Ari Hest bringing singer/songwriter skills to Spring Lake's Seven Steps Up
SPRING LAKE — Back in the day, calling someone a singer/songwriter brought to mind soft-rock artists like Carole King, Joni Mitchell or James Taylor.
Today’s breed perhaps rocks a bit more, as evidenced by such voice and guitar- or piano-based performers as Duncan Sheik, Dave Matthews or John Mayer.
That’s the tradition of Ari Hest, a Bronx native who will be performing at the Seven Steps Up in Spring Lake on Sunday.
Hest has released albums on major labels (he was on Columbia Records in the mid-2000s), given demonstrations of Apple’s Garage Band on tour, and often performs as a duo – with his drummer.
His set this weekend will include material from “Sunset Over Hope Street,” released March 1 of this year, his first full-length album of new material in four years.
The album represents a return to a more traditional approach for Hest. After releasing “The Break-In” on Columbia in 2007, Hest parted ways with the label. The next year he launched a Web-based subscription service that found him writing, recording and releasing a new song every Monday for an entire year. The 52 Project, as it came to be known, produced 52 new songs in 52 weeks.
“Sunset Over Hope Street” covers a lot of ground, from existential songs like “Until Next Time” and “A Good Look Around,” to the more politically driven “Business of America” and “Swan Song.” One theme that pops up repeatedly is the passage of time, whether trying to take advantage of opportunities as they arise (“If I Knew You’d Say Yes”), lamenting missed opportunities (the title track), or musing on the future (“How Would I Know”).
At the end of the year, subscribers were asked to vote for their 12 favorite songs from the project; the ones that received the most votes were then reworked and digitally released in the form of the album “Twelve Mondays” in early 2009.
While “Sunset Over Hope Street” was recorded at a more leisurely pace, Hest continued his experimental approach by replacing some of his guitar parts with another lead instrument, like a piano. It also includes a variety of string arrangements and unique percussion parts.
His performance in Spring Lake is part of a tour that takes him to Wisconsin, Chicago, Indiana, Pittsburgh and New Jersey, across the country to New Mexico, Oklahoma, then back east to South Carolina.
Hest typically does as many as 150 dates a year. In addition to stateside shows, he’s done multiple tours in Ireland, Czech Republic, Germany and Belgium.
Hest is no stranger to television audiences. His music has been licensed numerous times to such shows as “Private Practice” and “One Tree Hill,” and he scored the film “DreamRiders,” which won numerous independent film awards, and also featured several of Hest's songs.
The Sunday show is part of a series of acoustic performances known as the “Pin Drop Concerts,” sponsored by Run Amok Promotions. Run Amok Promotions owner Michelle Hanks says Hest is a perfect fit for the concept.
“From the moment we first designed the listening-room concept for ‘Pin Drop Concerts,’ we knew Ari would be a perfect match,” she said.
“We’re always looking to book amazing songwriters that can connect with an intense audience of series acoustic music fans. Ari fits the bill.”
• When: 6:30 p.m. Sunday, doors open at 4:30 p.m.
• Where: Seven Steps Up event center, 116 S. Jackson, Spring Lake
• Tickets: $22, available atrunamokpromotions.com or by calling 616-678-3618
• Artist info: arihest.com
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