By Chad Taylor
soundcheck@dmcityview.com

Ari Herstand plays the Vaudeville Mews on Thursday, May 10. Doors open at 9:30 p.m. and tickets are $10

Ari Herstand understands the power in going his own way. He’s been doing it for quite a while.

“I’ve been touring pretty much constantly for the last four years,” said Herstand in a phone interview from somewhere on the highway between Madison, Wis., and Minneapolis, Minn. “I’m headed back (to Minnesota) to work on the new album, then I’ll head back out and tour some more.”

Being a solo act on the road can be a lonely trek. It also poses artistic challenges.

“There’s nothing particularly unique about a guy with an acoustic guitar alone on a stage,” he said. “That’s why I started using the looping station.”

With the looping station, Herstand is able to flesh out his sound and expand his musical vision, while still remaining a one-man act. By live-looping keyboard, horn, guitar and beatbox elements, he’s able to keep his shows dynamic and fresh while still only relying on himself. The result is a live show that’s engaging and unique, and something that appeals strongly to the college students and mid 20-somethings who make up the bulk of his audience. Moving to writing for the loop station, however, was a slow transition.

“The first album (2005’s “Baby Eyes”) was written for a band,” he said. “But as I started using the looping station more and more, I gradually started writing with it in mind. Now, when I write songs, sometimes I’ll sit down and just work them out on the looping station, much like other musicians will work out songs on a piano or on a guitar.”

Another facet of Herstand’s independent approach to his music is the development of his newest, yet-untitled-album, due out this year. In January of this year, Herstand joined a growing number of independent musicians who’ve funded albums through donation-driven, fan-first Kickstarter campaigns. Starting with a goal of $12,000, Herstand’s grassroots approach eventually raised $13,500 for the production of the album.

“Kickstarter is great for artists and musicians,” he said. “And it was obviously great for me. Using Kickstarter enabled me to bypass a record label and just do what I wanted to.”

As with anyone who’s either unwilling or unable to sign with a label, the biggest obstacle to producing an album is a financial one.

“Because really, that’s the main thing artists are using the labels for, is the money to get an album made,” He said.

The trade-off, of course, is relinquishing a certain amount of creative control, something that Herstand is happy to bypass.

“Not having to go to a label for money allowed me to make the album the way I wanted to and really get the sound just how I thought it should be,” he said.

While Kickstarter is an exciting proposition for independent artists, it’s not yet a cure-all for the major-label blues.

“As you can imagine, studio albums cost quite a bit of money,” Herstand said. “And after the Kickstarter fees…the amount I had left over paid for only a portion of the cost of the album. But there’s no doubt that I couldn’t have made it the way I did without the Kickstarter campaign.” CV