the head shots went out, he got 7 calls. He took some meetings and signed with an agent. So far he has starred in a film by Fox-Japan and has co-starred on 2 Broke Girls, Touch, Sam & Cat, The Fosters, along with various national commercials.Herstand grew up in Wisconsin. He went to elementary school in Shorewood (a suburb of Milwaukee) and his family moved to Madison just before 7th grade. The son of a social worker and a guidance counselor, Herstand has always had a strong social justice sense. His song "Who's Deciding" off of his debut, 2005 release, Baby Eyes, and "Do Ask Do Tell" off of his 2010 release, Clean Up EP, promotes LGBT equality - an issue Herstand feels very strongly about. His song, "I Am Mike Brown" he wrote directly following the murder of an unarmed black man, Michael Brown, by a white officer in Ferguson, MO during the Summer of 2014.After a successful $13,544 Kickstarter campaign Herstand went back into the studio in the Spring of 2012 to record his latest album, Brave Enough. He returned to Minnesota to work with long time engineer/producer/friend Paul Marino. Marino arranged for Herstand's "favorite drummer on the planet," Dave King (The Bad Plus), to play drums on the record - along with many other world class musicians.The record is about moving to a new city with an old love. Herstand wrote the optimistic "San Vicente Blvd" after his first visit to Los Angeles.The album explores the trials of temptation, life on the road and the pain only true love can produce. Hide